Nexium became the most heavily advertised drug in the United States with ads that featured what color? Answer »
Trendwatching.com is an independent and opinionated trend firm, scanning the globe for the most promising consumer trends, insights and related hands-on business ideas. (more…)
Make effective, unique and credible color choices
Based on research and filled with hundreds of color combinations and illustrations, Color: Messages & Meanings presents color expert, Leatrice Eiseman’s insights on color and emotion, and addresses how best to integrate these qualities into your work, insuring your intended message is communicated.
Jack Bredenfoerder, current President of Color Marketing Group (and one of my traveling companions on my recent trip to India) was asked to comment on the emergence and popularity of Yves Klein International Blue and this question sent him on a quest to understand more about the origins of this color and why it is regaining popularity.
Here’s what Jack has to say about Yves Klein blue…
Yves Klein: The Artist at Work
Branding , Products & Packaging , Trends · Tags: color-trends, plum, purple
Authored by Kate Smith
From today’s New York Times– MADISON AVENUE is making like Little Jack Horner, pulling out plum after plum for the presumed delectation of consumers.
Examples of how plum may become the new black for advertisers and media companies include a new Plum Card from American Express, coupon inserts in Sunday newspapers under the RedPlum name and plum-colored labels for products like Penta water.
There is also Plum TV, a channel available in resort communities; PlumChoice Online, a PC services company; and even books by Janet Evanovich featuring a character called Stephanie Plum. The titles include “Plum Lovin’ ” and “Plum Lucky” and, coming in January, according to Dori Weintraub of St. Martin’s Press, which publishes Ms. Evanovich, “Plum Spooky.”
Trend watchers suggest several reasons so many marketers seem to be going plum loco. One recurring thought is that the success of technology brands like Apple and BlackBerry is giving fruit a good name, hence the proliferation of plums as well as brands like Pinkberry and Red Mango, which are both frozen yogurts.
Plum and purple colors also “evoke royalty, sophistication,” said Tom Julian, president at the Tom Julian Group in New York, a brand consultancy.
Those shades can appeal to “the emotional side of one’s passions and interests,” he added, “the individual desire for zest and to be distinct.”
Mr. Julian traces the growing appeal of plum to fall 2005, when “the ‘luxe’ factor emerged in the designer market” and richer hues came into favor.
Continue reading on the NYTimes.com
Colourful look gaining ground in Thai design world
According to an article in the April 5th Bangkok Post more homeowners are getting bolder with their choice of colors
While neutral schemes continue to dominate the interior, a subtrend has emerged with a bold few souls opting for bold, bright colours in their decor.
An increasing number of design clients are looking for bright colours — especially in their living rooms.
Contrary to what one might expect, the fad for brighter hues in Thailand does not just appeal to the younger generation as age does not seem to be a factor.
Products & Packaging , Trends · Tags: apple, product-development
Authored by Kate Smith
Discovering what is driving a trend helps me to discover how it can translate into products, services, materials and of course colors.
One of the driving factors across most trends today is that consumers are looking for a either a solution, a story or both.
I'll give you an example. I purchased the MacBook Air the day it came out. After a few weeks of use I have to say that I think it is phenomenal piece of equipment that has already been a 'solution' for me in so many ways; size, speed, integration not only with programs but with my iphone and the other Mac I often use in my office. Perfect!
So for me the MacBook Air is a real solution. But don't forget that I bought it the day it was released. That's because having the latest and coolest technology has become part of my 'story', my identity or status so to speak.
Certainly I craved a solution to streamline my life and Apple delivered but what they also gave me was a sleek, light, amazing machine that says something about who I am and what's important to me.
Think about the trends in your industry. Are you responding with products and services that offer your customers a solution or a story or both?
We are in an age where creating our own reality has been an idea that has taken hold and it is easy to forget that this is a relatively new thought.
Our parents or grandparents and those before them wouldn’t have even considered that their thoughts could directly influence their physical world yet today it is widely accepted that we are who and what we think we are.
What we are still trying to figure out is how to channel our thoughts to create the life we desire. While many seek to understand this on a spiritual level, some see it as a means of achieving their goals for material success and many others simply accept the concept without the need for self-reflection..
We experience a ‘second life’ whether through technology and the virtual world, dining experiences, fantasy or hands-on vacations and often just through the music we chose to listen to, the clothes we put on or the elements we bring into our homes.
We have amalgamated our identities by blending our physical world with our mental reality, our cultural roots branch out to absorb other cultures further blurring the boundaries of where we came from and instead expecting to be accepted for who we have chosen to be.
Our focus on the environment is nothing new but it is important from a trends perspective to note that a shift in attitude has taken place.
While most consumers have agreed for some time that care and renewal of our natural environment is an issue that needs to be addressed until recently only a small number of individuals proactively took responsibility for making changes in the way they lived and worked.
This attitude has changed and currently many people now feel that simply voicing a concern isn’t enough and that each and every one of us must actively make changes in our homes and workplaces in order to ‘do no harm’.
Government leaders too have become more engaged in sustainability issues with politicians talking ‘green’. New legislation requiring businesses to operate with environmental consciousness has companies scrambling to keep up.
