BY BETH ENGLISH
One of the best things about autumn—aside from the milder temperatures—is the vividness of the season.
By late October and early November, everything near my home in central North Carolina shines. The sky seems bluer and the trees come into all their glory.
I enjoy soaking in color, from serene blues to fiery reds. I had great fun talking with ticking and tape producers at the ISPA EXPO 2016 earlier this year in Orlando, Florida. The designers attend international fairs and educational events to stay abreast of color and design trends and then discover ways to translate those trends into looks that work for the mattress industry. (Check out the story to see Pantone’s top 10 picks for spring.)
An April 13 article on Entrepreneur.com by Gregory Ciotti delves into some of the research that surrounds color and branding. For instance, he cited the 2011 study, “Impact of Color in Marketing,” which found that 90% of snap judgments made about a product have to do with its color. Another 2011 study found that the actual color matters less than how appropriate a consumer finds the color for the product. For example, those queried preferred the orange juice that looked more orange than versions with a reddish or yellowish hue. Makes sense, right?
Here’s another study I found interesting. “Color Assignment” was a web survey put together by Joe Hallock at the University of Washington. He queried people about favorite colors, least favorite colors, what colors were associated with certain words, such as trust, reliability, high quality, etc. The colors most strongly associated with high quality were black (43%), blue (20%), white and gray (both 9%). Reliability had similar results but with blue taking the lead and brown coming into the mix.
What about favorite color? Blue seems to carry the day, coming in as the favorite for both men and women. Overall, the least favorite color is its opposite on the color wheel—orange. Women seem to dislike orange more than men, though, with 33% selecting it. Of the men surveyed, 22% chose orange as their least favorite color while 27% selected brown.
Beth English
Managing Editor
The mattress industry traditionally has kept to neutrals. You can’t go wrong with classic white, gray and black—especially when the product you’re creating promotes rest. These days other colors are making their way in as accents—beautiful blues, greens and lilacs, as well as the warmer metallic shades, such as bronze. (See this story.)
The end product is a bed that catches the eye, invites sleep and makes a difference in everyone’s quality of life. What could be better?
