Shades of Play – FranklinTill on Viewpoint Colour #3

– words by Anthony

For the last few years, everything’s been a bit muted, colour-wise. With a few exceptions, it has seemed as though the design world was fixated on a palette of Scandi whites, dusky pink and forest greens – subtle, restrained, grown-up shades that, while elegant and appealing, aren’t exactly bursting with joie de vivre.

Well, says FranklinTill, things are changing. The futures research agency has just published the issue #3 of Viewpoint Colour – the biannual global overview of emerging colour trends across design and related industries – and the overriding message is that colour is getting a lot more playful, with designers and brands increasingly turning to brighter, bolder shades, statement primaries, and unexpected tonal juxtapositions.

The new issue considers the cultural, political and economic impetus behind this shift towards more optimistic hues, as well as offering practical insight into the diverse applications in which it is manifest. Throughout its pages, Viewpoint Colour explores topics such as the two-way relationship of colour to the high-saturation world of Instagram; the changing semantics of pink throughout the modern age; and the rise of ‘digital realism’ in online brand experience.

Over 176 pages, insight is interwoven with eye-catching original photography, making the experience of reading the magazine the equivalent of having the most fascinating conversation about the future while tumbling headlong through a rainbow. For anyone with either a passing interest or a professional stake in the colours of tomorrow, Viewpoint Colour is, quite simply, an essential read.

Just as it hit the press, we asked FranklinTill to share the story behind the issue, and explain why, when the world looks so serious right now, play is back on the agenda…

Why is play such an important and current topic in the context of colour? 

We live in tumultuous times. Rapid urbanisation, political unrest and environmental concerns dominate the news. In reaction, designers are going on the play offensive to challenge, provoke and entertain, to provide escape and promote invention. This is manifesting as a backlash against playing-it-safe good taste, minimal palettes and classic forms. Designers, artists and makers are creating work that prioritises joy and happiness over practicality and function, working intuitively and without over-intellectualised premeditation. We have been talking about the return of colour for several seasons now: the power of pink, not just in fashion but also in sociopolitical terms; the brilliance conveyed by yellow and the happiness of orange. The mainstream palette of greys, millennial pinks and nature-oriented greens are all about to be surpassed with a new palette of sophisticated brights. When we talk about play and colour, we are not just talking about the simple and primary, we are talking about new levels of clever blending and surprising harmonies that shock, with the presence of unexpected contrasts and playful applications.

As always with Viewpoint Colour, we delve into the sociocultural context beyond our evolving colour tastes, by looking into the behavioural shifts that affect our contemporary relationship with colour. In this issue we investigate the influence of social media on the wider colour landscape, asking if impactful use of colour is being influenced by Instagram traction and vice versa. And we track the historical and cultural evolution of pink – a tint that has certainly reached a tipping point as the millennial colour and but shows no signs of disappearing right now.

We take a look at the different manifestations of playful design in our everyday environments, and discover how play can be an invaluable tool in the process of creation. Ultimately this issue’s colour forecast is a celebration of colour’s ability to counteract negativity and uncertainty, to create a climate of optimism.  

You commissioned original photography for the issue, why was this important?

We commission work to visually communicate the colour insight within the publication. So although the images we commission are incredibly beautiful, they also have an important role to play in bringing insight and key colour information to life. For example, for our ‘Think Pink’ feature tracing the cultural significance of pink throughout the decades, we commissioned photographer Oliver Schwarzwald to create a series of three images to depict how the colour has evolved. In the 1950s pink was the colour of domestic bliss and new plastic manufacturing technology meant almost anything could be made in pink. However, in the 1970s, pink was reclaimed from its ‘feminine’ associations and we saw the rise of Punk Pink. Vivienne Westwood, the American gay community, Zandra Rhodes and The Body Politic magazine all appropriated pink and challenged convention.

Tell us about your choice of photographers – what about their approaches aligns with Viewpoint’s way of thinking?

The photography in Viewpoint has different roles to play depending on the context of the feature – so we look for photographers that have a sensibility that’s right for each colour story. For a feature like the long-term colour forecast we look for a more poetic approach, so we commissioned art director Gem Fletcher to work with the amazing up-and-coming photographer Alexandra Von Fuerst (we ran a feature about her in the Talent section of the last issue, so we just had to commission her – her work is stunning). Together with stylist Hella Keck, they have created a beautiful series of poetic imagery embracing the overlooked visceral beauty of natural forms and materials as a celebration of darker hues.

Tell us about the cover…

We wanted to have fun with this one – it is the play issue after all! So we chose one of the brighter images from the colour forecast, shot by William Bunce. We then decided to go for a polka dot spot varnish over the image.

Tell us a little about the process of creating Viewpoint… when did you start collating content for this issue? 

As a futures research and design studio we are continually amassing research. Generally, about 4–6 months before going to print a clear theme for the issue begins to emerge – where we start to see correlations across all the industries were looking at. We then spend about a month doing focused research, writing and commissioning briefs and creating concepts for shoots.

Our aim has always been to demystify the forecasting process, and to provide contextual grounding for emerging design and colour directions, linking sociocultural shifts with specific aesthetic cues and resonating mindsets. So it’s vital that both written texts have a very clear relationship with the imagery. In Viewpoint Colour we combine inspiration with context, providing an in-depth analysis of the personality traits of emerging colour stories, and explaining why they are relevant now and how they are currently being applied. But we also celebrate the poetic qualities of colour, and the inspiring, artistic and aesthetic power of colour in design, so there’s hopefully something for everybody, whether you’re a designer, photographer or in marketing or merchandising. We hope to inspire and inform, to help our readers create long-term ideas in line with future mindsets and design movements.

How was the experience of creating issue #03 – any late nights or last-minute changes of plan? 

As a relatively small studio, we’re incredibly efficient; we make decisions quickly and we’re used to working to tight deadlines. But, as with every print deadline, there’s always something you notice in the proofing stage and of course we always make a few last-minute changes – usually getting the colours right. As a colour publication it’s really important to for us to ensure the use of colour throughout is right and each page works with the theme.

The FranklinTill team is fantastically dedicated to getting each project out the door and Viewpoint Colour is really a labour of love, so we’ll spend as much time on it as needed. Saying that, we really believe in a work/life balance so we try to be as time-effective as possible. Luckily, we have an incredible studio team and amazing contributors and collaborators, so the process of getting the magazine out is a relatively smooth one – and – appropriately for this issue – rather fun, too.