Color Rush

Color is a mind-altering drug, contends Laurie Pressman, vp, Pantone Color Institute (Carlstadt, N.J.).

Retail design and visual merchandising professionals gathered in June at the ALU (Romano D’Ezzelino, Italy) showroom in New York for a presentation by Pantone highlighting the impact of color in global retail design.

“You can’t walk away from it. Color acts almost like a magnetic force that you immediately see and you absolutely get pulled in by,” Pressman says.

Color is the first and last thing you remember in an environment, according to Pressman; incorporated in a savvy manner, this communication tool projects brand identity and resonates with customers.

Pressman referenced the vibrant yellow, black and white lure of Kate Spade Saturday, four New York pop-up shops that debuted in June with touch-screen “window shops” that let customers browse and order merchandise online. Contrastingly, spaces like Alexander McQueen’s Los Angeles store, designed by William Russell of Pentagram (London), execute a lighter feeling with theatrical “non-neutral” white walls, allowing products to stand out.

“Colors selected to be our Pantone Color of the Year capture the global color zeitgeist at a particular moment in time,” Pressman says. (Emerald green is this year’s in color.) “Colors we choose must have the ability to work across many different cultures, creative sectors and age ranges.”