Successful
brands are those that consumers connect with. Design and color are critical to
create this experience. Color is a core brand asset for any business whether it
is applied through identity and communication, office and retail environments,
product offer or retail collections.
Color can become a reason for brand choice
Good,
appropriate colors at the right time move people to buy products and navigate
through choices. Color is a timely, cost effective, way to draw interest and
communicate your brand, product or service. Color can be up to 85 percent of the reason people decide to buy. CMG data.
Godrej appliances: Colors that convey the Eon Brand promise of “Stylish outside, Smart
inside”. Inspired by the consumer boom and delicious colors of food, the
Giga refrigerators deliver a perfect combination of style and substance. The
overwhelming preference for fresh colors designed by Freedom Tree reflects in
the 70% share of color sales in the product lines.
Color is profitable
Color forecast coupled with local knowledge
gets winning product sales:
The right color, or even the wrong one, attaches a
perception to your product and your brand. International directions in trend
have to be moderated to local perceptions to make the right product choice for
a brand. ‘Color sells and the right
color sells better’. CMG’s tag line.
General Motors: Color Design for Chevrolet Tavera’s exterior and interior. Green is
not a color that traditionally sells well for automobiles in India. A dignified
sobered green was recommended for the gentleman’s car, the GM SUV. Within two
months the color which had considerable gravitas had outstripped sales in
silver cars and ended up commanding well over 50 percent penetration of all
color sales.
Color trend is a great differentiator
Trend concepts converted into color and
design ideas for product services or retail, add value and give a competitive
edge. Being in synch with color trend is the easiest way to bring freshness and
change to brands, products and environments. Stories that are told about a brand, take center stage with the right
colors.
Case Study: Asian Paints launched special
effects paint Royale Play for the décor conscious consumer. New textures
and colors in glaze finishes were developed in conjunction with Freedom Tree
Design. A range of six finishes in trend right color combinations enabled urban
homemakers to make tasteful choices. The color combination palettes also let
one customize and come up with over two hundred and fifty well considered
options, making Royale Play center stage in the market and at home!
Color is a universal language
Color is one of the most evocative aspects
of design. It touches people and will be the first thing to attract a
consumer
to your product. Color can convey a mood and an emotion; it can communicate an
image, information, and identity. Color speaks to the heart as well as the
mind. Color not only moves people, it
moves merchandise.
Portico NY : Portico
NY’s design collection colors immediately strike a familiar chord amongst
people. The big city dweller is an Urban Monk turning home for solace. Portico NY’s bed and bath collection in rich
multicolored textiles, geometrical color blocks, magical mandalas and embellished stripes is mystical and fantastical.
Spice colors of saffron, ochre, pomegranate and olive, are evocative of our oriental cultures; Lapis, emerald, antique gold,
shimmer of peacock feathers add a sense of the exotic. This collection fits right into
the homes of the Urban Monk!
A color plan is the art and science of
efficient aesthetics
By focusing
on colors for brand identity, manufactured products or a retail collection, a
business plan is supported with a good color plan at every stage. It enables
the use of resources efficiently. The number of colors to run, in what
combinations, which products and services shall carry them, the surface and
material choices, and finally determining the “must have” colors for retail and
communication are all core elements of a Color Plan. Creating a Color Plan for a brand is problem solving and practical.
BP ERGO: BP ERGO designs office modular furniture to create the experience for
brands at work! Evolving management constructs are redefining the way
office space is designed. The office itself is a brand experience, and a
narrative of the brands journey. Freedom Tree resolved this complex need for
expressive materials into a color matrix plan for BP Ergo which became a
language of efficient aesthetics between BP Ergo and their business buyers.
What is a trend? Where does one look for a trend? Is there a different trend for cars and another for home or fashion? How will it be interpreted for a brand? Which trend is relevant for us? If everyone is in trend won’t all look the same?
To answer these questions you need Trend and Color experts! Freedom tree Design has successfully anticipated and interpreted trends for clients in Asia and internationally. The trend idea has been converted into compelling stories for their brands be it product lines, space concepts or color communication.
A trend is a new idea that catches the imagination of the people.
Trends are influenced by natural changes, a social evolution or technological innovation. Trends and their impact on color are constantly tracked by observing changes in the way a society is evolving; tracking amongst other things, environment, travel, entertainment, design, consumption, work, leisure and living. These changes are interpreted well ahead and creative ideation is forecast for the impact they will have on the specific brand and people who buy into the brand.
A big learning is that trends are Transverse. Today a trend idea will impact all industry categories since a person buying a product or a service wants similar experiences in choice.
