Say Hello to the Consumer Spring Trend Colors Infographic

Pantone’s fashion color report for spring and summer 2015 has hit the shelves and you will find these colors trending for the next several months on the runways and interior design, and in advertising, marketing and branding graphic designs, too.

Can Pantone’s Spring Trend Colors Affect Shopper Behavior?

Most brand marketers understand that color has power. Strategic use of color can set the tone and the mood, influencing whether or not shoppers will turn into buyers, readers will turn into subscribers, fans will turn into likers and sharers, and so on. Here are the spring trend colors that will be on-trend on runways and with retailers in the coming months.

Rewind the clock just a couple of years and brights held center stage when it came to consumer trend colors found everywhere from fashion runways to ready-to-wear clothing, housewares, appliances and office supplies. By comparison, the color trends for 2015 spring and summer are softer, with a distinct nod toward the cooler side of the color palette.

With spring and summer’s new 2015 trend colors about to dominate in the consumer marketplace, it might be time to update your marketing collateral to reflect consumer trend colors, incorporate trend colors into your business’ décor, signage and displays, or add inventory in spring trend colors that will be popular with consumers in 2015.

Below you will find the top ten spring trend colors projected to be most popular with both female and male shoppers in 2015. We have also included each color’s Pantone number and – to make it easier for marketing graphic design professionals – the CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) equivalent mix of color. An asterisk (*) means that the color is found in both men’s and women’s 2015 trend color palettes. Finally, the Infographic below also includes the color pairings recommended for each of the trend colors.

The Top 10 Pantone 2015 Spring Color Trends for Female Consumers:

1. Pantone 14-4313 Aquamarine CMYK 36-6-9-0
2. Pantone 16-4725 Scuba Blue CMYK 77-0-20-0
3. Pantone 14-5714 Lucite Green CMYK 48-0-31-0
*4. Pantone 19-4052 Classic Blue CMYK 100-53-3-12
*5. Pantone 14-1213 Toasted Almond CMYK 14-25-35-0
6. Pantone 16-1720 Strawberry Ice CMYK 1-56-29-0
7. Pantone 15-1247 Tangerine CMYK 0-48-75-0
8. Pantone 13-0720 Custard CMYK 5-5-54-0
*9. Pantone 18-1438 Marsala CMYK 33-73-60-4
*10. Pantone 14-4102 Glacier Gray 20-10-12-0

The Top 10 Pantone 2015 Spring Color Trends for Male Consumers:

1. Pantone 16-4120 Dusk Blue CMYK 50-15-9-0
*2. Pantone 14-4102 Glacier Gray 20-10-12-0
3. Pantone 18-0135 Treetop CMYK 70-25-100-15
*4. Pantone 19-4052 Classic Blue CMYK 100-53-3-12
*5. Pantone 14-1213 Toasted Almond CMYK 14-25-35-0
6. Pantone 18-0538 Woodbine CMYK 49-26-90-10
7. Pantone 16-1328 Sandstone CMYK 19-45-62-0
8. Pantone 17-4014 Titanium CMYK 45-39-38-7
*9. Pantone 18-1438 Marsala CMYK 33-73-60-4
10. Pantone 16-3310 Lavender Herb CMYK 31-43-8-0

Why Trend Colors Matter

Color is critical when it comes to getting the attention of consumers and there is hard data available to demonstrate that it does even more. For instance, let’s take some of the consumer statistics displayed on the Psychology of Color Infographic by WebpageFX.

• 85% of consumers said that color was the primary influence in purchase of a particular product.

From marketing collateral to signage, labels, packaging or the product itself, updating color to reflect popular consumer trend colors may influence more people to buy.

• People make subconscious decisions about products within 90 seconds, and up to 90% of that judgment is made based on color alone.

If you have an item you thought would be moving more quickly, it might be worth experimenting with a color change for the product or for the marketing materials representing the goods or service you want to sell.

• For eight out of ten people, color increases brand recognition.

What can brown do for you? It can immediately bring your brand to mind, that’s what!

• Color ads are read 42% more often than identical ads in black and white.

Color ads, flyers, business cards and other marketing materials may cost more to print in vivid color; however, they are worth more than their black and white counterparts.

How Spring Trend Colors Align with Common Meanings of Color

It could be easy to get lost in the philosophical debate about which came first, the chicken or the egg (or in this case, the meaning or the color) when it comes to discussing the meaning of various colors, their associations in today’s market place and the emotions they evoke. No matter your opinion on the issue, science has demonstrated that various colors have the power to evoke associations, emotions and even reactions.

Here’s a rundown on the meanings of color as they are commonly applied in marketing. As you study the 2015 Trend Color Infographic below, you will notice that as opposed to primary colors, most of the trend colors fall somewhere in between color groupings.

For instance, yellow custard is soft, with a touch of neutral and hint of orange. Strawberry ice is on the soft side of red with a hint of orange. Woodbine is a green with more than a hint of yellow. Many of the colors included in the 2015 spring and summer trend color list are often seen in vintage marketing design, and it’s very possible that marketers will see a resurgence of this trend again in the months to come.

RED

Evokes strong emotions (a favorite in attracting impulse buyers), can increase heart rate (its urgency makes it perfect for use in clearance marketing) and stimulates appetite (note predominance of red in restaurant marketing). Red is associated with passion, intensity, love, etc., but can also be a call for caution.

YELLOW

Increases cheerfulness and indicates warmth and light. Intense yellow can cause eye fatigue and eyestrain. Stimulates mental processes and the nervous system and encourages communication. Associated with optimism, youth and clarity, yellow is often the go-to color tasked with getting the attention of window shoppers.

BLUE

Cool blue evokes calm and peaceful feelings. Blue is the most preferred color by men. Blue has the power to curb the appetite. Associated with constants such as sky and sea, often adopted for use by finance, insurance, health care and other industries where trust is important. Productive, non-invasive and masculine, it’s commonly used in corporate business.

ORANGE

Buy! Sell! Subscribe! The cheerful energy of orange is undeniable; it reflects excitement, enthusiasm and is a color often tasked with stimulating action, so, like red, is often found in call-to-action, clearance and impulse buy marketing directives. Also like red, can also be a call for caution.

GREEN

Green is associated with health, growth, tranquility and – lest we forget – is also the color of money. It is associated with wealth, organic and natural products and can often be found in products related to farming, energy and fuel. Green is the color of “Go!”

Emotionally, the color green can help to alleviate depression and stimulate calm, harmonious, peaceful feelings. The human eye is most sensitive to green and can perceive more different shades of green than of any other color (hence its use in night vision goggles).

PURPLE

A complex mix of red and blue, purple can be an overwhelming color for some. Though associated with wealth historically (purple dyes were affordable only for the wealthy in earlier times), today, you may find it more often in branding and marketing for feminine, food and beverage related brands.

NEUTRALS

Neutrals are grounding colors and can often be used to bring disassociated colors into a working relationship. Browns denote the earth and warmth, while darker grays and blacks have long been associated with wealth, luxury and stability.

You might also like:

• Seeing Red: Let’s Talk Brands, Marketing and 2014 Trend Colors for Spring
• 6 Ways to Use Fall 2014 Trend Colors to Grow Your Business

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