We use cookies to give you the best personal experience on our website. If you continue to use our site without changing your cookie settings, you agree we may place these cookies on your device. You can change your cookie settings at any time but if you do , you may lose some functionality on our website . More information can be found in our privacy policy.
Please provide more information.
Stylus no longer supports Internet Explorer 7, 8 or 9. Please upgrade to IE 11, Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge. This will ensure you have the best possible experience on the site.
stylus
trends		 consumer
lifestyle		 consumer
product		 consumer
engagement		 topics events
calendar		 blog
view all
reports
 		about
stylus		 login
stylus trends
Consumer Lifestyle
Food, Beverage & Hospitality
Fashion
Beauty
Product Design
Colour & Materials
Retail
Media & Marketing
topics
view all reports
events calendar
blog
about stylus
T&C
careers
contact us
login
Colour Spectrum A/W 2016-17

Optical

What we see and what we don't defines Optical. Playful visual trickery is determining interesting combinations of the digital and physical realms. These crossovers are becoming harder to discern as the ability to control colour and colour customisation grows. This is altering our perception and redefining how we view colour.

Colours are pigmented, but not intense. Bold hues of Neptune Blue, Green Apatite and Paprika are tempered with deeper, rich tones of Toad, Ochre and Tomato Soup. Bright pale shades Duckling and Blue Glacier add luminosity to the palette, while Green Beryl and Purple Quartz provide a subtle sheen.

Share:
Published:
4 Nov 2014
DOWNLOAD PDF
RELATED REPORTS
Perspective
Perspective Perspective Perspective is an exploration of changing visual perceptions through the physical application of colour. From spatial environments to product, designers create illusions using craft rather than technological advances to engage and intrigue the viewer.

Vivid hues of Canary, Deep Turquoise and Process Red are mixed with tonal blues. Colours are predominantly intense and high in saturation, while neutral tones of Grey White and Process Black anchor the palette.
Colour & Materials
Colour Spectrum S/S 2018
17 May 2016
Louis Vuitton’s High-Shine Showspace
Louis Vuitton’s High-Shine Showspace Louis Vuitton: High-Shine Showspace Louis Vuitton's A/W 16/17 womenswear showspace at Paris Fashion Week offered a futuristic hall of shattered mirrors, reflecting and refracting models' garments as they walked the runway.
Colour & Materials
Architecture & Spaces
29 Mar 2016
Collage
Collage Collage Leading on from our previous Creator and Assemble rationales, Collage is a developing aesthetic of cut and paste. Crafting through digital and analogue methods generates a fragmented realm of synthesised and visionary imagery and installations.

