I was just meeting with a savvy interior designer who, about five years ago, chose a uniquely powerful shade of violet blue to incorporate into her firm’s working identity package – i.e., logo, business card, and letterhead. Though she’s contemplating changing her graphic image, letting go of this particular hue is not on the table. 
It has become a signature, currently recognizable on a local level, but soon to be seen nationally. Not only is this strong shade one of her favorites, but it conveys her firm’s energy, as well as its passion for color. It clearly – and continually – communicates a message without saying a word.
Coincidentally, just this past week I ran across this article on the Dallas Morning News online component, GuideLive.com, by media critic Tom Maurstad: “Colors Could Soon Be Corporate Property.” (If the link doesn’t work, you can download a .pdf version of the piece here.) The gist is this: In our media-saturated world, brand colors create the fastest, most focused message possible. Ex: Target red, UPS brown, Sprint yellow, and – the most successful illustration in history – Tiffany blue.
When I have worked on corporate design projects, some clients understood this branding concept and some, sadly, did not. As Judith Ingalls, VP of Style and Design for Fortune Contract, a commercial carpet manufacturer, wrote in her white paper relating to color: “Commercial interiors symbolically convey meaning by creating a specific dynamic around corporate image – conservative, trustworthy, high-energy, casual, upbeat, etc. The successful use of color in a commercial interior is the most vital element in establishing the visual order that gives a space its identity.”
So whether global, national, or local, in commercial ventures or personal applications, find strength in color. Allow this silent communicator to speak for you.
Laura McDonald, ASID / IIDA
Interior Designer / Founder
laura@plinthandchintz.com
