Sensational Color Pro Kate Smith » Trends

The Lesson in a Bag of M&Ms

Kate Smith — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:23:21 +0000

It always make my day to see a big influx of visitors to our website from a school or university. It tells me someone is using color to aid in teaching. Then depending on the page that everyone is frequenting I try to figure out what the lesson might be about.

Today, I can see lot of hits from a school in Fullerton School District (Diamond Bar, California) and the page they are visiting is my “The Colors in the Bag: M&M’s Plain” So what do you think the lesson might be? Statistics? Science? Research?

Who knows? Any teacher that can somehow work the color mix of a bag of M&Ms into an educational lesson gets my thumbs up.

Ten Tips for Creating a Naturally Beautiful Holiday

Kate Smith — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 04:41:20 +0000

My article ‘Bringing the Outdoors In: Ten Tips for Creating a Naturally Beautiful Holiday’ written on behalf of House Beautiful is posted on the Mohawk Flooring website.

And don’t miss the video of Sean talking about Fall trends.

Read the article on MohawkFlooring.com…

The Death of Trends?

Kate Smith — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:41:59 +0000

Fashion plays an important roll in defining color, texture and style trends for every market. JC Reports, Inside Global Fashion Trends, published a three part article discussing trend perspectives. How are countless sources of images and influences dictating what is stylish?

The Death of Trends Series

The Death of Trends, Part 1

The Death of Trends, Part 2

The Death of Trends, Part 3

These posts seem to have set off quite a debate and flood of comments.

While I do agree that what influences design is now coming from many different sources and may not immediately appear to not have commonality this does not mean that there are no longer trends. If anything this commingling of ideas makes each of the expressions of these uber trends all that much more interesting than it often was in the past. What do you think?

Via “Found” email from CMG. Items submitted by Sandy Sampson, Simple Modern Style and Chair of the CMG Future Design Committee.

Red Sign of the Economic Times

Kate Smith — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:05:18 +0000

I had to laugh when I read the response UK Telegraph columnist Hadley Freeman gave her reader to their fashion question. She pokes fun at trend forecasting in ‘Recession chic’

In the red: apparently scarlet pieces are a sign of the recession

Question:

I read in last week’s Guardian that it’s necklines, not hemlines, that reflect the world’s economy. Are there any other fashion signs about global finances?

Hadley’s answer:

And, oh my God, what’s this?! Apparently next season’s major colour is “tomato red”, as in “in the red” and definitely not the black. Slap my forehead, how could we not have seen the signs back in February when these clothes were first shown? Have there ever been more obvious portents of an upcoming financial crash? Truly, there is nothing like a demi-couture red Alexander McQueen dress coming down the catwalk to make one sense the chill of an oncoming recession.

Bright Spots in Thai Design

Kate Smith — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 04:20:35 +0000

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.