The palette mostly consists of bright, saturated shades such as Aqua Blue, Titanium Yellow, Orange Crayon and Pink Heliotrope, balanced with darker shades of Dark Ink, Cobalt and Vermillion. Skin serves as the single neutral hue, while Olivine Shimmer adds a soft, lustrous shine.
Colour & Materials
Colour Spectrum A/W 17-18
06 Nov 2015
Frieze London 2015: Visual Highlights
Frieze London 2015: Visual Highlights Frieze London 2015: Highlights A major showcase in the art fair calendar, Frieze London is a fascinating showcase for the contemporary art market. This visual report highlights the latest inspirational artworks.
Colour & Materials
Arts & Pop Culture
22 Oct 2015
Première Vision A/W 16-17
Première Vision A/W 16-17 Première Vision A/W 16-17 Held in Paris, the fashion world’s leading textile trade fair Première Vision offers an international perspective of the major trends emerging for the new season. Here, we highlight the key themes in colour, print, pattern and skins for Autumn/Winter 2016-17.
Colour & Materials
Première Vision A/W 16-17
29 Sep 2015
VIEW ALL Reports
Première Vision A/W 16-17: Material & Finish
Première Vision A/W 16-17: Material & Finish Première Vision: Material & Finish This season pushes the boundaries of surface texture by harnessing experimental techniques and treatments. Here, we highlight the major overarching themes that dominated the show. 
Colour & Materials
Première Vision A/W 16-17
29 Sep 2015
Pigalle Duperré
Pigalle Duperré Pigalle Duperré French fashion brand Pigalle and creative agency Ill-Studio have collaborated on a multicoloured basketball court between a row of houses on Rue Duperré in Paris.
Colour & Materials
Colour
17 Aug 2015
Elisa Strozyk: Woven Glass Lights
Elisa Strozyk: Woven Glass Lights Elisa Strozyk: Woven Glass Lights German designer Elisa Strozyk pushes the limits of glass with her series of pendant lamps made from woven coloured glass.
Colour & Materials
Materials
30 Jul 2015
Avant-Glass: Material Innovation
Avant-Glass: Material Innovation Avant-Glass: Material Innovation A new wave of glass products is redefining this traditionally cold material. Innovative design and manufacturing methods transform glass and adapt its transparency for mesmerising visual effects. From clever colour application to decorative distortions, we examine the latest explorations.
Colour & Materials
Materials
28 Jul 2015
Assemble S/S 17: Visual Update
Assemble S/S 17: Visual Update Assemble S/S 17: Visual Update Exemplified through imaginative colour-blocked compositions in pastel tints and pigmented mid-tone shades, we collate the most inspiring visuals influencing the palette of our Colour Spectrum S/S 17 rationale Assemble. 
Colour & Materials
Colour
07 Jul 2015
Layer A/W 16-17: Visual Update
Layer A/W 16-17: Visual Update Layer A/W 16-17: Visual Update A playful approach to functionality defines the energetic outlook of our Autumn/Winter 2016-17 Design Direction, Layer. This visual report reinforces the fun, yet practical aesthetic, bringing together inspirational imagery from across the product categories.
Product Design
Key Directions
19 Jun 2015
NYCxDesign: Editors Picks
NYCxDesign: Editors Picks NYCxDesign: Editors Picks NYCxDesign is firmly asserting itself on the design calendar with an ever-growing roster of satellite shows and exhibitions spanning all disciplines of art and design. Our Editor’s Picks rounds up the key trends and highlights from across the city.
Product Design
NYCxDesign 2015
27 May 2015
Assemble
Assemble Assemble Assemble blurs the boundaries between art and design as creatives embrace imaginative compositions and colour. This unique approach harnesses colour-blocking effects to achieve playful spaces and experimental products and architecture. Contrasting pigmented colours are applied to asymmetric geometric frameworks to deliver new and intriguing perspectives.

The palette is centred on synthetic pastel tints and mid-tone shades, featuring Electric Teal, Jade Chalk, Memphis Green, Peach Tint, Orange Crush, Opal Gray and Flamingo.
Colour & Materials
Colour Spectrum S/S 17
05 May 2015
Milan 2015: Home Accessories & Textiles
Milan 2015: Home Accessories & Textiles Milan 2015: Accessories & Textiles We highlight the best product and most prominent trends seen across textiles, tableware and accessories at this year’s Milan Design Week.
Product Design
Milan Design Week 2015
28 Apr 2015
Wilderness A/W 16-17
Wilderness A/W 16-17 Wilderness A/W 16-17 An extension of our Autumn/Winter 2015-16 Design Direction Norse as well as the Spring/Summer material direction Relic, Wilderness combines a wanderer spirit with sci-fi elements and a primordial aesthetic. A hyper-tactile trend, we look towards eastern cultures and otherworldly landscapes; re-imagining the future through craft and heritage.
Fashion
Fashion & Beauty: Design Directions A/W 16-17
08 Apr 2015
Perceptive Colour
Perceptive Colour Perceptive Colour Rich, pigmented colour comes alive through motion blurring, illumination and projection. Revisiting our A/W 16-17 Colour Spectrum rationale Optical, we see ethereal qualities emerge through the use of colour-changing materials, distorting our vision of colour within current spaces, forms and products.
Colour & Materials
Colour
24 Mar 2015
Layer A/W 16-17
Layer A/W 16-17 Layer A/W 16-17 A fresh, playful energy runs through Layer's flexible and modular outlook. Evolving ideas first explored in our S/S 16 direction, Extend, Layer combines fun and practicality with a user-focused approach.