Companies that are ahead of the curve are touting their environmental savvy as a way to attract like-minded customers and stand above their competitors. In the near future however business operating in a way that supports sustainability will become a given in the minds of consumers and business leaders will need to add environmental best practices to an already long list of customer expectations.
For many companies this means implementing new processes but for others it will be more challenging and require developing new technologies, rethinking operations and reformulating products. All of this while keeping the end product or service priced competitively. This is one tall order to fill and unless tackled with keen insight an organization could put themselves out of business trying.
But try they will because this business eco ego is being fueled more by customers and their own eco ego than by legislation. Consumers taking positive action want to proudly shows off their environmental responsibility and their ability to reduce their carbon footprint through the products and services they chose.
While the environmental movement has spurred us to take a less self-centered and broader view of the long-term impact each of us has on the world we haven’t left behind our need for recognition. The paradox is that often the same people that feel most driven to make a significant difference also the same ones that want to be recognized for how brightly their halo glows.
It seems that keeping up with the Jones has become keeping up with the ‘Greens.’
Trends · Tags: color-trends, home, leatrice-eiseman, Pantone
Authored by Kate Smith
Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of Pantone, Inc. and a fellow member of CMG, is quoted in Home Textiles Today as saying during her Las Vegas Market presentation, “In real estate it’s all about location, location. In color it’s context, context.”
See Leatrice’s descriptions of the Pantone 2008 home furnishings forecast…
Related links:
Pantone Color of the Year for 2008 on Live In Full Color…
Previous posts on Pantone on Color Pro…
Trends · Tags: color-of-the-year, gold, paint, yellow
Authored by Kate Smith
ICI Paints names “Ginger Ale” the color for 2008. Here’s what they had to say about this hue:
Yellow is a color long associated with opposing concepts-oriental and occidental, contemporary and traditional, spiritual and intellectual.
It transcends national cultures and preferences in its ability to communicate optimism, respect, radiance and wellbeing.
It is this duality that makes it so relevant for 2008 as we try to balance seemingly conflicting aspects of life, art, culture and innovation.
In a historic context it alludes to the timeless patina of gold and qualities of preciousness, while for the young its vibrancy is attention-grabbing, challenging and eccentric. This advancing colour has a physical effect on the nervous system caused by its pulsating and radiating quality.
Color psychologists associate yellow with forward thought and communication and for this reason it is often chosen, in paler tones, for schools, libraries and other institutions of learning and study.
People who favor yellow tend to be creative, expansive, inspirational and intellectual; it is very much seen as the balanced colour that sits between the realms of the mind, the spirit and the body.
More than any other hue, it has the ability to convey a mood of warmth, sociability and welcome. This soft and sunny shade is neither too strident nor to understated—a happy, forward-looking colour that speaks of optimism for the future but also represents a serious respect for history and the past—a warming reminder of the need for balance in all our thoughts and actions.
Trends · Tags: color-trends, Pantone
Authored by Kate Smith
Fashion color authority Pantone has published its Pantone View Colour Planner for summer 2009, a forecasting tool titled “Independence.”The planner details seven palettes for use in apparel, cosmetics, interiors, industrial design and graphics:
Tod Shulman, vice president of the fashion, home and interiors division at Pantone, said, “For summer 2009, Pantone is forecasting a trend toward color palettes that reflect individuality and make people feel good about who they are.”
Branding , Products & Packaging , Trends · Tags: automotive, blue, color-meaning, color-trends, green
Authored by Kate Smith
‘Green’ has become synonymous with the environmental movement so naturally companies around the globe are using the term ‘green’ and the color green to communicate that their practices and products are environmentally friendly.
Overuse of this color however coupled with the fact that many companies that claim to be ‘green’ do not in fact follow environmentally sound practices (also known as ‘greenwashing’) has reduced the positive impact of this color.
Companies looking to differeniate thenselves are choosing to use blue to communicate their commitment to the environment and as Ann Mack of JWT put it so beautifully, “represent a much broader spirit of good citizenship”.
With growning concerns over having sufficient clean water and clean air to support the global population blue, a color associated with the the ocean and sky, is a natural choice.
Add to this the fact that blue is seen as trustworthy, dependable, and committed and it simply makes sense that forward thinking companies like Mercedes-Benz that want to distance thenselves from ‘greenwashing’ and be seen above the glut of green have chosen to incorporate blue into their ‘green’ marketing. For example Mercedes-Benz coine the term Bluetec for their clean diesel fuel technology.
VW also uses blue. BlueMotion badge is an environmental sub-brand, denoting the most efficient model in each VW car range. But it’s not just automakers but also the French government that are going blue rather than green.
Blue will not replace green as the color of nature but in 2008 the color will be seen with closer associations to the enviroment and global issues.
Blue will also be a color that is influencial in many other areas. Pantone named blue the color of the year for 2008 and as we ushered in the new year many hues of blue from sky to navy were already appearing in home and fashion stores everywhere.
Related links:
Pantone 2008 color of the year…
Automakers going green with blue…
Are consumers being greenwashed…
