Bringing color to life and life to color in the fascinating world of color planning

Leslie Harrington wants you to believe.

As a color expert, she sees the difficulties people have in putting color into their lives. “It’s a risk to move in the direction of bold or lively colors,” she says, “because color can be intimidating. Many couples come to my studio having reached an impasse—particularly older couples. Because they can’t agree, they reach a compromise—a non-color for the walls or fabrics in a room.”

Leslie observes that younger couples and individuals (under 40) have less difficulty making color choices. “They see color commitment like so many other aspects of their lives—dealing with constant flux in their careers and living situations means they are more comfortable with a risky color choice because it can always be replaced. Twenty-to-forty percent of all paint is purchased to cover a mistake,” she explains.

Leslie is no stranger to the world of color planning. Working with her mother in an Ontario, Canada, Benjamin Moore paint store, she can call herself a second-generation paint and color specialist. She went on to become Benjamin Moore’s director of color for the company, where she redesigned their entire paint line to make it more reflective of current tastes and trends. In addition to her color studio in Greenwich, CT, Leslie also heads the Color Association of the United States (CAUS). “We are thought leaders for home design, fashion and manufacturing organizations,” she explains. “This commercial side of my business takes me to drug, car, packaging, furniture and other corporations, to help them contextualize color choices with their design teams. By this, I mean fusing product ideas with function and helping them choose the right colors to enhance and ultimately sell the product.”

“[For corporations, I fuse] product ideas with function [to help] them
choose the right colors to enhance and ultimately sell the product.”

Color matters in durable products, too. The Color Association works with catalogue furniture companies to develop more evolutionary, rather than revolutionary color stories for their interior palettes; since new furniture-buy decisions are anchored in past purchases which may remain in the home for years, in some cases. “Other products, like cell phones,” she says, “are more ‘throw-away’ and so can be marketed using more current color trends, without fear of a major fashion error on the part of a buyer. The right color choice, at the right time, for the right product, might mean that it will either sell briskly or languish on the retail shelf. Millions of dollars are at stake in many cases.”

“[Color choice] is a complex process that involves both psychology and science.”

But caveat emptor! A bright yellow laptop computer may not sell well, but a canary yellow off-road vehicle may. How to decide what market forces drive the ‘buy’ decision on each side of the product equation is the job of the team of experts who confer frequently under the banner of the CAUS to offer their carefully-considered forcasts on the topic. “Color is contextual,” Leslie explains, “We ask ourselves: How does this product function in the lives of its user and what trends and brand identity issues are going to come into play. It is a complex process that involves both psychology and science.

Returning to her role as a consultant for individuals and couples making color decisions, she points out that, “Color choice should be a process of elimination, not selection. It is important to know what room is being considered, since color affects behavior and attitude in that space (e.g.- red for a dining room stimulates appetite; red in a bedroom may produce tension). Color choice should be a strategic, as well as an aesthetic one, since the uses and mood of a room help to guide the color-choice process. In my work with clients, I often help them move from an emotional connection to a color to an objective decision about what color will be best for that space. A client may ‘like’ a certain color for all the wrong reasons. In my role as a color consultant, like is not part of the equation.”

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To learn more about Leslie Harrington’s work, go to http://www.lhcolor.com

For architects and designers (and others!), download a Benjamin Moore color palette or order Color Pulse 2010 at: http://www.bejaminmoore.com

To learn more about the work of the CAUS, go to: http://www.colorassociation.com