Tapping into the Gen Y and Z mindset, Layer is a youthful and proactive direction, offering simple, yet ingenious product solutions that can be personalised on demand.
Product Design
Design Directions A/W 16-17
20 Mar 2015
Kidult A/W 16-17
Kidult A/W 16-17 Kidult A/W 16-17 A whimsical update to our Spring/Summer 2016 Design Direction Quixotic, Kidult draws on its predecessor’s digital, quirky appeal and pushes it into a childlike sphere. Drawing on the disproportionate quality of outsider art, this direction celebrates imperfection, collage and cartoon visuals, while adding a comically subversive edge. 
Fashion
Overview
19 Mar 2015
Adidas Originals: Light-Reflective Xeno Shoes
Adidas Originals: Light-Reflective Xeno Shoes Adidas: Light-Reflective Xeno Shoes Inspired by a snake from South-East Asia, global sportswear giant Adidas has produced a collection of light-activated, colour-changing shoes.
Colour & Materials
Colour
23 Feb 2015
Update: Interrupted Surfaces
Update: Interrupted Surfaces Update: Interrupted Surfaces Highly reflective material applications are currently fascinating creatives. We re-examine our Materials Focus 2014-15 rationale Interrupted Surfaces to identify how designers are harnessing refractive finishes to challenge our interpretation of spaces and products, with compelling and responsive results.
Colour & Materials
Applications
10 Feb 2015
2015: Look Ahead - Colour & Materials
2015: Look Ahead - Colour & Materials 2015: Colour & Materials The future is here as we look towards 2015. Pioneering technical advancements will push the realms of robotics towards more sensitively considered concepts that utilise new lightweight composites and sustainably sourced materials, while innovations in colour will transform finish as additional functionality is incorporated into potentially any surface treatment. 

The Colour & Materials team will be attending a raft of events next year. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing the developments in 3D printing at the Consumer Electronics Show. In 2014, we saw this method applied to food with printed sugar; for 2015, new flexible resins will revolutionise additive making. And following its one-year hiatus, Techtextil will be sure to showcase advanced clothing fabrics and new manufacturing processes and technologies that could be influential for electronic wearables.
Colour & Materials
Insight & Innovation
16 Dec 2014
Radiant Hues
Radiant Hues Radiant Hues Radiant Hues builds on the rationale of Magical, whose understated palette comes alive through light. We look to industry to see the latest translations of this trend, and in doing so, see colour move into an inspiringly fluid state.
Colour & Materials
Colour
02 Dec 2014
Update: Wire Frames
Update: Wire Frames Update: Wire Frames Borrowing aesthetics from high-tech systems such as 3D mapping, creatives are pushing the boundaries with gridded structures. Revisiting our Autumn/Winter 2013-14 Colour Spectrum Rationale Wire Frames, we see designers exploring and evolving the practical applications of linear forms for product and spaces.
Colour & Materials
Applications
25 Nov 2014
Issey Miyake: 3D Steam Stretch
Issey Miyake: 3D Steam Stretch Issey Miyake: 3D Steam Stretch Japanese luxury fashion label Issey Miyake has produced a beautiful video to demonstrate the 3D Steam Stretch method used to create its Spring/Summer 2015 collection.
Colour & Materials
Materials
21 Nov 2014
Frieze London: Textured Surface
Frieze London: Textured Surface Frieze London: Textured Surface Thickly applied impasto, high-relief collage and jutting metallic surfaces fed into the highly textured aesthetic showcased at this year’s Frieze Art Fair in London (October 15-18). 
Colour & Materials
Arts & Pop Culture
06 Nov 2014
Interacket: Chameleon Jacket
Interacket: Chameleon Jacket Interacket: Chameleon Jacket Oslo-based studio Drap og Design has made a jacket that is able to change colour to mimic the surface the wearer has touched.
Colour & Materials
Colour
22 Oct 2014
Krijn de Koning at Turner Contemporary
Krijn de Koning at Turner Contemporary Krijn de Koning Dutch artist Krijn de Koning has created a labyrinth of brightly coloured walls on a terrace at the Turner Contemporary Gallery in Margate, England.
Colour & Materials
Architecture & Spaces
27 Aug 2014
Octopus Camouflage Tech
Octopus Camouflage Tech Octopus Camouflage Tech In the US, a team of scientists has developed a camouflage technology inspired by the adaptive skins of cephalopods, such as octopuses.
Colour & Materials
Materials
22 Aug 2014
Trick of the Eye: Colour & Illusion
Trick of the Eye: Colour & Illusion Trick of the Eye: Colour & Illusion Things are not what they seem as designers and artists get playful with bold colour, perspective and Escher-style geometry to create a new wave of optical illusions that trick the eye. Engaging consumers' curiosity, this trend cuts through the slick, technology-driven aesthetics of recent times, instead favouring a low-tech approach.
Colour & Materials
Colour
19 Aug 2014
‘Invisible’ Material
‘Invisible’ Material 'Invisible' Material A research team from Cambridge University have developed a new technique to build materials using light with the ability to cloak objects and render them invisible to the human eye.
Colour & Materials
Materials
04 Aug 2014
Digital Ethereal: Wi-Fi Spectres
Digital Ethereal: Wi-Fi Spectres Digital Ethereal: Wi-Fi Spectres The invisible world of wireless signals has been made visible in a series of dazzling images and installations by a researcher at Newcastle University.
Consumer Lifestyle
Science & Technology
04 Aug 2014
Digital Mimic
Digital Mimic Digital Mimic Further developing our Creator concept, designers and artists are recreating an imaginative, digital-led aesthetic through conventional techniques. Physical making and drawing mimic digital effects, informing the next generation of craft and design. We are seeing the lines between digital and analogue begin to blur.

