Long-term Colour

  Long-term Colour

THINKING NON-SEASONAL

The 2020 pandemic has pushed people all around the world to a slower pace, forcing us to rethink almost every aspect of our lives, from how we work and live to how we make and consume products. The global health crisis is an involuntary but necessary pause that we can use to reset the buttons of the unsustainable consumer goods system we have created. This reset includes reconsidering how we develop new products and the pace with which we determine new colours.

The worlds of industrial colour and fashion colours are coming together. Fashion is moving towards a more long-term use of colour similar to how industrial companies work. Industrial companies commit to a colour for a longer time; decisions to add or change colours are significant investments. Slowing the pace of fashion down brings this way of thinking about colour into a new light.

THE SEARCH FOR NEWNESS

Change is the driving force behind the progress of the human race; curiosity about new things pushes us forward. By playing, experimenting and exploring the unexpected, we create new behaviour. Over the last 30 years, we have witnessed an increasingly rapid cycle of new product offer and purchases. For example, research shows that the average person buys 60 per cent more items of clothing today than 15 years ago. Next to that, the price of our products has dropped in recent years, and we use our products less long. Can we satisfy our desire for novelty without harming the planet? People love new things, how can you create a five-year colour card and a flow of colours that still surprises and adds a sense of newness? There will always be a hunger for novelty, but this needs to embrace sustainable practices.

SUSTAINABILITY

Attention to the devastating impact of consumer behaviour on the environment is growing. Awareness is raising of how and what we buy. Rather than purchasing new products, people are adopting used, refurbished, repaired, and rental business models. Fashion designers are changing towards non-seasonal clothing collections that last longer. Brands are offering five to ten or even lifetime guarantee and repair services on their garments. When business models change, this will that affect colour choices. If a car is rented instead of being your property and if you are buying clothes to resell them again, does that mean you choose a colour that is universal and timeless?

Left to right, Le Creuset colour as a legacy, Christopher Raeburn responsible production and repair service, 100 year hoodie by Vollebak.

ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES

The economic consequences from the Covid-19 pandemic are significant, and people rethink their purchases. Each purchase becomes an investment. The seasonal ever-changing will lose its appeal and drive fast-changing product offers out of fashion. Consumer behaviour will change; people want value for money and long-lasting products. There will be a return to value and artisanship. The goal is smaller collections with more importance given by materials and craftsmanship, sold at full price.

INDUSTRIAL COLOURS

Industrial colours have a longer timeline, and the scale of their use is often much more significant than in fashion. In smaller electronic goods and household appliances, fashion thinking has been used to create collections and editions, but also here we will see a slower colour pace. New technologies influence the usage of colour and their timelessness. Sustainability, durability, and digitalisation are essential drivers in finishes and coatings. 3D visualisations in sampling make it easy to try out different palettes without creating the actual samples. Increased functionality of coatings and materials is improving efficiency and achieving greater sustainability.

Creating a long-term colour palette

COLOUR LANGUAGE

A long term approach to colours that aims at making less impact on the planet requires a new way of thinking about newness. Season-less does not always mean a palette of basic colours. A season-less colour palette can contain unique colours that are timeless and can have a long lifespan while still sparking interest. Designing and colouring for a long life can reinforce the brand's identity by creating a specific colour language that people recognise. Analyze your colour language and create an evolution. Playing and translating the brand's codes and heritage into colours can be exciting, timeless and novel at the same time.

DATA-DRIVEN

Digital tools and online shopping has influenced colour; products have to speak to customers online. Big data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence can analyse consumer preferences and suggest colour choices based on data. But choosing the exact shade of dark blue that will be relevant for the coming years remains a human skill. Colour is a source of information. People make up their minds within 90 seconds of their initial interactions with either people or products.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

A colour palette that can last for a more extended time requires creativity, research and experimentation with colour. The colour selection should eventually become a symphony. A colour palette for five to ten years means less waste because the materials can be reused. New dyeing methods should be explored and tested, perfecting the production cycle and making it more sustainable, with using less toxic materials and less water.

COLOUR’S MORAL CODE

There will always be black, dark blue and grey or beige in a collection. The colours next to these colours should be tones that have enough personality and relevance to last. Colours are signs of the times, the shade of a beige, a green or a yellow expresses the spirit of the times. People are buying pieces of colour to suit their style, personalities and to express themselves. We are using colour more and more because of the message we want to convey and less because it is the trend colour. Instead of symbols of class and lifestyle colours are valued for their timelessness, expression, comfort, spirit or freedom.

Long-term colour

A COLOUR STRATEGY

CALMING GREEN

For defining what colours the long-term colour palette should contain, green will remain essential, as a reference of nature and because green is calming and soothing for our wellbeing. The colour green brings us closer to nature. The long-term palette should have two soothing green tones in it.

FOREVER BLUE

The colour blue is calming and gives us room to breathe and stand for the horizon we so need. Lighter shades of blue convey the colour's peaceful, subdued meaning. Blues with a touch of grey or blues that are full and dark will last for the coming years. The dark blues can also be mysterious and moody.

NEW NEUTRALITY

Harsh times ask for warmth and comfort, and the neutrals can fulfil that need. Neutrals are pure and comfortable in the eye; the neutral colours can complement any other colour. Neutral colours stand for the move towards a climate-neutral society. Belongings are made to be used again and not have any impact on the environment. Neutral colours are not demanding but are in balance with their surroundings. Use the warmer tinted white instead of cool bright white. All neutrals have a hint of red to them to make them warmer.

EXPRESSIVE BRIGHTS

A long term colour palette can have bright colours. We need optimistic colours even when the pandemic will be over we will need to recover. Colour that spark optimism such as bright yellow will remain valid for the next five years. Other bright colours that represent the demand for justice and change that is needed in society. With these colours, you can show your political preference and let your voice be heard. Colours can represent symbols of justice; the brights are there to be loud and fierce.

TRANSITIONAL GREYS

The greys are an essential base for a long term colour palette as they are a saturation of all colours mixed. The greys are a symbol for modesty and can be used matt of shiny. The grey tones are not cool colours; they are warm and rich greys. The darkest greys are off blacks and gunmetals.

Banner image, Inside the horizon by Olafur Eliasson at Foundation Louis Vuitton

You can find the images in the imagebank

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