Annual
Color Forecast
Comfort Colors and the
Impact of 9.11
Color communicates and
color sells — products, messages, ideas, environments. So it is not surprising
that the art of color forecasting grows more important with each passing year,
especially for graphic and other professional designers who shape the visual world.
Color trends are by nature evolutionary, changing gradually in step with cultural,
social, economic and technological developments. But once in a long while a compelling
event such as September 11 can have a singular impact — in this case by giving
rise to a desire for colors that connote comfort, familiarity, home, security,
heritage and, yes, innocence and optimism.
Touching on this trend,
Jay de Sibour, president of the Color Marketing
Group, sees "a deep-seated need for people to reevaluate, reposition and reconnect
with family, home, religion and nostalgia." Lisa Herbert of Pantone describes
a trend toward "presenting palettes that are approachable, unpretentious and comforting."
And Margaret Walch, who heads the Color Association
of the United States, says with beautiful simplicity that "Americans are reevaluating
what is important — the safety of the planet, the home and family, honoring
humanity; this sober psychological climate will have a profound influence on color."
This,
then, is the overriding theme of color directions and, of course, most of this
special report addresses how these concepts play out in terms of specific colors
and palettes. That said, the report does not completely ignore certain other trends
that, prior to 9.11, were shaping color directions and are likely to reemerge
over time — technology and the rise of special effects, the movement toward
translucency and transparency; the muting of tones that appear during periods
of economic uncertainty; and the nesting instinct that was already starting to
make itself felt once the nifty but nihilistic 90s ended.
We also note that
our experts observe that graphic designers — and not just clients, manufacturers,
interior and fashion designers — increasingly have a proactive role in the
choice and direction of color.
— The Editors
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