Recently I attended The Colour Group (GB) event – ‘Colour for business and the professions’ held at the City University of London. The Colour Group (GB) is an interdisciplinary society whose members specialise in areas of colour reproduction, measurement and perception. The meeting with many diverse speakers was aimed at helping professionals who research and/or work with colour, to understand it and utilise it more effectively.

Topics from the science and understanding of colour, to where pigments and dyes come from, to colour trends and their influence were discussed. Some of the highlights for me included questions posed such as – ‘Why do we have colour’?  Anya Hurlbert, founding Director of the Institute of Neuroscience, answered that principally we use colour to facilitate finding and using objects. Colour identification helps us to understand the ‘material identity’ of something, to recognise what it is. For example the colours red and green help us to distinguish between fruits and leaves and may even be an identifier of human attraction. We find ‘redness’ in colouring an indication of health. Hurlbert’s research indicates there is an ‘underlying universality’ to colour preference – but there is also ‘individuality’ in choice, which underpins the understanding of those of us that work with the psychology of colour.

Janet Best of Colour Diversity is a recognised authority in global colour communication and control. Janet believes that “Colour is the easiest way to generate new life in a product”. An excellent rule to remember for any design, branding and marketing professionals!

   
Adrian Abel, former President of the Society of Dyers and Colourists spoke about the discovery and development of pigments and dyes and here’s a fascinating fact – Queen Victoria popularised and led the trend for the colour mauve when ‘mauvine’ was discovered as a synthetic dye by William H. Perkin in 1856!
And talking of trends, Dr Julie King, Head of the School of Fashion and Textiles at De Montfort University presented an insight in to the development of fashion trends. But what of the future? Well according to Dr King the colour future is looking ‘grey’. Janet Best spoke of trends which indicate that “by 2020, 75% of the world will be living in urban environments”. Time for some real consideration on ‘why we have colour,’ the impact of colour on our wellbeing and environments I think!

Find out more about colour and how it affects you. Spend a day ‘Exploring colour in your world’ Saturday 26th January 2013.

“Blue sky thinking”, “feeling blue”, “wild blue yonder”, “bolt from the blue”. What does blue mean to you?

Trend forecasting agencies and commercial companies such as Dulux are predicting blue as colour for 2013. Whilst Dulux promote Indigo as their colour of the year, colour trend forecaster Global Mix observe the migration of blue from turquoise and sky blue through to a deep petrol blue.

Often cited as the worlds’ favourite colour, blue can appear to have calming reflective qualities. Strong blues stimulate clear thought, a useful colour where intelligence, logic and communication are required. Lighter and softer blues calm the mind.

Trust and efficiency are qualities often associated with blue and perhaps therefore why it is a colour that is so often synonymous with corporate branding.  The lighter, brighter blue of Barclays bank logo seems friendly and appealing, but is it the right kind of blue which tells us that they can be trusted with our money?  The strong mid blue of the NHS logo and darker Boots blue look more business-like and efficient.

  

Blue can also be accused of appearing cold and unfriendly. Ideally I think using more than one colour in a brand logo offers an opportunity to communicate more than one message. For example, I like the Robert Dyas logo. Here a deep teal blue is used with a more vibrant green and lighter blue. There’s something both reassuring and trustworthy about this combination given by the brighter, friendly green and earthier blue.

 

 

Would you like to find out more about colour? For design profressionals or colour enthusiasts – 3 new course dates for 2013!

Click on the links for more information:

Exploring colour in your world – one day workshop 26th January Guildford, Surrey

Earlybird booking by 21st December – save £30!

Colour psychology for graphic design and communication – 2 day course 17th & 18th January Guildford, Surrey

Earlybird booking by 14th December – save £40!

Colour psychology for interior design – 2 day course 21st & 22nd February Guildford, Surrey

Earlybird booking by 18th January – save £40!

 

 

This week – and following on from previous posts about colour trends of the 1960s and ’70s -  I’ve posted some colour boards and trend influences from the 1980s and ’90s.

The 1980s became a decade of global economic boom, and the excess and exaggeration of the era expressed itself in largesse and strong style statements.

 Strong growth in the Japanese economy put  major companies Sony and Toyota on the global platform. The trend for Japanese fashion blossomed with the work of popular designers Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto. Their stark fashion colour palettes strengthened the use of black and grey in design and more serious, strong colour palettes overall. In turn Japanese design influenced western graphic, furniture and architectural designers.

