CapsuleBlog

The power of color

Color is something that's all around us, yet we often overlook its powerful ability to impact both mood and perception. Pantone is often looked to as the color gurus, so lets take a look at what they earlier predicted to be the big color hits of fall/winter 2009/10.

Pantone says, "A natural choice during uncertain times, patriotic American Beauty,a wonderfully balanced, true red, speaks to the need for cohesiveness. Perfect for all skin tones, American Beauty is a feel-good color. Purple Heart connotes a sense of refinement and sensuality, adding an air of creativity and excitement to the top 10, especially when paired with American Beauty."

Congratulations, Pantone. You were right on the money with American Beauty and Purple Heart. Jewel-toned shades certainly become more popular with the cooler weather, and this is more apparent in 2009 than ever. From cosmetic companies to haute couture fashion houses, fabric designers to interior decorators, purple isn't going anywhere anytime soon in the creative industries

All eyes are on your face.

Typefaces are everywhere. That billboard. The tissue box. The pen you stole from the last hotel the company sent you to. Do you know your Goudy and your Garamond? Meta or Trade Gothic? The impact type can have on mood can't be underestimated. To a designer, Goudy is to burlap as Garamond is to silk.

The number of typefaces available is hard to even comprehend. Think truckloads of telephone books. The downside of this abundance is that misuse abounds. Quite sad, considering that type has a major presence and a subtle but potent ability to convey tone and personality. Consequently, an unreadable or inappropriate typeface has just as much potential to distract from a beautiful logo design as it does to enhance it.

So how does the humble designer find the golden needle in the haystack -- ie, the right type for the logo design?

1. Gather the largest library of available typefaces that you can access.

2. Consider what the brand needs to communicate and identify the brand's fundamental attributes.

3. Browse typefaces and select a few that communicate the attributes.

4. Conduct type studies, examining how the type works with the letterforms of the brand name.

5. Consider creating a custom typeface, or adapting one to make it unique to the client.

6. Find complementary typefaces that work as a secondary typeface with the primary selection.

7. Review the typeface and gather feedback from other designers.

8. Integrate typefaces into the logo concepts so that you can show them in the first presentation to the client.

To get up-to-date on the latest in type, spend some time with the I Love Typography blog.

Using color in design

One of the most important things to know about color is how to make a client think about it rationally. A lot of clients can't help but burden colors with emotional associations. For no reason in particular, one man's burnt sienna is another man's nightmare. When discussing color with clients, let your swatches do the talking.

Once your swatches have spoken their piece, you can move your lips. Ask what the client likes. But more importantly, what does their audience like? What will make the design stand out in the current market? Make sure the client factors in how the logo's color will extend into every facet of business: from overall system color to office carpeting.

Let your client pick a few favorites, then review how each will work with the brand objectives, based on competitors, industry and brand personality. Talk the client through the ways the color gets people talking and buying into the brand. Remember, the rainbow is infinite. Focus the client, or you'll never find the end of it!

If the client wants to build an innovative brand, take some color risks accordingly. Drop names of important brands that have dared to color where nobody has colored before. Cemstone is a great example. The Midwest construction company owns robin's egg blue. Rack your brain for the other company that owns that shade... expensive diamonds, anyone? Tiffany + Co, of course. Here we have a brand perched a million debutantes away from the rugged (manly) terrain of construction. Precisely why Cemstone is so brilliant in its color choice - the vibrant hue busts the brand free from the grey fog in which industry competitors quietly drift off.

The most common mistake in logo design is creating a logo that requies more than one color to retain the original concept. A successful logo needs the ability to present the same concept in one color as it does three. If the logo requires three colors, this could be costly to produce in some media.

Here's a guide to the color consideration process:

- Find a color you can own in your category. It will aid brand recognition tremendously and add to brand equity.
- Understand color's cultural considerations. Cultural meaning varies greatly. Weed out variations and any negative associations.
- Identify a color that consistently comumunicates from chip to ink, toner, the Web, threads, signage and standard paint.
- Understand how electronic file formats affect color in the files. An .eps files won't treat color in the same way as a .jpg file made for the web.
- Color science is always evolving due to new discoveries about the human brain's reaction to color.
- Color impacts memory and contributes meaning to a brand. Proceed with thoughtful discretion and respect for its power.

