Colours of Life

A thorough research on consumer behaviour, consumption patterns, socio-cultural sentiments and lifestyle shifts gives life to Asian Paints ColourNext’s new colour palettes, and the colour and wallpaper of the year. Take a look at their 2020 forecast…

Compiled by: BI Staff
Photographs: courtesy Asian Paints Limited

Asian Paints ColourNext since many years has been the most decisive voice on colour in India. The brand has been studying colour and its myriad influences on lifestyle since 2003. Collaborating with the finest experts from a wide range of disciplines — architecture, interiors, fashion, sociology, advertising, F&B and media — Asian Paints ColourNext puts together a comprehensive forecast of colours, materials, textures and finishes for those who design for India.

Every year, ColourNext identifies one colour that captures the essence of the time as the colour of the year, and for 2020 it is — Curiosity — a modern, clear shade of blue brimming with energy which takes inspiration from azurite, the copper mineral ore. The wallpaper of the year presented by Nilaya is an interpretation of the colour Curiosity in print, technique and material. This year, Nilaya collaborates with lifestyle brand Nicobar to present Silver Night as the wallpaper of the year. This special design celebrates the spirit of the moon and its myriad influences on our life.

Additionally, Asian Paints ColourNext has also released four colour trends (read, palettes) for the year 2020 — Mystique, Blend, Sonic and Potent.

MYSTIQUE
Mystique is a visual manifestation of our desire to explore ancient wisdom, practices and philosophies — be it for reasons of self-actualisation, therapy or our everlasting cosmic curiosity. Mystique traces a gradual behavioural shift wherein spirituality is no longer tied to religion. An aesthetic inspired by totems and ancient symbols of mysticism, the visual, spatial and material qualities of Mystique are mysterious and magnetic.

Mystique transfixes you in a magical, meditative gaze with a colour palette made of the elemental colours of wood, earth, fire, sky and water. Stark colours like bright orange, blood red, midnight blue and black, draw you in; while earthy shades of light and dark brown soothe the eyes.

BLEND
As our skills, expertise and the ability to implement our most challenging ideas have expanded, so have the boundaries of our imagination. No single discipline today exists in isolation or out of our reach. Diversity has found its way into every industry, forcing us to radically rethink how we perceive expertise. Blend is a new pursuit of creativity, where disparate fields merge to create non-vanilla experiences and the sum is always greater than its parts. Led by the outliers, Blend challenges the ideas of form, function, perception and bias that once restricted creativity.

Colours in this palette converge in unusual yet harmonious ways symbolising diversity. A blend of blue, purple-pink, yellow-green, faded cyan and grey — the colours picked are intentionally in-between and can’t be clearly classified as one or the other.

SONIC
Sonic explores how we engage with sound to expand our potential and explore the unseen dimensions of our mind. While our urban environment pushes us to the limit of our hyper-engaged state, we humans still yearn to grow further — acquire new knowledge, build new capabilities, explore new frontiers. The sense of sound presents us with a relatively under-utilised pathway to do so. While we work, cook, exercise, meditate or sleep, sound accompanies us as a personalised companion. Dynamic or calm, undulating or rhythmic, sound helps us disconnect, relax, learn, energise and enhance productivity.

In the Sonic colour palette, the greys and beige represent silence while the blue, pink and orange stand for calm, joy and activity.

POTENT
There has been a shift in how society perceives luxury. There is a growing appreciation for sparsity — a prioritisation of undiluted experiences over quantity. This is rooted in the awareness of what’s what and what’s in, and having the resources to buy into an idea, be it the latest super-ingredient or a limited drop by a niche brand. Redefining luxury, Potent offers an amplified experience, a powerhouse packed with intensity like a nucleus. Potent is in essence, amplified experiences in mini packages for thoughtful consumers.

Potent has a pure, clean, monotone colour palette with pops of contrast. The purest of pure is epitomised by white. The shades of green represent abundance, vitality and wealth as a metaphor for the potency of nature. Contrasted by the shades of red, the clarity of this palette leaves a lasting impression.