Interview: Colour trends in 2012

<B>MS. SPÄTH, YOU ARE A COLOUR DESIGNER. HOW DO YOU TAKE THIS

UP AS A PROFESSION AND WHAT COMPETENCIES DO YOU POSSESS?</B>

I have been brought up in a handicraft business run by my parents and have absorbed the aroma of colour and paints right from my childhood. Thereafter, I completed my Master's degree as a painter and varnisher. In addition, I have graduated as a government approved designer and completed a course as a colour designer leading up to the profession. I have been lecturing since 2011 at the Zurich Academy for Applied Sciences.

In my 20-year old career as a colour designer I have designed hundreds of projects both at home and abroad. It is only with practice that you learn to handle colours differently and to implement the theory. 

<B>IN OTHER WORDS, YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE SPECIALIST ON THE

SUBJECT OF COLOUR TRENDS. WOULD YOU DISCLOSE TO US WHAT IS IN

VOGUE IN 2012?</B>

If we follow the cyclic trends, the colours on the facade will be overall less colourful. There is clearly perceptible trend towards very light pastel shades right up to off-white nuances. Besides this, the colours in the range of beige are highly in vogue on the facade just as there is generally a tendency towards natural construction materials and colour shades tending towards Nature. The facade makes less of a "show" with expressive colours, and this is an understatement. Going well with this are the ADLER "Style-Weiß (White Style)" colour fan and "Pastels" in whose development I was involved.

The big issue in 2012 includes patterns, structures and unusual or offbeat surface designs. On the facade, old plaster structures such as trowel cast or brush cast are going through a Renaissance, but they are also experiencing glaze finish techniques and metallic glossy effects. Different materials are being combined with one another to create various effects. Thus, we find wood apart from metal, glass and mural elements. For indoor applications, the Colour Emotion effects of ADLER are the response to this trend: They can be used to paint brick and metallic effects very easily. 

<B>WHICH COLOURS AND COLOUR COMBINATIONS ARE JUST NOT "IN

VOGUE" IN 2012?</B>

The phase of colourful exuberance is a thing of the past. Those who paint their houses in 2012 with glaring red or bright yellow will soon have to reckon with being labelled as "out" in the very near future. Screaming colour combinations and gaudy colours are on the decline. 

Green – actually the most unpopular of all facade colours – in contrast, is experiencing a comeback. And, in fact, not only the classical green urban house that does not compete with the natural vegetation, but even the modern flat roof building right in the midst of Nature. The camouflage effect is desirable and retreat and inconspicuousness are intended.

Since I have been observing the movement of trends since many years now, I know that trends are not made but are a reflection of the social state of mind. Ethically reasonable dealing will affect the negotiating strategies of organisations, states and even individuals in the future. The design understatement must also be understood in this context. Flaunting is "out", and sober is "in". Sustainability and ecological aspects penetrate as a purchase agreement right up to the consumers. 

<B>HOW CAN A PAINTS AND VARNISHES MANUFACTURER GO ALONG WITH

TRENDS??</B>

Trends manifest themselves by the products offered in the market. In the case of paints, these are the colour fan and the collection of colours that are offered to the customer. This includes timeless collections such as the ADLER "1200 fans" and even the trend collections of shorter life spans. 

Apart from technical product innovations, surface treatment technologies are also being developed that orient themselves to the needs of the market, such as the ADLER Color-Emotion effects.