Subject: MerchandisingSession: 12Content: Color concepts. Use of color concepts for merchandise development

Jagriti Mishra, NIFT, Gandhinagar

Colors

• Color is the biggest motivation for shopping and people buy colors before they buy size, fit, or price.

• New color schemes / color coordination bring customers on floor

• Subtle? daring? sophisticated? inviting?

Physical and psychological reactions to color

• Effect of colors on people and their mood while shopping

• Colors can make up the mood or can calm

• Also colors can make us feel physically hotter or colder

• Effects of colors vary due to cultural and regional differences, also over a period of time

Yellow

Sunshine and Gold,

Happy, Bright, Cheerful, Vital, Fun filled, Alive

Daisies, Marigold, Lemon

Optimism, Relaxation, Wide open armed acceptance of world, Suggestive of change, challenge and innovation

Spring, Summer, Easter

Orange

Friendly, Sociable color

Agreeable, overt, glowing and incandescent

Exciting, vibrant and filled with anticipation

Fire and Flame

A rising sun in tropics or a setting sun in desert

Halloween and autumn leaves

Red

Exciting, Stimulating

Loving, Powerful, Sexy

Assertive, demanding, obvious, or cheap and vulgar

Valentine’s day, Christmas, Father’s Day, Patriotism, Sale

Warning, fear , fire, popular

Purple

Royalty And Wisdom

Nobility, Envy, Sensuality, Spirituality, Creativity,

Wealth, Royalty, Ceremony, Mystery, Wisdom,

Enlightenment, Arrogance,

Flamboyance, Gaudiness,

Exaggeration,

Sexuality, Confusion, Pride,

Riches, Romanticism Delicacy

Pink

Spring,

Gratitude,

Appreciation, Admiration, Sympathy,

Socialism,

Feminity, Health,

Love, Romance, Marriage, Joy,

Flirtatiousness,

Innocence

Child-like

Brown

Earthy,

Environmental

Comforting

Calm, Depth, Nature,

Stability, Tradition,

Roughness,

October,

Simplicity

Dependability

Green

Nature

Initiative

Wealth

Rebirth And Renewal.

Rejuvenation And Energy

Nature

Spring

Fertility

Vigor

Generosity,

Blue

Stable

Depression

Sea, Sky,

Peace, Unity,

Harmony, Tranquility,

Calmness, Trust,

Cool

Confidence

Water, Ice

Dependability

Winter,

White

Purity, Neutrality

Youth

Sterility

Light

Purity

Truth, Snow

Peace,

Innocence, Simplicity

Winter, Coldness,

Fearfulness

Hope

Empty

Black

Death

Intelligence

Rebellion

Mystery

Power

Sophistication

Formality, Elegance, Wealth, Style,

Mystery, Evil, Fear

Seriousness, Sorrow

Gray

Elegance

Stability

Subtlety

Wisdom

Old Age

Pessimism

Boredom, Decay, Decrepitude, Dullness

Pollution, Urban Sprawl

Balance, Neutrality

Mourning, Formality

The Color Wheel

Primary Colors

• Red, yellow and blue

• In traditional color theory, these are the 3 pigment colors that can not be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All other colors are derived from these 3 hues

SECONDARY COLORS

• Green, orange and purple• These are the colors formed by mixing the

primary colors.

TERTIARY COLORS

• Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green and yellow-green.

• These are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. That's why the hue is a two word name, such as blue-green, red-violet, and yellow-orange.

Analogous color scheme

• Analogous colors are colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel. Some examples are green, yellow green, orange and yellow.

• The combination of these colors give a bright and cheery effect in the area, and are able to accommodate many changing moods.

• When using the analogous color scheme, one should make sure there is one hue as the main color.

Monochromatic color scheme

• The monochromatic color scheme uses variations in lightness and saturation of a single color.

• This scheme looks clean and elegant.

• Monochromatic colors go well together, producing a soothing effect.

• The monochromatic scheme is easy to manage, and always looks balanced and visually appealing.

• This scheme lacks color contrast. It is not as vibrant as the complementary scheme.

Complementary color scheme

• Colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel, such as blue and orange, red and green, purple and yellow.

• Complementary color schemes have a more energetic feel

• The high contrast between the colors creates a vibrant look, especially when used at full saturation.

• The complementary color scheme offers stronger contrast than any other color scheme, and draws maximum attention.

• This scheme is harder to balance than monochromatic and analogous schemes, especially when desaturated warm colors are used.

Triadic color scheme

• The triadic color scheme uses three colors equally spaced around the color wheel.

• This scheme is popular among artists because it offers strong visual contrast while retaining balance, and color richness.

Neutral color scheme

• A color scheme that includes only colors not found on the color wheel, called neutrals, such as beige, brown, white, black, and gray

Warm and cool colors.

Warm colors are vivid and energetic, and tend to advance in space. Cool colors give an impression of calm, and create a soothing impression.White, black and gray are considered to be neutral.

• Tints - adding white to a pure hue

• Tones - adding gray to a pure hue

• Shades - adding black to a pure hue

Tints, Shades, and Tones

COLOR HARMONY

• Harmony can be defined as a pleasing arrangement of parts

• It engages the viewer and it creates an inner sense of order, a balance in the visual experience.

• When something is not harmonious, it's either boring or chaotic. • The human brain will reject under-stimulating information.

• At the other extreme is a visual experience that is so overdone, so chaotic that the viewer can't stand to look at it.

• The human brain rejects what it can not organize, what it can not understand.

• The visual task requires that we present a logical structure.

• Analogous colors are any three colors which are side by side on a 12 part color wheel, such as yellow-green, yellow, and yellow-orange. Usually one of the three colors predominates.

A color scheme based on analogous colors

A color scheme based on complementary colors

• Complementary colors are any two colors which are directly opposite each other, such as red and green and red-purple and yellow-green.

A color scheme based on nature

• Nature provides a perfect departure point for color harmony.

Color Context

• How color behaves in relation to other colors and shapes is a complex area of color theory

Different readings of the same color

Dimensions of the color story

• Selection of a color palette• Color story combined with prints, yarn-dyed

fabrics, etc.• Right color story to sell the products• Color forecasters work 18-24 months in

advance• Gauge the tastes and preferences of the

customers.

Fashion leaders Majority Laggards

Color loyal

Color prudent

Color forwards

Color cycles

• Periodic shifts in color preferences• Patterns of repetitions in colors