icans still fear bold colors in their spaces. Corporate or commercial buildings tend to rely on a neutral palette for public spaces and allow tenants to bring more of their own identities or branded colors onto their floors. An easy way to add pops of color in neutral public spaces is through accesso- ries and artwork. “I was in Miami recently and walked by an office building that was all white, but someone had collected blue and white Chinese Canton ware and made it the color theme throughout,” Woodman recalls. “Blue in Miami is really cooling.” He adds texture also can add interest to a neutral space. Color rules, such as blue providing a cool- ing ambiance in a hot city like Miami, still ring true and should be taken into consider- ation when choosing color schemes within a space. To put it simply, cool colors are blues,
greens and purples, and warm colors are oranges, reds and yellows. Woodman, however, relies more on color
“temperature” rather than the hue itself when choosing colors. For example, fast-food chains use very bright red on hard surfaces. “Red is a very aggressive color; it’s also an ap- petite stimulant,” Woodman says. “If you put an aggressive color on a hard surface, people will get in, get their food, eat their food and get out. If you darken the red to a burgundy and put it on a soft fabric you’ve given it deeper value so it’s more welcoming and slows customers down. The classic color for a fine restaurant has always been a burgundy color. The red inherently is exactly the same but two different outcomes come from it.”
2013 Trends As part of his duties for Color Marketing
Natural elements, like the linear patterns of Mix (top) and Borderline (bottom), can promote dimension and a welcoming atmosphere in a neutral space.