Want to see how Pantone predicts color trends?

Oh Target, you're teasing me!

Seems like only the other day I was talking about Target's clever design for all stance.

Well, in my regular perusal of the Apartment Therapy blog, I came across mention that the latest designer to grace Target's aisles is the fabulous Orla Kiely.

Yep, your eyes read right. Orla Kiely. If you haven't heard of her, you must acquaint yourself at once with her colorful, vintage-inspired designs. Can't get enough. Her usual range of clothing, accessories and papergoods is a little out of my range. But a Target line? Yes please!

The word in the blogosphere is that the line of homewares would be in stores on Feb 1. The Target press release says the same. So last night I trekked in the subzero tundra to the local SuperTarget, drooling in anticipation...

Did I find it?

Let's just say my heart broke. The disappointment was palpable. There was one, tiny, pathetic endcap with several magazine and media boxes from the range. A mere tease.

But where were the aprons, the pitchers, the platters, the plates?

Can anyone enlighten me? Anyone willing to haunt their local store?

Presenting... Mimosa

Pantone's hot color of the year is a warm, golden shade of yellow it named Mimosa.

"The color yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance," explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. "Mimosa also speaks to enlightenment, as it is a hue that sparks imagination and innovation."

Wouldn't it be a cool job if your main role was figuring out color trends of the future?

Maclife.com interviewed Eiseman to find out how she does it:

Eiseman doesn’t spend her working days locked up in a room crunching data or aiming darts at a brilliantly hued board to see where they land. Rather, she identifies color trends by synthesizing history, current events, psychology, marketing principles, fine art, pop art, and street fashion, along with all the information culled from her own color surveys.

“Right now, I’m researching the color preferences prevalent during previous recessions,” Eiseman says. “What I’m finding is that neutrals are preferred during economic downturns, especially for big-ticket items. People don’t want to invest in trendy-colored items when times are tough. They’re looking for stability and longevity.”

Nevertheless, Eiseman says that flooding the market with beige items isn’t necessarily the right approach right now. Instead, manufacturers should focus on coming up with new ways of combining neutrals with livelier colors to “tweak the consumer’s eye and spark interest.

Yellow was very prevalent in the fashion and interior design feel of 2008, particularly when teamed with gray, but I was a little surprised that Pantone didn't move away from it in a new direction for 2009.

Anyway, it's kind of a bad color for blondes.

Thoughts?

Fat Labels

Many moons ago when I bought a bottle of Fat Bastard wine, it was for pure novelty. Austin Powers had just come out, and the idea of it made me giggle like the underage girl that I was. Since then, my palate has become little bit more sensitive and a lot more sophisticated, translation, I love me a good tannic wine, and the big, bold Spanish reds. Plus, I'm now 100% legal to drink.

But closer to the point of this post, Fat Bastard has also matured. Their new label is delightfully cheeky as their mark/mascot interacts with the actual label. In my book, that tactic can never go too wrong. It's just a simple, smart move that elevates the entire design. I say well done sir. And may I have another glass? Get a closer look here, and here.

Oops! I Did it Again.

The jack o'lantern of Britney Spears won't be winning any design awards. But, we'll give it high marks on creativity. Not to mention, it's quite scary when you think about it. Happy Halloween.

Designing for the People

The folks at National Design Awards have created an envy-worthy list of designs for the lot of us to nominate as our favorite. They range from floating pools, to "everything is ok" police tape to a very familar milk bottle design. Check it out and vote for your favorite here.

Simplicity

Good design is simple, whether it be for a logo or for Isotypes (International System of Typographic Picture Education). Isotypes were introduced in 1936 to communicate essential information to the masses without language. In a blog by Steven Heller and Brian Collins for Good, you can see how universal symbols help us cut through the limitations of language.

Often it is said both, "words cannot describe" and "a picture is worth a thousand words." The irony may be, the more simple the design, the better it communicates. Link.

The Ying and The Yang

It's the inescapable nature of the duality of all things reflected in a lamp. Kevin Patrick McCarthy describes it as light and shade. We enjoy the irony of the beauty that comes from adding darkness to enhance light. Link.