Let’s face it: New York City knows how to do the holidays like no other city in the world.

Even before the first snowflakes fall, the city transforms into a magical winter wonderland. Skaters do figure-eights in Central Park, the Rockettes kick up their heels at Radio City Music Hall, Sugar Plum Fairies drift across the stage at Lincoln Center, and Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue fill their windows with the most stunningly colorful holiday window displays.

Today I’m involved in the Color Marketing Group’s New Member Training so not much time to post.

I love to meet new members and hear all about their Views on Hues.

Above are boards that Ken Charbonneau, CMG used to illustrate his presentation in the morning session.

Red – The Color of Romance!
Scarlet, Crimson, Torch Red, Lipstick Red, Red Rose, Paint the Town Red, Red Hot, Red Handed, Candy Apple Red, Fire Engine Red, Blood Red, Red Letter Day, Red Bull. Red is not passive or fluffy. Red is attention-getting. Red is assertive. Red is action and energy. Red is powerful.

Falling in Love Again…An insider’s look at retro-trends: why we love what we loved before and what we’re likely to love again in the future

With wit and humor Dorothy took us on the journey of the baby boomers and the many faces their collective persona has worn and how even now forty years later they are still in love with their childhood and the things that remind them of those days and experiences.

I especially enjoyed her example of how the chocolate chip cookie regained popularity. She shared that as the boomers experiencd the stress of the working world they sought to find the same feeling of comfort they had experienced as a child. Eating home baked tollhouse cookies was one of those comforts. Thanks to Famous Amos they were able to have chocolate chip cookies without the trouble of baking them and thus could recreate those yummy feelings of their youth.

Her talk had many of us nodding and smiling as we recognized ourselves in one…or many…of her examples. What a delightful speaker!

More about Dorothy–

Dorothy Kalins was the founding editor-in-chief of Metropolitan Home , which won the National Magazine Award for general excellence in 1990. She became the first woman ever named Adweek’s Editor of the Year. In 1999, she was awarded the prestigious Matrix Award for her work in magazines.

Kalins founded Saveur in 1994, and served as editor-in-chief for both Saveur and its relaunched sister publication, Garden Design, until 2001.

She then joined Newsweek as executive editor, where she helped rethink and redesign the magazine, working on all editorial aspects of the publication. In the spring of 2006, Kalins became a contributing editor to Newsweek, writing and editing, primarily in the areas of health, food and design.

Share the Love: What Design & Conscious Color Mean for the Contemporary Global Marketplace

In a market economy characterized by commoditized products and global competition, how do companies gain deep and lasting loyalty from their customers?

The answer is by creating meaningful experiences through a love of design and color.

Darrel is a wonderful speaker and it was fun for all of us to hear about his experiences as a young designer who was himself a member of Color Marketing Group.

He shared how each of us could create meaning for ourselves and our clients. He really walks the talk because he connected his ideas to the audience in a way that was meaningful by being tailored to our group and by suggesting specific actions each of us could take to create value and meaning.

Darrell recommended keeping open to learning and new ideas…

• Do the homework
• Travel
• Read

…and develop your own point of view…

• Share it!
• Blog
• Speak or lecture
• Write

This really hit home with me and if you haven’t read his book Making Meaning I recommend it.

Also there is an excellent resources on the Cheskin website that supports what he discussed– An Ethnography Primer

This was especially helpful as I prepared for the design workshop I’m facilitating tomorrow on the influences of ethnography on color and design.

A bit more about Darrel Rhea:

Currently CEO of Cheskin, Darrel has spent the last 25 years working on the front lines of innovation with the world’s top corporations helping them understand their customers, their needs and their experiences — and marrying the best of design, strategy, and market research into a solid business proposition.

Rhea is one of America’s top strategic design consultants, with extensive experience leading industrial design, product development and innovation, graphic design, and brand identity creation initiatives.

I am serving as the Vice-Chair of the conference along with program Chair Leslie Harrington of LH Color and we have an exciting program planned for our fellow CMG members.

Joining us to spread the love of color are two fabulous keynote speakers: Darrel Rhea, CEO of Cheskin and Dorothy Kalins, Founding Editor-in-chief of Metropoliton Home.

If not a member of CMG you might consider joining. I’d love to meet you at our next conference.

At the Color Marketing Group International conference I attended in Atlanta, Georgia this year’s Dimmick Award winner was a complete surprise: The United States Postal Service.

The most prestigious award for revolutionary, dramatic, or exceptional contributions to the field of color marketing is the Dimmick Award, presented every other year by Color Marketing Group, the premier international association for color design professionals.