Forecasting a Colorful Future

By Anna Lockhart.  

Contractors, architects and manufacturers can utilize this unique color forecast report to get ahead of the game and give their customers the colors they’ll be looking for in the next few years, today!  

The color experts at Sherwin-Williams are using real-world data to predict color trends for architectural uses in the coming years, providing their customer base with valuable insights that will put them ahead of the curve in designing their upcoming projects. The FUSE architectural color forecast is a great tool for architects and product manufacturers to use in choosing metal coatings colors for their work so that they can accurately meet the trends and expectations of the future market. The report shares both the data and color inspirations based on the findings while keeping sustainability in mind.  

In the special RLW webinar about this report, Karen Edwards sat down with Sherwin-Williams' color experts, Brynn Wildenauer and Kiki Redhead to discuss their work on creating the FUSE color forecast and how industry professionals can utilize their findings to set their work apart from the competition. Not only do they look at color trends at a national level, but they also get down to the nitty-gritty details of regional trends, too.  

“There are a lot of different factors that we take into consideration when we do work on regional color trends. We have to make sure that we’re focusing on each region specifically to make sure that we are getting all the bases of the manufacturer’s needs. There’s a lot of environmental considerations to take into account,” said Brynn. “We also want to consider the weather because weather impacts which technologies and which resin systems our customers need.”  

By understanding trend lifecycles and how color scheme trends change by region, contractors and architects using this report can make informed choices about the colors they use in their projects. As color preferences can be impacted by one’s environment and culture, it is important that users of the report choose colors that are relatable to their target audience and community.  

As Brynn pointed out, the report puts all these individual factors together and presents it in a way that users can adequately understand. “It’s quite overwhelming to try and research all of the societal influences and everything that goes into how color evolves, and specifically in the building products industry, it takes a lot of time. So, it’s a nice resource to have this FUSE forecast that can help visualize what is happening and where we’re going next in the market.”  

Those who choose to use the FUSE color forecast get not only a great look at the data-driven color palette results, but they also get a great look at examples that the Sherwin-Williams team of color experts have put together to help bring those ideas to life.  

“We’re going to always show some examples of how these colors can be used through photography,” said Kiki. “We want to show examples so that you can get the feel and idea of how those colors could be applied out in the market.”  

Listen to the podcast, watch the webinar or read the transcript!