Color Forecasting for Fashion (Portfolio Skills: Fashion & Textiles)

Color is a powerful selling tool. It is the first thing to catch the consumer's eye in the shop window. Get the color choice wrong and an entire range can stay on the racks. So, how do colors arrive on the runway or the sales floor and why do different companies all seem to choose similar colors each season? The answer lies in work of the huge color forecasting industry. In this book, Kate Scully and Debra Johnston Cobb look at how the industry has developed and how it works before moving on to look at the skills a colour forecaster employs to draw a color palette together, often 18 to 24 months in advance of the selling season. With case studies that show the industry at work, this book breaks down the forecasting process from how to put together a color palette to color theory, and the way that colors behave and helps you to build the combination of research and intuitive skills that a successful designer or forecaster needs. Contents 5 Introduction: Why We Study Color Forecasting 8 Chapter 1: What is Color Forecasting? 9 Why Do We Need Color Forecasting? 11 The Color Forecaster 14 An Art or a Science? 17 Color Meaning and Symbolism 19 Color Forecasting and Cultural Trends 21 Market Segments, Brands, and Color Cycles 25 Color Forecasting and the Supply Chain 29 Color Forecasting for Local Markets 31 The Role of Color Forecasting in the Supply Chain 33 Chapter 2: Why and How Has Color Forecasting Evolved? 35 The Development of Color in Apparel 37 The Influence of the French Couture 43 The First Color Forecasting Associations 45 Ready-to-Wear and Fiber Manufacturers' Influence on Color 47 The Fashion Press Enter Forecasting 51 Runways and the Dissemination of Color 53 Trend Services and the Textile Trade Shows 55 Color Forecasting Today 59 Major Apparel Textile Trade Shows 62 The Development of Color Forecasting 63 Chapter 3: The Language of Color 65 Communicating in Color 67 Perceptions of Color 69 Color as Light: Understanding Additive Color 71 Color as Pigment: Understanding Subtractive Color 72 Color and Print 72 Early Color Theory and the Evolution of the Color Wheel 73 Contemporary Color Theory: Munsell, Itten, and Albers 75 Building and Understanding the Subtractive Color Wheel 77 Using the Color Wheel to Build Schemes 78 Managing Color Communication 81 Chapter 4: Understanding Color Cycles 85 Fads, Trends, and Cycles 87 The Length of Color Cycles 89 What Drives Cycles in Color Preferences? 93 Consumers and Trend Adoption 96 The Bell Curve of Color Cycles 97 Tradition in Color Cycles 99 Historical Color Cycles 101 Historical Color Cycles in Western Fashion From 1850 105 Chapter 5: Color Forecasting Tools and Methodologies 107 Beginning the Color Forecasting Process 109 The Practice of Observation 112 Market Data and Analysis 119 Design Thinking: From Observation to Concept 119 Building the Palette 126 Timeline of a Season 137 Chapter 6: Color Application 141 From the Color Forecaster to the Retail Floor 143 The Impact of Retail Classifications and Deliveries 146 Color in Visual Merchandising 151 Color in Context 153 Limitations in Color Applications 155 Beyond Apparel: The Influence of Color Trends 156 What Does the Consumer Really Want? 159 Chapter 7: Intuition and Inspiration in Color Forecasting 161 What Drives the Creative Process? 164 Inspiration is Elsewhere 166 Intuition: The Inner Voice 173 A Rewarding Craft 179 Glossary 181 Further Reading 185 Index 189 Credits and Acknowledgments 193

Creating a Brand Identity goes behind the scenes to explore the creative processes involved in designing a successful brand identity, one of the most fascinating and complex challenges in graphic design.This bestselling book is ideal for students, professionals and agencies working in the fields of: •Graphic Design •Branding •Brand Management•Advertising •Marketing •Communications Authored by design and branding expert, Catharine Slade-Brooking,Creating a Brand Identityincludes exercises and examples that highlight the key activities undertaken by graphic designers to create successful brand identities, including:•Defining the audience•Analysing competitors•Creating mood boards•Naming brands•Logo design•Client presentations•Rebranding•Launching a new brand identityCase studies throughout the book are illustrated with brand identities from a diverse range of industries including digital media, fashion, advertising, product design, packaging, retail and more.The book uses images of professional design concepts, brand case studies and diagrams throughout to illustrate the text. Flow-charts are also used extensively to highlight the step-by-step methodology applied by industry professionals to create a brand.The content of the book has been derived from Catharine Slade-Brooking own experience of entering the world of branding as a graduate and having to learn the hard way, 'on the job'. This, in turn, enabled the author to develop teaching materials for undergraduate and postgraduate students on the BA Graphic Communication course at the University of the Creative Arts, where Slade-Brooking is a lecturer. The book has been recommended across a wide range of university courses, from graphic design school to animation, digital media, textiles and interior design. It includes a full glossary of brand terminology and a list of recommended further reading.

Color is a powerful selling tool. It is the first thing to catch the consumer's eye in the shop window. Get the color choice wrong and an entire range can stay on the racks. So, how do colors arrive on the runway or the sales floor and why do different companies all seem to choose similar colors each season? The answer lies in the work of the huge color forecasting industry. Color Forecasting for Fashion breaks down the forecasting process--from how to put together a color palette to color theory and the way that colors behave--and helps you to build the combination of research and intuitive skills that a successful designer or forecaster needs How do colours arrive on the catwalk or the sales floor and why do different companies choose similar colours each season? In this book, the authors look at how the industry has developed and how it works. They look at the skills a colour forecaster employs to draw a colour palette together, as well as colour theory and other factors