Color Harmony Compendium

45

And What’s Next?

The industry magazine Ward’s Auto

World predicts that “effects such as matte

and gloss, reflective and iridescent, and

opaque and phosphorescent, are some

of the new automotive coating trends

expected to show up on dealer lots in the

next few years.” Holographic, refractive,

and glow-in-the-dark color research is

also underway, not only for use on cars,

but in product packaging as well.

This means big business for many

industries. When glow-in-the-dark

material was first produced in children’s

sneakers, for example, the resulting effect

proved irresistible to both boys and girls,

greatly boosting sales.

Once the technology is perfected,

the next step involves romancing the

consumer. That’s why color naming

has become a science unto itself, coining

monikers that are as visual as they

are vivid.

The experts at the Color Marketing

Group have always been especially inven-

tive. Metallic names have included

Shimma, “a shimmer, a shake, a little

golden flake”; Fortune Teller, “a deep-

ened, metallic hue that looks into the

future of gray and silver”; Champagne

Bubble, “celebrating the marriage of

Silver to Gold with Art Deco glamour”;

and Root Beer, a copper-based rich

brown with “pop.”

From the Ralph Lauren paint line

come Looking Glass Slipper, Ballroom

Gold, and Oyster Pearl, all bringing to

mind the elegant luster of Lauren’s

Duchesse Satin wall finish.

Feel the need for speed? Harley-

Davidson can rev up your engine with

the custom colors Sinister Blue Pearl or

Arresting Red. And what child wouldn’t

be happy with a playroom painted fluo-

rescent Saturn Yellow, Blaze Orange, or

Rocket Red?

But whether tantalized by the name

or the multicolored finish, “the human

eye is always stimulated by novelty,”

according to experts at Pantone. Techno-

logical advances in special-effects color

finishes should keep delivering surprises

for many years to come.