The huge success of ‘Uber’ TV soap Dallas and controversial advertising created for Calvin Klein jeans in the 1980s featuring a 15 year old Brooke Shields, popularised the marketing of jeans which encouraged designers to explore the ‘urban cowboy’ style.

The  fascination with the changing colours of the desert landscape of New Mexico inspired artist Georgia O’Keeffe, whose touring exhibition became phenomenally succesful across America. The casual mix of Old West, Native American and Spanish cultures caught on as a decorating look for interiors. The bleached out colour palette centred on earthy mauves, rich browns, sand and sage greens.

After the early recession period of the 1990s and as a result of the increase in media channels, the world emerged as a ‘global village’ and gave birth to the internet, meaning events, commerce and culture became internationalised. We became more aware of  turbulent happenings around the world too. The need to escape technology and disruption in the world led creatives to look for inspiration from other cultures.

The urge to retreat from the urbanised world influenced a more soothing and tranquil design style aiming to express the values of Zen Buddhism. The number of spas and spa services doubled around the world typified by a soft, ethereal, natural colour palette.

Mass media changed the face of luxury goods marketing. What we saw the rich and famous wearing – we wanted. Huge luxury corporations such as Louis Vuitton and Burberry saw an opportunity to grow by delivering ‘luxury for less’ accessibly priced, branded products for everyone. The term ‘bling’ was coined and style became a commodity.

Colour has meaning for us at an emotional level and is evocative of a mood or ”period’ with which we will associate it. Over these last few decades we can see how we have used colour to reflect and express the social, economic and cultural themes of the time.

Learn more about colour and how it influences everything from what we choose to buy, to how we choose to dress and how we decorate. Exploring Colour in Your World a one-day workshop on Saturday 21 July 2012. Click here for more details and to book!

Following on from a look at a couple of  themes that influenced 1960s colour trends, this post moves on to the next decade illustrating the birth of environmental interest, and the smack in the face that was ‘punk’!

After the psychedelia of the 1960s, world interest focussed on the environment. Land artists Robert Smithson and James Turrell drew inspiration from ground and rock formations for magnificent installations. Softer colour palettes inspired by the earth and natural beauty reflected the global awakening to the planet’s fragility.

Consumers attracted to the ‘back to nature’ values inspired by the environmental movement, sought out earth tones in fashion and decor. Stronger earthy colours such as Harvest Gold, Avocado and Burnt Orange became key design colours for a brief period. However the intensity of the palette meant that this colour trend had burnt itself out by the end of the decade!

Then along comes the anti-establishment punk movement.  Harsh in look and sound, punk railed against hypocricy. As far removed from earthy, natural tones as possible; the in-your-face, shouty neon bright colours of punk rebelled against sentimental, conventional and traditional values.

Colour as a ‘voice’, expresses a mood of the time. Here we can see how softer, subtle and earthy colours would be reassuring in a time of environmental concern. And how the glaring, neon bright and day-glo colours of punk ‘shout’ to get their message heard.

In preparation for an upcoming lecture at KLC School of Design, I’ve been taking a trip down a colourful memory lane re-visiting popular colour palettes that reflected important social changes over the last few decades.

Trend forecasters help retailers develop product ranges that tap in to key seasonal colour and design trends influenced by social and cultural directions. But, tracing colour evolution from decade to decade and observing how certain colours were inspired and reflected the ‘mood’ or climate at the time, can also provide a fascinating insight on what might be next ?

Below (and in the next couple of posts to follow) I’ve selected a couple of key influences synonymous with that era referencing similar Pantone colours, starting with the 1960s.

1960s – the decade of the ‘Hippy’ and ‘Pop Art’ as typified by artist Andy Warhol. An expansion of (drug fuelled) visual awareness inspired creativity and manifested in ‘psychedelia’ with its eye-popping, intense colours. Helpfully, developments in petro-chemicals, plastics and synthetic dye technology meant that a wider range of colours could be processed using artificial pigments.

1960s - A period of Brit Cool as the quirky, eccentric modern style of  British designers; Mary Quant, Barbara Hulanicki, Ossie Clark and Zandra Rhodes were inspired by (among other things) Art Nouveau, Middle East, Art Deco and India, influencing a more muted, warm colour palette.

(My thanks for inspiration to Pantone ‘The 20th Century in Colour‘)

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