Three days in Albuquerque in order to introduce the +2018 World Color Forecast. This is the next stopover for the Color Marketing Group, which chose New Mexico this year for the International Summit, the global conference that brings together the Group’s members from the International Regions of Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia Pacific.
From the 10th to the 13th of November, the talk will be all about colors, trends and designs (in the widest, most creative sense) in the company of the major global figures in the field brought together by CMG, the international non-profit association that “provides an exchange of information on the subject of color and design among professionals," as President Susan Hayes Hoover explained.
The International Summit is the final stage of a long process of in-depth research and study in the various fields of innovation and lifestyle, social movements and new global attitudes that begins in January with the so-called "homework" conducted by the individual members, subsequently presented, discussed and compared during the numerous Conferences and ChromaZones that are staged during the year (8-10 in the USA, one in Latin America, two in Europe and two in Asia Pacific).
The outcome of each meeting is a representative color forecast that identifies the major trends that emerge during every Forecasting Conference: 16 colors from each International Region contribute to the global forecast of 64 colors overall that make up the +2018 World Color Forecast, officially presented at November's International Summit.
The process of creating a color forecast is a creative journey involving the broadest range of international professionals in the sector. We discovered this first hand by taking part in the European Conference held in Edinburgh in May.
There are emerging trends, underground movements not yet full surfaced, the cultural substrates that will define a new style as the object of attention and discussion during the workshop, identified by the individual participants through research conduct in their daily round, the workplace or when travelling. Every topic has a corresponding color influence.
The aseptic and rigorous approach of scientific research is excluded in advance: here, acute sensitivity is to the fore along with the subtle perceptive abilities of the individual professionals in the field (whose many years of experience and expertise ensures the utmost reliability and dependability of the results).
An equally significant value is the cooperative and democratic way decisions are made on the trends and colors: it is team work (first, the work is done in groups, then the results are once again discussed by all those taking part in the workshop) that leads to the conclusions: the color forecasts and the respective "color stories" or influences from which the 16 shades of color are derived.
Look Around, Creative Courage, Re-Shaping, Still Life are the macro-topics that emerged from the four Edinburgh groups, to which nuances have been added like the golden Oxy Gold, the intense blue of Portal Blue, the delicate pink of Feel and the sky-blue of Vapor (chosen as Key color for Europe, moreover).
“At the basis of CMG there is cooperation," explained John West, immediate past president of the association. "We are not in business to make money but to help our members in the various fields in which they operate.” And there are many areas: design, fashion, automotive, pigments, marketing, education and many more. These are the creative minds that underpin the Color Forecast. This is CMG’s Family.
Yes, we can legitimately talk of Family; because there is a natural rapport of harmony and common purpose between the members; because the Workshops are also opportunities to broaden social and cultural horizons; as every event becomes an experience of personal and professional enhancement for those who take part.
The next steps? “We want to create a greater presence on social media, increase the brand strategy,” concluded Susan Hayes Hoover. “We intend to best express our collaborative and dynamic identity, which sets our family apart."
