Avient lists future trends affecting colour preferences
Avient Corporation has announced the release of ColorForward 2023, the 17th edition of the annual colour forecasting guide for the plastics industry created by its ColorWorks team.
As it has for almost two decades, a group of colour and social trend experts from around the world convened for five days to identify four global trends that can be expected to influence consumers’ response to colour over the next few years. The team assigned five colours and/or colour effects to represent key elements of each trend for a total of 20 trend-based colours. The result is a unique package of inspirational materials to help plastic product designers and marketing professionals make more informed colour choices for new products and packaging.
The lingering influence of the COVID 19 pandemic is seen in Mare Tranquillitatis, a trend that notes increasing awareness and concern about mental health, along with its care and treatment. The colours in this palette are mostly cool, transparent, and in a couple of cases, fluorescent, plus a random splash effect to represent growing acceptance of the medical use of certain psychoactive substances.
The Code Blue theme is not so much about the colour itself, but rather the hospital alarm message indicating an extreme emergency – in this case, the planet is the patient in climate crisis. Here the colours are earthy, but appropriately toned down, dark and somewhat dirty to reflect the anxiety many people are experiencing.
Those fears are particularly acute among younger generations, but these are also the people who are pushing for action not just on climate but on a whole range of issues that will shape the future. This trend, named CatalyƧt (the backward ‘S’ is a reference to Generation Z, the group just now coming of age), is represented by a palette of mostly bright, hopeful, but also serious colours.
The most eclectic family of colours, including transparent, metallic, interferential, and special effects, is assigned to Meet-your-verse, a trend that recognises the emerging influence of “The Metaverse”. Forecast to be as important an innovation as the internet, it promises to open up a whole new world that accommodates different means of human interaction as well as a potential escape from reality.
Avient offers ColorForward seminars at its four ColorWorks design and technology centres around the world, as well as at selected conferences and customer sites. Those interested in learning more about collaborating with Avient’s ColorWorks service can do so by visiting https://www.avient.com/resource-center/services/color-services/colorworks