A peek inside the world of color forecasting

A color forecaster of PPG Brands, a paint manufacturer, is part of a meeting in New York earlier this year where various experts brainstormed with a mood board to pick the 2017 PPG color palette for paint, coatings and materials for the architecture, automotive, aerospace and consumer products industries. (PPG Paints via AP)

Violet Verbena has been picked as the 2017 Color the Year, chosen by PPG Brands, a paint manufacturer. The grayish purple is considered gender and age neutral and is ubiquitous in the natural world, making it a good color for a range of applications.

Earlier this year, in a Manhattan conference room littered with half-eaten lunches, water bottles, laptops and easels, a group of color forecasters from PPG Brands was wrapping up a week of work.

They came up with recommendations that will influence the colors and finishes we’re likely to see in 2017 on a wide variety of products, including appliances, cars, phones, airplanes, paints, beverage cans, even holiday ornaments. They also picked a color of the year.

PPG Brands – which makes paint, coatings and materials for industries ranging from architecture and aerospace to automotive and consumer products – is just one of many companies that produce color forecasts.

At this Manhattan meeting, the forecasters were deep-diving into color decks, field research reports, magazines, books and each other’s heads. The easels were covered with inspiration swatches, photos and descriptive phrases. One “mood board” listed the words “timeless,” “memories,” “diamond patterns” and “ticking stripes” under the header “Nostalgia.”