PPG has introduced the TRENDCAST Styling Directions 2016 toolkit, which helps design leaders in the automotive, aerospace, consumer products, interior design and architectural fields forecast the colors, textures and patterns that will define consumer tastes for the next two years.

The colors in the TRENDCAST Styling Directions 2016 toolkit for consumer products reflect the latest trends in hues, tints, special effects and tactile sensations for coated surfaces and substrates based on a consensus of 28 PPG global experts from the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Inspired by visits from PPG’s consumer styling team to four different groups of “makers,” the kit draws enlightenment from the materials these artisans use to design and craft finished objects. Ultimately, the PPG color team created an eclectic palette of 45 colors and divided them into four color “stories,” each associated with a particular trade or set of practitioners:

•     I/M Perfect – Drawing on lessons from surfboard glazier Nainoa Speier, “I/M Perfect” revels in the “perfection of imperfection,” invoking a rich tapestry of earthy, organic, authentic pigments and colors found in nature.
•     Hyper HD – Featuring dazzling brights offset by neutral tonalities, “Hyper HD” captures the essence of San Diego’s Fab Lab art community and founder Katie Rast. It celebrates self-expression, glamour, freedom and socialness through three-dimensional printing and the application of loud, impactful colors.
•     Lucid Dreams – Created as an antidote to “Hyper HD,” “Lucid Dreams” conveys – in a soothing array of muted pastels and light neutral tones – the calm, lightness, purity and balance associated with the work of ceramic glazing artists Josh Herman and Joyce Schleininger.
•     Knight’s Watch – Strength, resilience, force, power and brawn are at the center of “Knight’s Watch.” Motivated by a day in the metalworking studio of Christopher Puzio, “Knight’s Watch” features an army of dark hues presented in varying levels of saturation and intensity, contrasted by soft off-white hues that communicate precision, order and cleanliness.

As 2016 color of the year, the PPG color team selected “Paradise Found,” a soothing green with blue undertones blended to express the ease and rejuvenation one feels in nature.

Allison Heape, PPG regional team leader, color and styling, consumer electronics, said the four color palettes emphasize versatility, offering designers wide latitude for expression in industrial, consumer, interior fashion and architectural applications ranging from appliances, curtain walls, fabrics and furniture to smartphones, airplanes, cabinets, cookware and clothing.

“Good writers deliberately leave stories open for interpretation. PPG’s color experts created their four color stories with the same dynamic in mind,” she said. “The 2016 TRENDCAST Styling Directions toolkit shows how each color palette can be executed across a universe of surfaces, substrates, industries and applications, not with the goal of dictating how to use each collection, but with hope of sparking conversation and the creative energy of our customers’ design teams.”

The TRENDCAST Styling Directions 2016 toolkit for consumer products contains 45 different tactile objects and effects that can help designers communicate their design vision to colleagues, collaborators, end-users and other audiences.