Depending on the industry and retailer we are forecasting either Spring 2016 or Summer 2016. Not sure how you feel, but the fall predictions were a joke in my eyes and well, so were the previous seasons. At least all of the forecasting groups are in agreement. Wait. That’s a strange coincidence. I suppose this year’s forecast calls for another Fall of low saturation and minimal value contrast across all hues, with a chance of lame burnt oranges. So far, at least it seems to usual go that way. Yes, I imagine that these forecasting palettes are helpful for some industries. Industries like paint companies, certain segments of the fashion industry and maybe those designing for tabletop. Maybe this color forecast is helpful for the team at Crate and Barrel or those designers of consumer products like office supplies, toys, housewares and electronics when they don’t really factor in enough of the other facets that need to be considered when selecting a color. You know, like those little things like brand mission, points of difference and target demographic—I’d love to see Mattel launch a new Barbie Doll in a package colored in Oak Buff or Dried Herb. I am doubtful that any of this year’s color forecasting palette will appear at the store Hot Topic any time soon, but then again their palette is seriously limited, I guess black is implied?
The names are fun, although this seasons Cashmere Rose seems a bit close to Strawberry Ice; much closer than the names would indicate. It would make it all more complex but it might have more value if the palette factored in finishes too. A satin anodized variation of Marsala might be pretty sweet but I am not sure it would be appealing in high gloss. When we select colors with our clients we try to include finishes as well because they are so critical to how the product is perceived. A perfect example of this can be seen in a category such as hair driers--loaded with everything from matte rubberized surfaces to fluorescent metallic. Of course, all the major brands are readily aware of the forecasted trends but their color selections tend to be driven more by brand story and aspiration than the soothsayers. The interesting part of color selection to me are the brands that are linked to a color but evolve subtly over time in finish, texture and hue. We were a small part of this exact kind of project with Kawasaki several years ago and the process of massaging the color and then maintaining it globally in production across a huge range of materials was amazing. That reminds me, looking at the pantone chart it appears that green is out entirely this fall.
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