The palette is centred on colourful mid-tones, such as Crayon Blue, Mauve, Seagreen and Satsuma, lightened by cool glowing hues of Lilac Light, Cold Light and Yellow Phosphor. Solder adds a soft metallic sheen to the range.
Colour & Materials
Colour Spectrum S/S 2016
07 May 2014
Panoramic
Panoramic Panoramic Panoramic explores our perception of the imminent future. Creatives embrace ultra-high-definition and amplified digital technologies, prompting visions of dystopian landscapes, or artwork and products that resemble future artefacts. Reflective surfaces, matt metallic sheens and glossy colour finishes emerge from inventive processes, resulting in a vivid and deep-hued palette. 

Highlights of Digital Pink, Cobalt and Radiant Yellow are intensified by peculiar tints of Rose Powder and Chartreuse Lustre. Magenta and luminescent Solar Purple and Purple Shimmer enhance the richness of the palette. 
Colour & Materials
Colour Spectrum S/S 2016
07 May 2014
Ultra-Surreal Worlds
Ultra-Surreal Worlds Ultra-Surreal Worlds As the distinction between real and virtual worlds continues to blur, artists and designers are embracing dreamlike and fantastical qualities. Curious and playful explorations of simple geometric form and colour are translating through from art and photography to set design, products and spaces. We look at real-life environments and creations that reflect the aesthetic outlined in our Colour Spectrum Spring/Summer 2015 concept, Ultra-Surreal.
Colour & Materials
Colour
27 Aug 2013
Distortion
Distortion Distortion Advanced technology and digital glitch are influencing a new direction for materials. Groundbreaking techniques at a nano-level and complex design ideas are cleverly applied to materials to make them more adaptive and reactive in exciting and unexpected finishes and constructions. Responsive surfaces, illusions and distortions inspire new print techniques on glass. Advances in colouring metal and interlocking flexible forms lead this aesthetic.
Colour & Materials
Materials Focus 2015
20 Jun 2013
Ultra-Surreal
Ultra-Surreal Ultra-Surreal With the dynamic growth of digital technology, we are seeing a shift towards a more comforting, nostalgic direction. Designers and artists are creating imaginative worlds that are reminiscent of another era. Fantastical and dreamlike music videos and playful fashion and product collections demonstrate this idea of the familiar.

In this predominantly mid-tone palette, warm earthy colours reflect the theme’s natural element in hues of Red Earth and Linseed. Intense highlight colours of Ultraviolet, Tumeric and Bright Pink are offset by paler pastel tones of Succulent Green and Dusty Pink. Ametrine adds a subtle, lustrous sheen to the range.
Colour & Materials
Colour Spectrum S/S 2015
06 Jun 2013
Play of Light
Play of Light Play of Light A fascination with light and illusion is driving artists and designers to focus on our perception of the world. New developments in lighting and mesmerising magical experiences result from harnessing light for optical effect.

This palette reflects these contrasting worlds of darkness and light. Deep-coloured hues of Dark Evergreen and Night Sky are balanced with warm greys Lumina Grey, Lunar Rock and stark White Dust. Lustres are key to this palette, ranging from bright Copper Orange and Rose Lustre to soft Lilac Haze and Pearl Green.
Colour & Materials
Colour
06 Jun 2013
About Stylus Terms & Conditions Careers Contact Us
Updated
Related
 ©  PANTONE®TPX
 COATED
 RAL
 RGB
 HEX
 NCS