Technology: The Embrace and the Backlash

Sherwin-Williams' 2007 Color Trend Forecast Reflects Effects of Growing Influence of Global Technology

(CLEVELAND - June 26, 2006) - Is it too much, too soon? The answer to that question, says Sheri Thompson, Director of Color Marketing and Design for Sherwin-Williams, can be found in the five collections comprising Sherwin-Williams' color trend forecast for 2007. "As technology continues to throw open windows to other worlds," says Thompson, "we've become eager recipients, but also oversaturated audiences." The dichotomy of technology, says Thompson, is that it gives us more power than ever before, but makes us feel overpowered at the same time. As a result, color trends for 2007 indicate a yin-yang polarity as we attempt to assimilate the constant flow of information, yet still maintain our uniquely personal place in the universe.

Collection I:  Balanced Living
"We just can't integrate as quickly as we can observe," says Thompson, which is the premise behind Balanced Living, the first trend collection for 2007. While the media make us aware of worldwide environmental circumstances such as global warming and dwindling natural resources, we integrate those concepts on a more human scale by recycling newspapers and plastic, or by using sustainable or natural materials in our home. "As the expression goes, we're thinking globally, but acting locally," says Thompson, who points to an increased interest in botanical-inspired decorating motifs, grasscloth wallcoverings, woven leather accents and repurposed furnishings, or furnishings made from reclaimed materials.  And while the inspiration is green, the colors in this trend reflect a spectrum of environmentally influenced shades, from deepest blue to washed aqua, offset by bronzed gold, plum and sun-warmed yellow.

Collection II: Sultry Origins
Walk through the women's apparel department of any department store and you'll see instantly the effects of technology's ability to make us aware of - and make available to us -- clothing designs that originated in other countries. "The beaded and batik looks that filled the runways two years ago have been mass-reproduced and are now filling racks and shelves in stores across the nation," says Thompson. And, says Thompson, while we welcome the larger portal that technology gives us on the world, we still want to personalize our individual view. "A friend gives you a hand-embroidered silk scarf from her recent trip to Russia, and you wear it with your jeans and cotton shirt. It's global fashion, but you've made it your own," says Thompson. The second trend for 2007 - Sultry Origins - mirrors how we're selectively importing indigenous decor elements such as Eastern European folk art, Asian lacquer finishes and African carved woods into our surroundings, and complementing them with deep wine, ginger, leathery brown and brassy colors.

Collection III: Understated Elegance
In some cases, technology doesn't just give you a window to a different world, it gives you access to a sophisticated luxury aesthetic, but at a range of price points from costly to economical. "Improved supply chain technologies are making once-high-end finishes such as granite, travertine marble and polished metals available to more modest budgets," says Thompson. "And those finishes are further enhanced with sumptuous textiles that include cut velvet, rich tweeds and luminescent weaves," she explains, adding that again, technology provides these materials in a less expensive way. Understated Elegance, the third category for 2007, hallmarks the juxtaposition of clean straight lines and highly textured finishes, of contemporary furnishings and rich upholstery, and of tailored details and complex neutral hues.  Colors in this category lean toward assertive but urban-cool tones of rice, greige, stone, ivory and java.

Collection IV: Virtual Remix
A marriage of yesterday and today, this fourth category relies on technology to connect the community culture of past decades with present-day attitudes and outlooks. "This trend marks a rebellion against the isolation that technology sometimes brings to our lives," says Thompson, adding, "yet, ironically, it's technology that gives us a lens to past eras and allows us to view a time when social interaction with family and friends were the norm."

Retro-inspired damask and flocked wallcoverings, plinth cocktail tables in wood and granite, rick-rack and pom-pom embellishments, Bermuda shorts and macrame accessories frame a quest for increased human connection, explains Thompson. "We're using technology tools like television and the Internet to find social interaction templates from our past," she says, adding that we use these templates as a tonic to the isolation that technology imposes on our present.  "It's the difference between playing solitaire on a laptop computer and playing Scrabble with family and friends."  And colors from the past are seeping into contemporary decor, including shades of orchid, black, deep coral and watery aqua.

Collection V: Kinetic Contrast
There's a crisp sharpness in both color and design that echoes how technology has trained our eyes to see, explains Thompson. "And this category reflects the influence," she says. Vibrant shades of green, blue and red against backdrops of deepest black and brightest white are commonplace on computer monitors and plasma televisions, so it follows that we're infusing our fashion and home decor designs with that same energetic appeal. The bold simplicity and bright colors of a Pucci pattern, the stark contrast of white and black pop style, the defined edges - and edginess - of works from Mondrian and Klee are as familiar to us as the presentation of graphics on our laptop screens, notes Thompson, who says high contrast is the foundation for this fifth collection for 2007. Assertive shades of blue, gold, red and green play off the point-counterpoint relationship of black and white, creating a palette that vibrates with life.

About Sherwin-Williams
For over 140 years, Sherwin-Williams has satisfied the coating and color needs of builders, designers, specifiers, property managers and contractors.  Sherwin-Williams provides fast, flexible, responsive local service and personalized, expert advice.  More than 3,000 stores and 1,500 sales representatives make Sherwin-Williams North America's largest single-source supplier of high-quality paints, stains, masonry coatings and brand-name wall and floor coverings.  Visit Sherwin-Williams on the Internet at www.sherwin-williams.com.

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