Pantone Color Forecast {Spring + Fall '08}
Many know about Pantone, the mega color standards company who unveils color forecasts for each season -- today their Fall '08 forecast was released to the public on their website. I always download mine and print it out in color so it's handy. It's important for all designers to preview the next it colors - from interiors to fashion, product, and beyond.
Spring '08 Palette."Refreshing splashes of invigorating brights punctuate classic, versatile neutrals as designers offer a playful spring palette for endless exploration and creative combinations. Variations on popular colors such as energizing red, cool, waterborne blue and eco-friendly greens also play a key role this season." - Pantone
Pantone scours advertising, magazines, movies, websites, and other facets of pop culture to unearth color cues, even surveys of socio-economic trends, art exhibits, and considering even the state of the global economy. After intense research and analysis, they sell colors to clients a few years in advance and then poll them to discern popular choices so they can then produce color planning guides that influence the multitudes. I walked around for years thinking these trends just happened for no reason at all. But oh no, everything is calculated. That's why it's critical for you to know what the color forecast is for each season because then you can use it as a guide in your design in order to stay current.
Fall '08 Palette. Here are the Fall '08 color trends in fashion. These trends are mirrored in home design, too. Here's the Spring forecast in case you missed it. Now when you browse current magazines and catalogs you can look for these colors.
(images from pantone)