January 2, 2024
Colours come and go as fashions in paint as much as anywhere else. And paint producers are always trying to capture the mood of the moment so they can offer shades that will succeed in the marketplace.
AkzoNobel's Colour of the Year for 2024 is called Sweet Embrace. This, the company says, is a pastel pink shade inspired by soft feathers and evening clouds, and "is perfect for creating the calm and welcoming spaces so many of us crave. This welcoming colour reflects extensive research into global social, design and consumer trends for 2024 which found that, in an uncertain world, we’re on a quest to belong. We need places that make us feel calm, and we also seek moments of joy in everyday experiences."
“With society in a state of flux, we’re reassessing how we cope with the world,” says Heleen van Gent, creative director of AkzoNobel’s Global Aesthetic Centre. “Starting at home, we’re looking to create our own ‘special somewhere’ that grounds us in our individual memories and relationships. Our Colour of the Year, Sweet Embrace, and its three complementary colour palettes can help us achieve that. They enable us to personalise our environments to fit the times we live in, as well as bringing a sense of stability and moments of joy to our spaces.”
As part of the 2024 ColourFutures colour trend report, three decorative paint 'colour stories' have been designed around Sweet Embrace to help consumers choose on-trend and harmonious wall colours that reflect their unique personalities.
"The warm colour story reminds you of home, a place that feels comfortable and safe, and combines shades of stone, soil and clay," the company says. "The calm colour story evokes thoughts of nature and the essence of life, bringing together the soft greens and blues of the woods and sea. Lastly, our uplifting colour palette puts a smile on your face with dreamy lilacs and modern yellows."
BASF’s designers have been looking into automotive colours. The company says its trend signals were telling it the classic automobile colour wheel has had its day, and it was time for a colour update.
"Non-classic automotive hues emerged, propelling colours through a series of shifts," the company says. "Light neutrals, mid-tone pastels, and light achromatics moved with purpose. Beige shades differentiated themselves with subtle effects. Our designers have introduced new colour spaces to the automotive palette. Warm colours between red and orange emerged."
BASF's new ON VOLUDE range has haptic colors that can be felt. Mattes and structured surfaces make colour touchable, giving beige new vibrant textures, and dark greys and blacks have added tactile aspects.
"ON VOLUDE contains functional concepts with realistic approaches," the company adds. "BASF’s designers set a global benchmark in colour by also focusing on technology and innovation, which are important drivers for the automotive industry."
Automakers have certain new functional requirements for autonomous driving. According to systematic testing at BASF, certain LiDAR and RADAR parameters are communicated for every trend colour. The target is to meet those functional requirements, while still being visually and haptically exciting.
By using BASF’s AUROOM—a digital platform providing digital colour—speed and exchange is accelerated, and the user can eliminate the need to mix batches of paint, spray them on various materials, then ship those materials around the globe.
“In this year’s collection, red leaning pastels and mid-tones are replaced by restorative yellow and green effects suggesting renewal,” says Liz Hoffman, BASF's head of Automotive Colour Design for the Americas. “The connection complements both grounded colour spaces and otherworldly escapes. It shows evolving mindsets in automotive design.”
The new technology uses a bio-based development that is perceived as the result of light dancing between microscopic structures, something long observed within the natural world. In this case, what mimics a transparent blue mid-coat is actually crystal clear and free of traditional colourants, offering fresh avenues toward both conscious and customised design.
