What could it become?
I help people make sense of the future by connecting the dots going forwards.
About
I’m Richard Buchanan.
Capes is my independent strategy and innovation practice.
I’m a creative and strategic thinking partner with nearly 20 years of experience. I work with leaders and teams on the questions that aren’t a brief yet, and turn them into work they can act on. I’ve briefed senior teams at global brands on what emerging technology means for them.
I build with AI myself. I made Klai, an AI-powered therapeutic audio app, on my own from concept to launch.
I’m also a qualified cognitive hypnotherapist, with more than 1,000 hours of one-to-one sessions behind me. It has taught me how to help one person think clearly, which is most of what a good thinking partner does.
Experience
- JWT LondonDigital creative strategist
- Wieden+KennedyCreative strategist, Platform
- AirbnbBrand strategist, San Francisco
- IndependentNike, King and agency clients
- AKQAHead of Strategy
- ZagSenior consultant
- Fellow ProgressCognitive hypnotherapist, founder of Klai
- HH GlobalHead of Innovation
Working together
I interrogate the future by creating versions of it.
Making sense of the future takes research, imagination and something concrete to respond to. There are three ways to work with me, from a single conversation to something you can test.
A fuzzy questionSomething you can test
-
Think it through
For a problem that isn’t a brief yet. A fresh, experienced mind on it, quickly.
- Time
- An hour, or I join your meeting
- You bring
- The problem as it stands, however messy
- You leave with
- A clearer view of the problem and what to do next
-
Work it out
Research, workshops and ideas that turn an open question into a clear direction.
- Time
- A few weeks
- You bring
- An open question and the people who care about it
- You leave with
- A clear direction and the reasoning behind it
-
Make it real
Stories, concepts and prototypes that let people react to a possible future.
- Time
- Scoped to what you need to learn
- You bring
- An idea worth testing
- You leave with
- A low-cost test people can react to, and the case for what comes next
You might have a new technology looking for a purpose, a question about where your organisation goes next, or an idea that needs to become real enough to judge.
Work
Most companies know what they are. My clients asked a harder question. What next?
- Mobile games
A million-dollar prize.
Created a global competition for one of the world’s biggest mobile games.
- Commodities
Over 60 million views.
Made a documentary series on gold for the gold industry’s global body, shown on YouTube.
- Emerging technology
100+ regular briefings.
I brief senior teams at global brands on what emerging technology means for their business.
- Video games
Took an open world idea to its limits for a games company. It was later developed.
- Music
Explored a Wikipedia for all the music on the planet, and built the business case for it.
- Wellbeing
Built and launched Klai, a science-backed AI audio wellness platform.
- Electric cars
Created a driving experience for an electric car in Sweden.
- Talks
Gave a talk called Humanity Amplified to a global toy company.
- Retail
Showed a global technology brand why shoppers still need to check things in person.
- Consulting
Explored possible new configurations for one of the world’s top consultancies.
- Media
Reframed a media product from serving one person to serving groups.
- Used cars
Developed new products for a second-hand car platform.
- Jewellery
Created an engagement ring designer for a jewellery company.
- Food
Positioned a new product that helps families eat more healthily.
Thinking about
Great questions get to the future faster.
The constellation
The more AI there is, the more the real world matters.
I’ve mapped 30 signals from the past year, and the 24 questions that appear where they meet.
Where else I’m looking
Future of wellness
When people already track their sleep and stress, what will they pay a brand to help with?
Already here: rings and watches that track how you sleep and how stressed you are.
Embodied AI
What happens to your product when AI can see, hear and move around the real world?
Already here: glasses that can tell you what you’re looking at.
Intelligent objects
When every product can sense and talk back, who owns the relationship with the customer?
Already here: cars, speakers and fridges that update themselves overnight.
Space exploration
Which industries change when getting to orbit keeps getting cheaper?
Already here: satellite internet on planes, ships and remote farms.
Robotics
Which jobs, shops and services change when robots leave the factory?
Already here: robots that vacuum homes and deliver food on city pavements.
Agentic AI
What happens to your brand when an AI agent does the shopping?
Already here: AI assistants that can search, compare and book for you.
Contact
What are you exploring?
Bring me the question you can’t brief yet. I’d like to hear it.