What's in a Color Name?

By Denise Turner, ASID,CID,CMG

We’re all aware that color matters. The right fabric color can generate sales and the wrong color can lose them. However, did you know that the right color name can be just as important? Whether it’s “Posh Pelican,” “Luv Hue” or “Beach Buoys,” an enticing color name has the power to excite, persuade, and ultimately close a sale.

Have you ever wondered who gets paid to do the fun job or naming all those textiles and paint colors? Yes, that would be me! After designing paint color systems and color palettes for the textile and building material industry for over 15 years, today I name colors as part of my job.

Before you say “dream job!” Keep in mind, the average paint color system contains 1,500 colors (give or take a few hundred), which begin their lives as nameless, color chip orphans.

With some of the strange names that the paint companies are coming up with these days, you might suspect that they’re just pulling names out of thin air or that alcohol is probably involved. Trust me! There’s a method to this madness.

In the years of designing products and naming them, I’ve discovered that in the art of color naming no two color namers do it the same way. There’s no “Color Naming for Dummies” book. As far as I know, there’s no class to learn how to do it and it doesn’t appear as a career choice on a high school guidance counselor’s assessment test.

Although we color namers each have different ways of approaching the task, we have the same goal in mind: to sell more product through color. The bottom line is that color names are marketing tools that help to sell products.

Here’s some insight into the reasoning and creative force behind how it’s done. The goal is to stimulate a personal connection between the color and intended end user by summoning a memory or evoking compelling emotions, even if they’re dark ones, so long as it results in a sale.

Call me strange, but I view each color that I’m proposing for a new product line as one of my little babies. I want it to be loved and in demand for its uniqueness, and bottom line, I want it to sell like crazy.

My ultimate goal in naming colors is to get a physical reaction out of the prospective customer. As customers go over the clever names on a color card, roll their eyes, raise an eyebrow, smirk, smile, chuckle, or laugh, they’re unknowingly seeing every color in the line. Every second they hold the color card increases the likelihood that they will find a color to purchase and not reach for your competitor’s product.

Guaranteed, if a customer says the color name out loud, it will be embedded in his or her mind for the rest of the day. The ultimate “got ya!” moment is when the color name engages verbal communication.

As Enduratex’s color consultant and extended family member, I create color palettes that develop into new product lines and design tools to help customers find and match colors. I also name the company’s colors.

Recently, while visiting Enduratex’s trade booth at the Hospitality Design (HD) Show, I was able to see firsthand how my work impacted their customers. At one point, I eavesdropped on a conversation in which two female interior designers explained to their male sidekick what “Raccoon Eyes” were. They continued to walk around the booth, laughing while reading the names, probably totally unaware that in the process of responding to the catchy names, they were seeing all the colors on display. The man laughed so hard when he read “Not-Yo-Cheese” (named after my dog Nacho Libre) and continued to say “Not-Yo-Cheese” as he left the booth.

Most Difficult Colors to Name

Coming up with a new, interesting way to say “beige” can be challenging. Mainly because there zillions of whites. For whites, it’s generally easier and more interesting to work with “feelings or lifestyles” themes. For instance, “Blank Canvas” is a rich yellow-ish brown, while “Tropical Bliss” is a fresh, bright blue-ish white.

Blue-greens can also be especially challenging to name, mainly because these colors don’t appear often in nature, other than in oceans. As with the whites, with blue-greens it’s generally more interesting to work with “feelings or lifestyles” themes, rather than the standard humdrum ocean names.

Easiest Colors to Name

Reds, yellows and greens are a snap! “Cha-Ching Cherry” and “Glitzerland Gold” are easy to envision. Greens too, since they’re so prevalent in nature and in food. For a fresh, in-your-face yellow-green, how about “You’re Outta Lime!” ?

Color Naming Tips:

• Is your fabric sold internationally? Double check to make sure that the name translates appropriately and won’t be offensive in a particular country.

• Traditionally, the trend was to connect the color name with the general color reference. Today, that’s not the case. More often, we’re using color names that evoke certain feelings or lifestyles.

• Look for names that people can easily identify with. Something they can visualize that makes it unique enough to remember.

• Nothing stimulates the color imagination like food, which adds taste to a variety of memories. But be sure to know your market. If the region you’re selling in doesn’t eat foods like butter or peanut butter, names like “Peanut Butter Cookie” or “Buttercream” will have no significance.

• When referring to a specific color family in a name such as “Blue Eyed Boy” make sure the color is actually a shade of blue.

• Flowers and trees stimulate scent and sight and are a wellspring of inspiration.

• Picturesque or lush places, such as the Italian countryside, Monte Carlo and the French Riviera evoke enviable lifestyles.

• Fabrics such as silk, satin, cashmere, linen, and mohair recall texture and feel.

Here’s a must-have book for anyone who names colors: Color Names Reference, written by my fellow CMG friend, the late Vivian C. Kistler.

Denise Turner, ASID, CID, CMG-is an award winning international colorist and speaker, color and design trend forecaster, marketing expert, author, and president of the Color Turners. She is an authority on cultural colors for the US and international market.

COLOR TURNERS turns the art of color into profit

Awards:

Winner of California Paint’s 2011 Color Challenge

Winner of HGTV Designer’s Challenge ADA-compliant master bath redesign.

Denise regularly appears in the press, as a media spokesperson for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) National and CMG Expert Speaker's Bureau. She is an ASID professional member, former ASID chapter president, Certified Interior Designer, CMG Chair Holder, CCIDC Board of Director and UCLA graduate.

denise@ColorTurners.com

909-909-2395

www.ColorTurners.com