It's Bridget Otto Thursday!

Thursday is becoming "Bridget A. Otto Thursday". Today via The Oregonian's Homes & Garden section, Otto captures our attention with the article
Color vision, Forecasters home in on future trends.

Color is big business.

Steve Noble, with the Luxury Marketing Council, told people at a 2004 interior design seminar in Seattle that accurate forecasting translates to fortunes. He talked about an ad featuring a chartreuse Saab. Looking back over my notes from that seminar I find this notation next to chartreuse: "sleeper color."

He called it.

Color Marketing Group uses a democratic approach, as Conroy calls it. Each year, during conferences in the spring and the fall, members break into workshops and, before discussing color, consider what key influences will drive color direction.

Those influences can come from the economy or world events, such as Hurricane Katrina.

"These things dramatically impact how people look at the world," Conroy said. Sad news keeps people closer to home, which, in the color forecasting world, translates to more soothing colors.

Conversely, just like the expression "the future looks rosy," colors brighten when things are going well.

Cultural influences also have an effect. As technology knits the world more tightly, we see, taste and feel other countries' influences more quickly. This plays out in a category the color group labels "Hybrid."

The bottom line for 2006:

"Colors for 2006 will be warmer, clearer and brighter," the color forecasters report. "Reddened oranges will replace coppery hues; yellows will gain importance; blues will dramatically recede; and complex neutrals will add sophistication and luxury to the 2006 Consumer Color Palette."

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery