In honor of Spring, we thought we'd take a look at the colors of the season. Pantone’s Spring 2013 palette is called “Balancing Act.” In it, “designers overwhelmingly address consumers’ desire for self-expression, balance and the need to re-energize.”
You can download Pantone’s Spring 2013 report for free. In this report you will find numerous designers describing how they interpreted the colors you see above for Spring. Not only are their interpretations enlightening, but the illustrations showing their designs are fabulous!
The designers in the report include Tracy Reese, Peter Som, Herve Leger, Rachel Roy, Ella Moss, Charlotte Ronson, Tadashi Shoji, Pamella Roland, Carmen Marc Valvo, David Meister, BCBG, Nanette Lepore, Nicole Miller, Cynthia Steffe, Barbara Tfank, Lela Rose, Bibhu Mohapatra, Sachin + Babi, Tommy Hilfiger, NAHM, Karen Walker, TiA CiBANI, Marimekko, Wes Gordon, Cushnie et Ochs, Custo Barcelona, Saunder, and Elie Tahari. ~Sarah
Benjamin Moore’s fantastic color presentation is back at this year's Design San Francisco event at the San Francisco Design Center. The title is “UNEXPECTED COLOR.” Mary Hoffman, Color and Design Specialist for Benjamin Moore, will be showcasing Benjamin Moore’s newest color collection — Color Stories — with a discussion on the complexity of color and a look at today’s color and dynamic combinations.
There are two available presentation times:
February 6, 2013, 3-4pm, SFDC Galleria 407
February 7, 2013, 10:30-11:30am, SFDC Galleria 407
This is a very popular presentation and requires RSVP by Feb.1. To RSVP email sfdesigncenter@benjaminmoore.com, and please indicate which presentation you are attending. There is no cost to attend this event. RSVP early as these presentations tend to book up.
 The Benjamin Moore presentation is part of the larger Design San Francisco event put on annually by SFDC. It is a 3-day event that is open to the public. There is no cost associated with attending and there are lots of presentations related to textiles. For more information, visit www.sfdesigncenter.com (click on "View full program here" to find a PDF with specifics).
 Image from http://www.pantone.com Good bye Tangerine Tango, hello Emerald--Pantone's Color of the Year for 2013! In a jump from 2012's energizing red-orange hue to this bold jewel tone, Pantone's 2013 choice reflects a trend towards regrowth, contentment, and a little luxury. Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute® sums it up best on their web site:
"The most abundant hue in nature, the human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrum. As it has throughout history, multifaceted Emerald continues to sparkle and fascinate. Symbolically, Emerald brings a sense of clarity, renewal and rejuvenation, which is so important in today's complex world. This powerful and universally-appealing tone translates easily to both fashion and home interiors."
Although I still have a thing for Tangerine Tango, it might be time for a little more harmony and lushness in my color palettes. What about you? Do you plan to use Emerald in any upcoming designs? What are your thoughts on color trends? Do tell . . .
Kiera
Have you started your design yet? What are you waiting for? Spring is here, and inspiration abounds!
In case you are just tuning in, SPDG has issued a challenge to its members: create a surface pattern design using the palette shown below. And do it by May 14!
Why May 14? Because that’s our next meeting! Bring your new design for show-and-tell. We’d love to hear about your inspiration and process.
And for all of you non-local members... you can participate too! After our May 14 meeting, we’ll be asking everyone to post their designs in our members-only forums so we can all share!
Are there any other requirements? No! Designs can be any style for any market...just use the palette we’ve provided!
Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
~ Sarah (the original Design Challenge post is here).
 Image from http://www.michaelharding.co.uk I bought a dress shirt for my husband, and the saleslady said, "Hope he enjoys this navy stripe shirt!" I said, "Wait, what? I thought it was a black striped shirt!" "Sure!" she chirped, "a lot of customers mistake it for black, but it's blue!" "Well, it sure looks black to me," I replied. "I'm not gonna argue with you!" she fairly sang. She was clearly enjoying the argument. I still say it was black stripes.Have you ever had a dispute over color like this with friends, family, or spouse? As designers, it cannot be overstated how important our color vision is, and how sensitive we must be to nuanced differences in shades and hues. Some designer positions even require color testing. Correct color perception can make all the difference as to whether your design grabs your target customer, or gets passed over. The number of hues that the human eye can see is disputable, varying from 100,000 to 10 million. Nevertheless, it is our job to have a trained eye in distinguishing colors. One of the standard color vision tests requires the subject to arrange 15 colored discs in order through the spectrum. The colors are identical in value, however, so the subject must be sensitive to the different hues. Here's an online version to the test.Wanna take this to the next level? Try your hand at distinguishing among 100 different hues at this website.Then, challenge your friends, family or spouse, and see who should be buying the striped shirts in your household.Best,Wendy
Stuck for a palette? Then check out this blog: www.design-seeds.com. Inspirational palettes are posted daily based on gorgeous images. But it’s not just the fabulous images that make this site worth a visit. If you like a particular color, you can hover over the swatch to the right of the image and the hex code for the color will appear. You can enter the hex code directly into Photoshop or Illustrator, and voilà, you have the color in your own designs!
Screen shot taken from www.design-seeds.com
But the real magic starts on this site when you click on the color swatch (to the right of the image). Here, I clicked on the dark teal color. When I did, several palettes with that dark teal appeared (so many choices!).
There is also a fun RGB tool, which allows you to move the sliders to make a completely new color. Find new palettes for your new color by clicking on the “go get it” link. And if you don’t have a particular color in mind, you can search for palettes based on a theme like “vintage” or “autumn.”
Screen shot taken from www.design-seeds.com
You may actually find, like I did, that great stretches of time mysteriously disappear when you visit this site! Great eye-candy, super useful, and super easy!
~Sarah
Pantone has chosen it's 2012 color of the year—a bright reddish orange called Tangerine Tango. Pantone seems to be continuing last year's trend of cheerful optimism with this bold, lively color. To learn more about Tangerine Tango and Pantone, visit www.pantone.com.
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