We are over two thirds of the way through the year and I was wondering if this color of the year embodies the year now that we know what 2009 is about.

My friends and colleagues, Jill Morton and Leatrice Eiseman comment on color as the is having on holiday sales in an article by Bruce Horovitz in USA TODAY.

From the article: In the most economically depressing holiday season in decades, there’s one buzzword — besides cheap — that’s still got game at retail: color.

That’s right. Bleak 2008 also happens to be the holiday season when shoppers want many of their gifts to be colorful. Or at least, a different color from last year’s model. And not necessarily apparel: products such as electronics, appliances, kitchen décor, even luggage and their tags. IPods now come in a gazillion colors; so do cellphones and digital cameras. Ditto for laptops and home computers. Color is gaining traction for small appliances, such as blenders and popcorn poppers — and big ones, such as ranges.

“Color is the one area where consumers are saying, ‘I’m going to indulge,’ ” says Marshal Cohen, retail guru at NPD Group. When Cohen advised retail clients about the 2008 holiday, his No. 1 suggestion for most was to expand color selection. Some are adding color and nothing else. Cohen says that’s OK: “When you add color to a product, you stimulate the consumer’s awareness that the version they already have is obsolete.”

Color consultants aren’t surprised.

PANTONE® announced that they have chosen 14-0848 Mimosa as their color of the year for 2009.  In the announcement the color is described as “a warm, engaging yellow.”

“The color yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute^®. “Mimosa also speaks to enlightenment, as it is a hue that sparks imagination and innovation.”

Best illustrated by

When President-elect Barack Obama met with John McCain on Monday to talk teamwork, his tie was blue.

When Obama met President George Bush at the White House to talk transition the Monday before that, his tie was blue.

Bush’s was too. No news there.

But, after a campaign defined by “change,” few political style watchers guessed that Obama would perpetuate this necktie trend that Bush propagated some eight years ago: powder blue as the new power red.

Whether Obama’s choice is calculated or subconscious, good reasons exist for hewing to blue.

With a fine arts degree and years of product development, management and marketing behind me I had a great foundation but when I decided to pursue solely work with color I know I needed to learn the ins and outs from a color professional who was already successful in the field.

I didn’t want to learn from just anyone.  I went straight to the leading expert in the field, Leatrice Eiseman and if you are interested in pursuing color consulting or adding skills that can enhance a related field I recommend you do the same.

Learn more about Lee’s color classes as well as why I give it my personal recommendation– Learning from Leatrice Eiseman

New Jersey’s ‘The Star-Ledger’ quoted Leatrice Eiseman as saying “The 2-million-square-foot Meadowlands structure is like a kid sticking out his tongue after sucking a lollipop”.

See what all the controversy is about…

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…