NEW BALANCE — FW21 Color, Concept + Trend Direction
BRAND: New Balance | newbalance.com | Boston, MA
DATE: 2019-2020
INDUSTRY: Apparel and Footwear — Men’s, Women’s, Kids
ROLE: Design Apprentice — Concept, Color and Materials
PROJECT: As an apprentice at New Balance, I worked with a small team of brand leaders to create key color, concept and trend directions for the Fall/Winter 2021 season. Images below titled ‘TEAM COLOR DIRECTION’ were included in a seasonal kickoff presentation distributed to global design teams, later influencing all product categories — Lifestyle, Performance, Apparel, Footwear, Men’s, Women’s and Kids.
DELIVERABLES: Color Concepts, Color Palette Selection, Image Research, Moodboards, Copywriting, Color Naming, Color Matching and Development, Color Digitization
COLOR SPACE — REDS
MY COLOR RESEARCH
KEYWORDS: lush reds, juicy, sensual, layered monochrome color
CONCEPT TEAM’s COLOR DIRECTION
KEYWORDS: bloodstone + peach, lush, juicy reds and tart pinks, burnished, anodized, sleek finishes, vivid accents
DESIGN TEAM’S ColOR APPLICATION
COLOR SPACE — GREENS + NEUTRALS
MY COLOR RESEARCH
KEYWORDS: pale harvest, gourd greens paired with pale earthy browns, washed out
concept TEAM’s COLOR DIRECTION
KEYWORDS: monochrome, rich, layered darks and textural neutrals, subtle off-tone pairings feel rich
DESIGN TEAM’S COLOR APPLICATION
COLOR SPACE — HERITAGE SPORT
MY COLOR RESEARCH
KEYWORDS: harvest, autumnal reds, oranges, yellows and greens, fall foliage, butternut, pumpkin
concept TEAM’s COLOR DIRECTION
KEYWORDS: harvest glow, rich seasonal shades in unexpected pairings, classic with a twist and a punch
DESIGN TEAM’S COLOR APPLICATION
COLOR SPACE — BRIGHTS
MY COLOR RESEARCH
KEYWORDS: playground, pared-down kinder-colors, midtones, translucent slime colors, more elevated palette
concept TEAM’s COLOR DIRECTION
KEYWORDS: playground, analog brights in bold combination, a sense of childhood nostalgia, expressive + playful
DESIGN TEAM’S COLOR APPLICATION
COLOR SPACE — PASTELS
MY COLOR RESEARCH
KEYWORDS: winter stillness, soft pastels, cozy, fuzzy, puffy, diffused light
concept TEAM’s COLOR DIRECTION
KEYWORDS: winter pales, color feels still, fuzzy, chalky, neutral-adjacent shades work beautifully for both genders, reduce, worn, patina
design team’s COLOR APPLICATION
COLOR SPACE — TECH-INSPIRED
MY COLOR RESEARCH
KEYWORDS: digital simulation, influenced by digital characters and avatars, gaming, cool purples and blues, iridescence
CONCEPT TEAM’S COLOR DIRECTION
KEYWORDS: digital fable, dark, digital, hyper-real color, the feel of being lit from within
design team’s COLOR APPLICATION
COLOR PALETTE IN PROCESS
With the same small team, I selected fabric color swatches to finalize the palette. I contributed many color names, in alignment with seasonal directions.
I then visually converted each swatch to RGB. After I digitized and arranged the final color palette for the season, it was distributed to global design and development teams.