Browse the most recent issues of Coatings World Magazine, featuring timely insights and industry-leading analysis.
Access the interactive digital version of the magazine with multimedia enhancements and exclusive online features.
Join a global community of coatings professionals—subscribe to receive the magazine in print or digital formats.
Promote your brand to decision-makers across the global coatings value chain with targeted advertising options.
Review our standards for submitting articles and technical content to ensure alignment with editorial goals.
Understand how your data is collected, stored, and used when interacting with Coatings World Magazine.
Immediate updates on significant industry developments.
News from major and regional paint and coatings producers.
Updates from raw material and equipment suppliers.
Leadership changes and notable appointments.
Mergers, acquisitions, and earnings reports across the industry.
Data-driven insights into regional and global coatings markets.
Interviews with executives, innovators, and influencers in the coatings sector.
Explore long-form articles and special reports that analyze trends, technologies, and business strategies in coatings.
Recurring editorial pieces offering expert perspectives and commentary on regulatory, sustainability, and R&D topics.
Access original interviews, Q&As, and insights that offer a deeper understanding of key industry developments.
Industry leaders weigh in on technical advancements, market challenges, and future opportunities.
Explore color trend predictions and their influence on coatings design, formulation, and application.
Profiles and rankings of the world’s leading coatings manufacturers and suppliers.
Comprehensive resource for locating suppliers of coatings materials and services.
Connect with distributors of raw materials, packaging, and equipment.
Showcase your company’s services, products, and expertise.
Look up definitions for key terms and concepts used across the coatings industry.
Full-length videos covering events, innovations, and thought leadership.
Short-form video interviews offering quick updates and takeaways.
Audio interviews and discussions with industry experts and insiders.
In-depth digital publications on coatings technologies and trends.
Research-backed documents examining industry challenges and solutions.
Informational materials highlighting products, services, and companies.
Company-sponsored articles offering valuable insights, case studies, and product applications.
Company announcements, product launches, and business developments from across the coatings sector.
Search for career opportunities in the coatings industry and connect with hiring companies.
What are you searching for?
The use and application of color is a minefield in any of the creative disciplines.
April 6, 2009
By: Richard Prime
In 1878, Ewald Hering carried out research into color perception and began to develop several key theories on how we all share the same method of ‘seeing’ color. Further modern research shows that the human being can identify approximately 10 million colors. That said, the research in the world of color has not yet been able to tie down why the emotional response to those colors differs for each of us. It would be a fool that suggests that color in design terms is an easy field to control and indeed master. Add to the mix the field of technological research, evolving swiftly to meet the changing needs of the consumer, global or regional legislation and indeed those of the designer, and the world of color looks like a fearsome opponent. The color options open to the coatings and paint industry are vast and it is very important to realize that color has never held a more powerful position where getting a client to part with money is concerned. “We always say, and this is a sad fact, that a badly designed product in the right color will be a success whereas a well designed product in the wrong color simply will not thrive,” said Jackie Nash, managing director of London’s Global Color Research, one of the world’s leading color trend forecasters with more than 25 years in the color business. One only has to look at the recent icons of the design and architecture fields to see that color is not the dirty word it once was. There is a new wave of industrial designers like Apple’s Jonathan Ive for example, whose use of Bondi Blue on the first iMac revolutionized the technology industry in such a powerful way it’s rare we see a grey in the grey-goods sector anymore. Plus a dynamic assortment of architects like Berlin-based practice Sauerbruch Hutton and Australia’s PTW (the Beijing Watercube) are also pushing the use of external color to new places, reflecting a change in thinking. The times when yellow and blue were only seen in drafts (supposedly the first colors we see when our eyes open as a child) and shades of grey were the only colors allowed in the thinking process are long gone. Color is a powerful emotional force, which can be used to seize the mind, form lasting associations and generate powerful emotional responses. “As a designer color is seriously important as it is one of the most vital tools for design thinking,” said color designer Latika Khosla, director of Freedom Tree Design based in India. It is vital to have knowledge of color before you can begin to use it to its maximum, according to Swedish architect and color designer Kristina Enberg. “Many architects are afraid of colors. Dressed in black and working in white. They have no awareness of its power and fear the unknown, which is sad,” she said. As she sees it, the problem with the market at the moment is that architects are still too afraid to make mistakes due to how costly these can be and so only use color (and very bright chromatic color at that) as accents in a design, otherwise sticking to the safety of black and white. “Those working with colors often only use ‘strong colors.’ But to work with color properly you must have a careful balance of knowledge and sensibility,” Enberg added. “Perhaps it is for this reason that many, sadly, stick to safe options.” However, attitudes have in recent years witnessed a slow change, thanks in part to the global melting pot of cultural influences opened up by the ability to travel and by technology. “In the U.S., the change is color coming from the minority populations and we’re seeing a lot of Hispanic influences,” said Khosla. From her base in Mumbai, Freedom Tree is in a privileged position to view some of the most exciting areas of color use in the architecture and design sector coming from Asia. “We always have an eye on Asia as a source of inspiration for design and architecture. There are at the moment wild and very vivid colors emerging from India, China and South Eastern Asia,” Khosla said. Balancing this vibrancy at the moment is a more reserved and conservative aesthetic, also stemming from Asia. This seems especially rife in the hospitality industry and in communal areas. “A new take on grays that are more Asian-inspired include warm grays with yellow undertones,” Khosla added. In order to capitalize the coatings industry must follow the lead of the architecture and design fields and evolve with the industry to meet its color needs, especially where listening to and responding to trends are concerned.
Enter your account email.
A verification code was sent to your email, Enter the 6-digit code sent to your mail.
Didn't get the code? Check your spam folder or resend code
Set a new password for signing in and accessing your data.
Your Password has been Updated !