In his talk about colour trends 2023, the creative director of NCS Colour, Karl Johan Bertilsson, said that purchasing decisions are 90% dependent on perceived colour. If you can’t resist the temptation to buy a jacket, if you pick a specific bottle from the wine rack, if you choose a given smartwatch, nine times out of ten there is a colour involved. Bertilsson explained that the reason why it is important to study colour trends lies in understanding how perception changes over time. NCS works on two levels to formulate its trend forecasts.
Level 1 / The repetitive cycle
Taste is rediscovered roughly every 20 years. This is evident in the fashion industry. It is no coincidence that Generation Z has taken over the 2000s style and called it Y2K. In other words: low-rise jeans, cropped t-shirt, total denim look, bucket hat, velour tracksuit. The 20-year trend loop, according to NCS, has to do with the psychology of colour. When a certain aesthetic is inflated, i.e. when we are subjected to the bombardment of certain colours, we get tired and head towards escape routes. In the current historical phase, the dominance of pastel-light tones is about to veer towards a darkening of these tones.
Level 2 / Global drivers
There are certain actors capable of directing moods and colours linked to them. Global drivers, on the strength of their authority and persuasive power, drive emulation. They are mega influencers.
A new consumer consciousness
In spite of geopolitical uncertainties, in 2023 there will be a return to normality according to NCS. Nothing we have seen before. It will be a new normal. Bertilsson elects next year as the year of renewal. The root ‘re’ will mark many behaviours. Hence: re-new, re-use, re-invent, re-cycle, re-store, re-think. This NCS forecast winks at environmental consciousness, conscious consumption and circular economy. Things will be repaired, they will be regenerated, they will last a long time. That is why they will be special. Uniqueness will be at the centre of everything.
Metaverse Revolution. Or what?
A kind of ‘Avatar economy’ in which we can consume in an ecological way. Because digital consumerism reduces the pollution of the planet by 90% when compared to the consumption of physical products. In this futuristic context, there are many innovations to be learnt. For example, NFTs. Non-fungible tokens are representations of a digital property, like a work of art that does not exist in the material world. In South Korea, for one, Seoul has pledged to become the first capital to plant roots in the Metaverse. Perhaps this is also why the colours of the Asian city, especially after sunset, are becoming increasingly important. Also because in digital, colours are indispensable tools of attraction. In short, according to NCS everything points to the Metaverse bringing a transformation in colour. RAL has also felt the same gust. It should be pointed out, however, that the Metaverse’s inevitability already appears to be creaking from many quarters. Many analysts argue that people are not attracted by this prospect. Maybe it is too early. Or simply they do not understand it. A bit like when it seemed that homes would have to be invaded by 3D glasses for the domestic transfer of a technology that, instead, continues to exist only in cinemas.
NCS colour trends 2023
Let us come to the point. In plotting its Trends 2023+, the NCS team oriented itself with the compass of the repetitive cycle and global drivers. It then divided the colours into four groups. It thus macro-categorised and simplified the moods.
