COLOR PICKS for 2010

(By Margit E. Whitlock, AIA, printed in NEWH Magazine)

Fresh coat of paint? Here are the hues Whitlock thinks will be popular in 2010, inspired by a snapshot of societal trends.

Posh Information

Technology is a metal color and dominated by gray. Gray is the new black in design with colors like slate, gunmetal, iron, charcoal, and oyster. Gray is also a blending color.

Depending on if the gray tone is warm or cool; gray will work with any other color carrying it forward.

Harvest

The green movement is developing new beginnings in all aspects of our lives. Although no a new idea, the future of our world depends on our participation in the green machine. Harvest is about growth, fertility, luck, health, and wealth with colors like sage, emerald, forest, leaf, and martini olive.

Passion

Lifestyle desires have changed considerably and I would guess by 2010 our minds and bodies will be the most important aspect in our buying considerations. Passion is viewed in the milky colors of love like pale pink and lilac. You will see a movement towards lots of sparkle, porcelain, and satin finishes. An almost mirror-like sheen on a pale floral color will set the mood.

Neutral

Politics has had its year in 2008, yet by 2010, I predict politics will be "white noise" in the background. I do love white, but not "white-white." We will see white tinged in other hues. Colors like sand, pearl, ivory, and canvas; these colors soften the impact of the other elements taking place in the space.

Smoothie

International influences, aside from our falling dollar, have been and will continue to be extremely important. With the globalization of our lives, we have access to the best of every country. Americans tend to blend everything together and this works amazingly well, just like a good smoothie. Mixing tangerine, currant, banana and papaya is refreshing. Smoothie is the pop color which accents the palette.

Pantone's Tones COLORS 2010

Long associated with the talismanic jewelry of the American Southwest and tropical Caribbean waters, turquoise suggests journeys both spiritual and physical. In a year when we'd all like to escape, even if only a fantasy, PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise was a natural choice for our Color of the Year 2010.

Turquoise has extended its soothing yet invigorating reach into quite unexpected places this year – from footwear to housewares. Have you spotted turquoise lately?

White in design has often been a tenet of minimalism or a driver of simplification and cost reduction. But today's white represents quite the opposite: expansive magical thinking, openness, unlimited possibility. As we enter an era of optimism, the white page, the blank canvas, the clean slate – all of these connote a sense of new beginnings and reflect a new open mindset and a world of creative opportunity. Moreover, our new desire for white reflects our emerging need for purity and clarity, to grasp what is crucial and necessary, to conduct a moral inventory and rethink the essence of life. The new white gives us both the terrain of unlimited possibility and a compass for personal navigation. It's no wonder that today's architects, interior decorators and industrial, automotive and fashion designers all seem to be on the white path once again.

–Steven van der Kruit,
Global Prospective & Trends Director, Perfumery Division, Firmenich

FALL/WINTER 2010: WHAT'S ON THE RUNWAY
As noted in the PANTONE Fashion Color Report for Fall 2010, Coral, that softer, more inviting shade of orange, has been all over the runways – from Chloe and Richard Nicoll's new tonal monochrome statement for Cerruti to Maison Martin Margiela offsetting his take on this warm shade with a gigantic Yeti hat. Check out the hot new runway introductions at RUNWAY/DAILY CHRONICLES on www.stylesight.com

AFRICAN RHYTHMS
As Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute tells us, Africa continues to exert a major influence on color for 2010. With South Africa's selection as host nation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and Nelson Mandela's enduring global appeal, African design is ready for the international stage. Filmmakers are increasingly choosing Africa as the location for movies, and holidaymakers are hard pressed to find anything even close to the magnificence of their National parks. And, not only did last fall's New York Fashion Week showcase African designs alongside the likes of Ralph Lauren and Louis Vuitton, but these fashion greats themselves drew on the continent for inspiration for their own collections.