Clariant’s colour themes for 2013

Clariant’s societal trend matrix

Swiss additive, colourant and masterbatch firm Clariant has launched ColorForward 2013, its seventh colour forecasting guide for the plastics industry.

The company bases its predictions on “intensive research into the most influential societal trends around the world,” entailing a year-long effort by hundreds of plastics industry and trend analysis experts. Clariant enlists colour specialists from a diverse range of industries including architecture, automotive, fashion, housewares, packaging and textiles.

The guidance was finalised at a five-day conference in Italy, held in Milan and at Clariant’s ColorWorks facility in Merate.

The company has based its 2013 colour selections on four societal trends which it has identified and defined as follows:

• “Scien-sational” – Optimism that science and technology will find the best solutions to improve quality of life;
• “Foodture” – Food having taken on a greater meaning than mere sustenance;
• “Communination” – A need to join together with others sharing the same interests and values through social networks;
• “Enough is enough!” – A feeling that life can be enjoyed more by having less, given that accumulating possessions is not the route to happiness.

The Clariant ColorWorks team developed a range of colour palettes which, they say, “resonate with each trend’s influence. The colour palette for Scien-sational represents a sense of the mystique and joy of scientific discovery. Foodture’s palette is very organic and brings to mind a bright, fresh, healthy and tasty salad. Communination offers a warm palette that’s clean, direct and grounded, supportive of the communal outreach. The colours of 'Enough is enough!' foster a sense of quality and durability along with the desire for an emotional connection.”

The palettes which Clariant associates with the trends are quite varied, and will give designers much to think about, according to the company. Cristina Carrara, designer at ColorWorks Europe and a member of the Clariant Masterbatches global ColorForward team comments: “That’s precisely the aim. The colours are conceptual ideas. They are meant to inspire the imagination.” She also points out that the colours can be mixed, matched, and freely adapted to the needs of local markets or blended with regional influences.

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