Monday February 4 2019 THE NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM, BIRMINGHAM
talking trends ‘Think about colour in a new way’
Beware of ‘always’ and ‘never’ when discussing colour, says Lee Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute
you want to convey. While some colours have traditionally been
viewed as either ‘cold’ or ‘warm’ (and you were never to combine them), Lee said there are many ways to adjust them and use them together in the same palette. “Changing the value or intensity of a colour can be important to changing its temperature,” she said. For instance, incorporating greens and
purples is an “artful, almost magical” way of linking ‘cool’ and ‘warm’ colours, since they are considered the bridges of the colour wheel. And greens and purples are very popular
right now, with ‘Ultra-Violet’ being the 2018 Pantone Colour of the Year (pictured above right) and ‘Greenery’ the 2017 winner. Purple is no longer considered a colour of
royalty, said Lee, and consumers are seeing it used on everything, from concept cars and food to animated films and housewares. “Whether we’re thirsting for an object of
“ W
hile many guidelines surrounding colour usage have stood the test of time, consumer
perceptions of colour are always changing - and there are fewer hard and fast rules than in the past.” That’s the verdict of Lee Eiseman. In her second keynote session at the 2018 International Home + Housewares Show*, the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute and colour expert for the International Housewares Association (IHA), said: “We have to think about colour in a new way. There are some givens that will always remain the same but there are other things to be learned. “The goal of colour harmony is to provide visual appeal and a sense of order, which results in a dynamic equilibrium that helps engage the consumer - and gets them pulled into your product.” That said, she then pointed out that there
are times in today’s marketplace where a sense of disorder is actually embraced. Lee noted that ‘power-clashing’ - the new
buzzword in colour - is extremely popular these days and is especially effective when there is a sense of irreverence or whimsy that
June 2018
beauty or we’re simply thirsty, there’s no denying that an inherent fascination for colour and colour effects is deeply embedded in the human psyche,” she said. “As part of our psychological development, colour is unquestionably tied to our emotions and intellect. Every colour has meaning that we inherently sense or have learned about through association and/or conditioning.” A large part of our association is related to natural phenomena. For example, yellow is largely associated with sunshine, even though some people and companies shy away from using the shade. An updated way to get around this, Lee advised, is to use a subtler colour with a yellow undertone, such as coral or apricot.
Blue is still widely perceived as a colour of dependability and hopefulness, stemming from its popular association with a blue sky that will always eventually reappear after the clouds part. To stay current, there are many different ways to skew blue shades or select spot colours to use along with blue, she said. Lee also pointed out that the proportion of colour used is important to remember. “Since colour is rarely used in isolation, the most successful combinations are those that use the most common visual cue in the right kind of proportion to elicit a response,” she explained. Pulling some examples of how to update colour palettes and proportions, Lee showed four palettes featured in her latest book (‘The Color Harmony, Pantone® Edition’):
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• The Urban palette uses traditional shades of blue and grey to represent the sky and tall buildings, but also incorporates some green to represent the pockets of greenery popping up in metropolitan areas such as parks and rooftop gardens.
• The Picante palette uses warm reds, oranges and yellows to represent spicy turmeric, curry and Dijon-like mustards, but is modernised by shades of purple.
• The Subtle palette expands on the traditional notion of only taupe, grey and off- white as neutral colours, by incorporating some greyed-down pastel colours such as mauve.
• The Rich palette uses traditional reds and browns to represent the decadence of chocolate or a sip of fine wine, but an olive green “adds a little spark” to move the colour combination forward.
Finally, Lee shared a few of the most notable changes in consumers’ perception of colours today.
Once thought of as only “Barbie Dolls and bubble gum”, pinks - hot pink in particular - have made gains as a symbol of feminine respect and clout, she said. And brown, which used to have a negative connotation of dirt, now conveys richness, whether in terms of nutrient-rich soil or flavour-rich coffee. Brown was featured on the spring runways this year.
* Owned and operated by the IHA, the 2018 International Home + Housewares Show was held in Chicago from March 10 to March 13. For more information, visit
www.housewares.org. Read Lee’s first keynote session in Housewares Magazine’s May issue (p17).
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