Emerging color theme 4: "made with love." This trend is as much about the joy of making something well as it is about the beauty of the end result. Here we take charge of creativity, share the experience of making and rediscover the delight and pride in production. Making things together, sharing the experience and taking pleasure in the process are all ultimately very rewarding - making becomes an activity for its own sake and not a financial necessity. Respect exists for simple workmanship; a spirit of honesty, directness and authenticity dominates this modest design ethic, full of creative pride.

Emerging color trend #4 using a warm color palette reflecting the trend of "made with love" as valued, treasured, shared, and proud Photo: Used under license from Shutterstock.com

 

Making and buying better quality is the new way of being "green." We now expect to know the full life cycle of materials and products, where they come from and how they eventually will be disposed of. This more personal and responsible approach is a reaction against machines that can do everything, mass production, computer generation and inhuman processes. We look anew at making one thing well, with integrity, care and love. Connecting people back into the process and letting the quality and value of the materials shine through, gives a truly democratic sense of design. Clay and wood are the most basic of creative materials - raw, robust, sustainable and eternally pleasing.

The palette represents a sense of being valued, treasured, shared, and proud. It consists of timber, clay, earth and denim tones - colors of eternal beauty and provenance that are enlivened by a dash of inspiring and optimistic yellow. These shades can be happily mixed, paired and coordinated due to their harmonious and understated beauty. Keep it simple and honest - here less is much, much more. The love and care inherent in this theme will always communicate beauty and quality - a true appreciation of the earth, its materials and creativity.

Emerging color theme 5: "molecular magic." We used to look outward for inspiration but what if we simply look closer at what is already here? What we see under the microscope is as alien, and in many cases, more intriguing than other worlds. Natural but magnified inspiration, microscopic mimicry and molecular beauty are new areas of fascination for designers and artists alike. The shock and surprise of what we find is like entering a world of science fiction - sensual and mesmerizing - an inspiring, unexpected, colorful and fascinatingly formed place where we feel like Alice in Wonderland. Materials are both intelligent and animated - they change, adapt and modify. Here we find a growing concern for what we create and a shift away from the importance of presentation, to one of performance and usefulness like the self charging battery. The focus is no longer on the slick packaging of technology but what that technology can do for us. Inspiration comes from viruses and bacteria, deep sea organisms, pollen grains and molds. Science and technology will be an integral part of the creative design process which will yield exciting results. Evolutionary products, materials and buildings, which have the capacity to learn, change, react and repair themselves according to circumstance or need, will become the norm.

Emerging color trend #5 indicating the mesmerizing, sensual, intriguing, and unexpected effects of "molecular magic" Photo: Used under license from Shutterstock.com

 

This microscopic, computerized palette intentionally plays on being mesmerizing, sensual, intriguing, and unexpected. It is strong and alive - shades that grow, glow and pulsate with life and vitality. These stunning greens, turquoises and purples are showcased against an array of subtle and understated deeps. Dark backgrounds are accented and illuminated by flashes of mesmerizing saturation. We will be inspired by a natural world that has adapted, modified and mutated to meet new challenges. The miracle of nature and its hidden, secret beauty will provide the new frontiers of tomorrow - a kaleidoscope of color and pattern to fascinate all our senses.