COLOR PULSE 2011

I recently went to a seminar at The World Trade Center here in Dallas regarding Trends for 2011, presented by Fran Mooney (Design Specialist for Benjamin Moore).

Benjamin Moore has done much research regarding how trends evolve and how they forecast what colors and textures are going to be in style for the next years to come. They gather their information by the influence of what’s on the runways in fashion, lighting & accessories.

From the rural influences to urban application, BALANCE is supported by 4 themes for COLOR PULSE 2011. The Farm, Order, Escape, and Tribe. Here are some the notes I jotted down and I though you would find them informative and interesting. You can order the book COLOR PULSE 2011.

Click here for more information on Benjaman Moore Webinars too. The class I took is available on these Webinars and I hear they are fantastic, the first one is already sold out! I've got my book on order and know it's going to be a fantastic reference.

FARM – Back to the basics

At the forefront is self sufficiency and the elimination of waste. Make do lifestyle, hands in the soil, organic crops, farmer’s markets, rooftop gardens, growing our own herbs, inside gardens, tea stains, tie die designs, basket weave (including macroma if you can believe that).

Remember Macroma?? I thought it was gone forever!

Knitting, crochet, quilting, patchwork. Colors of hay, organic fruits and vegetables. (Glad I know how to knit).

If you look down the produce isle, all the prominent colors of orange, green, red down to the soft earth tones of the mushrooms, etc. The greens of a farm and all the berry colors.

ORDER – Less is more

Geometry takes center stage with circles/dots, triangles, squares, stacked linear directions. We will all be taking advantage of our spaces, putting them in order. We will see geometric effect with sculpture. Irregular shapes/abstract and linear. We will see lots of stripes in general. As we see now, there are a lot of abstract patterns in the fashion world already. Patterened nylons and patterned legs are back.
Polka dots, circles and pattern on pattern. Black and white is at the forefront of this. Lots of grayscale and color blocking. Grey gives a great foundation for color. Grey will be mixed a lot with yellows. Red and black are also all over Europe right now. Feminine is much more prominent, with soft pinks. Heals and hats are much more architectural and color infused.

My friend just sent me a picture of these shoes she bought!

Find these at Zappos.com

ESCAPE – Departure from reality.

The whole idea of angelic and floating. Layered with transparencies, halo’s and wings of expression. Clound like structures; white, soft and fluffy. All mysterious, not what it seems. Steamy, misty environments. In fashion, the mood ring. For lighting, free floating designs. Pearlized and glistening describe ESCAPE. The shape being petite and the scale becoming smaller. Lots of photo images on fabrics. Colors being light and transparent. Soft whites, corals, peaches, light violet, pink. Black being the strong sophisticated color. Kind of out there for me but some may love this!

TRIBE - Cultural home for center and communication with others.

Very rich culture influence. Being responsible for animals in primitive ways. Hopeful sign of renewal. Lots of communal tables and gatherings. Interacting with others. Pattern on pattern. Accessories with tribal, text and stick figure designs. Human body being used as design inspiration.

Back to personal communication, personal notes. Gathering of people. Words and language in fashion. Respect for nature is at the forefront. Tortoise, alligator and snake are in. Colors; organic brights, spicy mix of colors, color blocking, bright berries, crimson/scarlet, paprika, fuchsia. Earth brown/black. Golds from the earth. Bronze will be the main metal. Teal is at the forefront.