COLOR TRENDS & FORECAST
Photo: PQI
The Paint Quality
Institute’s Good Morning
palette offers color recom-
mendations including
honey-like hues such as
Tan or Pale Gold, Coral,
Yellow and Mineral Grey.
“With consumers contin-
ued desire to create both
warm and functional
spaces the Good Morning
palette consists of hues
that are fresh, clean and
comfortable,” said Debbie
Zimmer, director of com-
munications and alliances,
Paint Quality Institute
(PQI), Dow Coating
Materials.
Richard Prime, communications manager, NCS Colour AB: Color is an incredible
tool for a designer. It’s probably one of the
only aspects of a design or project that
can be translated to the viewer, audience
or market in seconds, which is often the
amount of time it takes for a customer to
make a buying decision. I’d go as far as
saying it is the single most important
aspect of the design process for anyone
wanting to create a commercially or critically successful item.
Dee Schlotter, brand manager - The Voice
of Color, PPG Pittsburgh Paints: Paint
used to be all about function and quality
and a little about decoration. Now, especially for the consumer, it is all about
color. When consumers think of how
they can transform a room wall color has
the power to do that. The right color can
have an emotional reaction and stimulate the senses.
take they will not be able to live with.
Sue Kim, color trend and forecast
specialist, Valspar: Colors are visual
and environmental essentials that
express our life style. Valspar consumers often share their life stories
with us and ask which colors would
be best to capture moments. As a
color expert, I feel the same way but
I’m in the position to see the emotive
side of colors and provide the best
option for each consumer.
Maryellen Mantyla, director of marketing, California Products Corporation:
Color is the consumer’s way to take control of their surroundings. From the
clothes they wear to the color of their
iPods, color truly reflects the consumer’s
personality. Paint color is no different. It
allows a consumer to take control of a
design project and showcase their preferences with permanence—displaying
their personality on a larger scale.
What are the trendsetters
influencing color today?
Zimmer, PQI: Color trending is driven by
a number of influences including pop culture, the economy, along with technology.
For example, given today’s economy and
the state of real estate, many homeowners are freshening a space with a much
more neutral scheme, with an eye
towards resale.
MILLION EURO INVESTMENT IN NEW TECHNOLOGY BY EVONIK
In developing custom-designed color solutions for customers in the global
paint and coatings industry, color accuracy is the first priority—but speed
is also of the essence. Evonik’s Colorants Product Line is now responding to
customer demands for an increasingly
shorter time to market by means of a million-euro investment in high throughput
experimentation (HTE) technology. This
highly automated experimentation at its
Maastricht facility to service its global
Colorant business, will increase the quality of the results as well as reduce
the development time for colorant design. Apart from greater flexibility and
quicker results, HTE technology offers the additional advantage of further
improvements in product quality.
Lawlor, Kelly-Moore: Color trends are the
result of very careful observation of what
is going on in our world including social,
technological and economic issues. There
are several global organizations that
track color trends. I am a member of the
Color Marketing Group, an international
organization of color marketers who
meet twice a year to track color direction.
While consumer demand and the designer both influence color direction, sometimes it is a matter of marketers predetermining a palette of colors that are utilized by various manufactures in varying
industries. This ensures color coordination for consumer and commercial goods.
Prior to the recession, color trends