Let us take you thru a case study of how a trend idea can be interpreted for different industries. For 2008 Freedom Tree anticipated a trend for naturalness for the urban dweller. This has to do more with blending in with nature; there is a striving for a more ‘reduced’ and healing expression of the natural in space. This will be discreet, sober and sculpted, yet a luxurious and precious appearance of natural. We named this trend concept as living in a “Room without walls.”
This idea was interpreted differently by Freedom Tree for a paint brand, a home textiles brand and an office furniture manufacturer.
For ICI Dulux a Modernist, Geometric, Sculpted and Architectural approach was taken for their Global Colorfutures forecast.
For Portico of NY we chose a direction that referenced Super-scaling in design and created a collection that recognized harmonious living with nature as an imperative.
For Godrej Interio, an Office furniture brand Freedom Tree created concepts for their Knowledge Center. The space is a metaphor of the Godrej philosophy to work and work spaces, translating the insights of the natural science of plant evolution into engineered objects.
ICI Paints
ColourFutures™is the color communication tool from the international team of color experts at ICI Paints. It is the result of ongoing worldwide color trend research, forecasting and development. ColourFutures™ has been running since 2003 and has successfully predicted key trends in colour, globally establishing ICI Paints as the world-wide colour authority. Freedom Tree brings in the Asia Trend component for Global ColourFutures™
ART FORM
The Inspiration for art form embraces the spirit and philosophy of Modernism and abstract architectural idiom. The subtle interplay of tone and hue allows for the minimal concept to be softened and sculpted without having to compromise on its principles of simplicity, linearity and spatial flow. The mood is for serious design aficionados – sleek, chic and cool. The space is seamless, with a welcoming simplicity that offers stillness.
These ideas best represent what the ColourFutures™ team consider to be main lifestyle trends. These ideas are then promoted worldwide by ICI for color roll out and brand communication.
Portico of NY
Supernature…Be astonishing!
Portico of NY is a leading Home linen brand in India. The brand is known for its contemporary designs and colorful range of bed and bath linen products. Portico of NY has adopted the imperative naturalness in home décor. A ‘need for naturalness’ which can be only be satisfied by paying respect to nature that is larger than life. Supersized plant forms, dreamy disarray of exotic flowers, silhouettes, shadow of leaf and branch make us respect this greatest miracle of creation, nature.
For Portico, trend and color is a stimulus for design ideation, communication and in-store visual merchandising. Freedom Tree creates the trend direction and the color palettes for the design team. Product planning is also done on this basis considerably cutting inventory and giving great mix and match options for the home maker. The bed linen takes to the ramp as clothing to firmly establish the fashion led brand. And finally the print ads speak of Portico ranges as a must have lifestyle match.
“We have used design differentiation as platform to build our Portico business. Color is the most important element of design and we have been working with Freedom Tree for the same. Freedom Tree brings valuable inputs in terms of color trends in the international market, applicability of the same in the Indian context in the best possible manner for product designing and finally designing our brand communication in the form of advertising for the consumer. This end to end solution works best for us." Rajiv Merchant CEO, Portico of NY
Freedom Tree Design is trend and design custodian for Portico of NY.
Godrej Interio takes inspiration from the Engineered Nature of the natural world.
How did the sunflower seed-head pack itself into beautiful spirals?
When did the leaf learn to turn to face the sun?
Why did the dandelion seed take flight?What made trees grow upwards and not all fall down?
It turns out that the engineered nature of plants and other life forms have hit on the secrets of formal organization long before we humans followed them into this mysterious discovery. Nature, imaginative by necessity and a survivor by evolution has found what works, what is appropriate - and most important - what is sustainable for the foreseeable future. A living plant is a responsive organism just as our approach to designing office furniture is receptive and reiterative.
The Godrej Knowledge Center, is a metaphor of the Godrej philosophy to work and to work spaces, translating the insights of the natural science of plant evolution into engineered objects.
Freedom Tree worked with Godrej Design teams in a series of workshops to arrive at the concept of Engineered Nature. In continuing close collaboration the space was designed to the last bit of staging Godrej products. All communication in the space was written and created by Freedom Tree Design.
‘Conceived as a showcase of Godrej Interio’s cutting-edge capability in the field of Furniture & Accessories design, the Godrej Knowledge Centre transcended its brief of industrial artistry. An experiential walk-through, the Godrej Knowledge Centre encompasses no less than 17 different functional zones, each showcasing a specific field of design capability of the division. A series of workshops led by Freedom Tree, our creative partner, helped in directionally freezing on the design and conceptual make-up of this unique Centre which was designed by Interio’s in-house designers.’
E.Venkat, General Manager Design, Interio Division, Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Pvt. Ltd.
