A world of relationships, between control and rating

The fall issue of Contract&Hospitality Book deals with different design topics with a particular focus on color trends revealed by the trendsetter Judith Va Vliet. A preview? No more overdoing it, balance reigns supreme

Technology and selectivity, two terms that appeared in the editorial of the Collectable Book in March, now return with a vengeance in this fall edition. As always, thanks to the legion of color experts and chromatic trendsetters that have been following Judith van Vliet for years into the depths of the world of forecasts and previews of sector trends: what will be the paradigms of the ideal buyer in 2020? And what – as a result – will be the colors that match these models of behavior or the impulse to consume? Technology and selectivity float back to the surface, now in the company of Control. China, by the end of 2020, will have fully implemented the technological and logistical system that will allow the Government to gauge the behavior of all citizens and assign them a rating. The color story Eye am watched addresses precisely this development, and if anyone is expecting a dismal, anxiety-prone palette as a result, it’s time for them to think again: the matched hues can best be described with the term ‘balance.’ No warm colors, but no sinister tones either. Will transparency win out over privacy? We shall, you shall, see…

In the previous Book we described how the world of work has been invaded by increasingly colorful spaces, but that was clearly a reaction to decades spent in black and white, at best with some daring leaps into beige. Today the projects for new corporate headquarters – and there are some outstanding ones in this Book – again have more sober interiors. And the East continues to take the design lead: just admire the BnA Alter Museum, a hotel where every room is an artistic tableau invented and made by the courageous and visionary kids of BnA in Tokyo; or the private offices in Toronto formulated by the Italian-Japanese duo Alvisi Kirimoto, which combine West and East with a light touch. Then, as always, you can enjoy coverage of a wide range of projects selected from many different latitudes.

Happy reading!