Charm of Detail: Lectures

 
Colour has always accompanied the humankind. The difference is that colour perception was directly related to nature for our ancestors. The human skin colour depended on the climate. Pigments humans could find or obtain came from plants or minerals. Modern consumers do not differ at all from old tribes. It is just that the media, companies and shops, not the nature, provide colours to them. The choice is immense.

How to understand colours? Which colours and shades will be "fashionable" in the near future? To answer these questions, one has to follow and understand changes in the society that undergoes changes every year. This leads to changes in the so-called consumer trends, i.e. the tastes and desires of buyers. These transformations are determined by economy, politics, technology and the natural environment around us.

The conclusions from the above influence our daily lifestyle that serves as a basis for foreseeing trends in the near future. Thus, companies that treat trends professionally (regular staff training, subscriptions of professional journals, cooperation with designers) are most often visible on the market because they translate the "lifestyle" (i.e. trends) into new products or services. Well translated trends strengthen the image of the company, its brand and product, thus entailing increased sales.

It follows from my long-term professional experience that the majority of companies (not only in Poland), or rather people responsible for developing, implementing and marketing new products do not know how to understand and, first of all, how to translate trends for the purposes of a given brand. It frequently happens that this translation (here in relation to colour trends) involves the application of a new "fashionable" colour to a product that has long been produced. As a result, the chosen colour is in line only with the desired colour label, but not its shade.  And the shade is what determines if the product colours are trendy or passé.

My talks during this year's Charm of Detail will explain the difference between the definition of colour (the basic colour) and its perception and understanding by a modern consumer. I will focus on 13 colours. I will discuss their definitions and show examples of the latest colour trends. The lectures will finish with short workshops to offer you a method to create a new strategy (for a company, brand, product, etc.).
Join me at the show!

Zuzanna Skalska

Venue: Pavilion 7, stand 20
Organisers: "Świat Mebli" quarterly, Poznań International Fair
Partners: Mebelplast, Helvetia Furniture, Dekoma, ridex Dekoracja

Zuzanna Skalska has monitored trends in various industries for over 10 years. Her clients include companies (ranging from small to large) and huge international corporations.
She first worked for Philips Design in the corporate strategy department. Now she works for VanBerlo Strategy + Design, a Dutch design agency. She lectures at the Industrial Design Faculty of the Technical University TU/e in Eindhoven. For over 5 years, she has been the board member of the annual urban Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Additionally, she has held talks and workshops on trends for years (also in Poland).