Clariant launches ColorForward 2015

Clariant unveils its 9th color forecasting guide for the plastics industry - ColorForward 2015. The acclaimed annual tool from Clariant's ColorWorks defines the trends that will attract people's attention and pave the hue palette for 2015. It is uniquely designed to offer the sector's designers and manufacturers a head-start on using the power of color to influence and guide consumer purchasing decisions.

"As a natural element, color has the power to transcend and translate cultural, political, religious and social influences. As a tool, it has the power to communicate emotions and stories as succinctly as possible. And in the world of plastics, it acts as the ideal marketing driver to steer consumers' purchasing choices for the future," comments Judith van Vliet, Designer at ColorWorks Europe/IMEA.

ColorForward color predictions are based on intensive research of the most influential societal trends around the world. The creative process includes in-depth presentations from ColorWorks centers all over the world, where regional trends and influences are explored. Experts from the world's major trend-watching organizations, and color experts from diverse creative industries contribute to the process.

For ColorForward 2015, color, design, marketing and polymer experts, representing multiple disciplines from all over the world, came together at Clariant's new ColorWorks center in West-Chicago, IL, USA to identify the trends and to develop colors that best reflect each trend. The palette selected for 2015 is inspired by four societal trends expected to have the most influential global impact in the near future:

Tune In Space Out

The stresses of modern day life bundled with technology overload, which has resulted in less face-to-face and more screen-to-screen interaction, has given rise to a strong need to eggshell oneself from the world. Boredom is more appealing, while silence is the ultimate luxury. Digital detox is your rejuvenating tonic. Unplugging forces you to interact with real people and reconnect with your personal identity.

Disconnect to connect. Being Internet-free is mindful living-digital detox for your fingers and eyes, mind and soul. There is beauty in living and in observing what surrounds you in slow motion. With the current population of the Earth using the resources of more than four planets, living on Mars appears today as an option worth considering for the future of mankind.

Live2Live

The current generation has heralded the changing of the guard. Not too long ago, people lived to work. Today, individuals want more from life. They need to be more creative in everything they touch and achieve. They want to live to live. Joypreneurs, a new entrepreneurial type, are the interpreters of the anti-cubicle-revenge approach to work. They prefer to get paid for skills, instead of time. We also note that technology has paved the way for small-scale manufacturing to succeed as it allows people to be creative and work lean. As a fil rouge in the approach of generation Y to all facets of life, gamification plays an increased role in everyday culture. It refers to applying game thinking to non-game applications. People enjoy getting rewarded with points. The newfound optimism of the millennials comes due to the rebirth of innovative empathy and is driven by a series of social thinkers, including provocateurs, who believe in the beauty of good, wholesome practice.