DESIGNER SHADES

Lots of people perk up when they hear the words ‘designer’ looks. The word designer has many connotations. For those of us in the floral industry, it often has an association with the position of floral designer. When it refers to fashion, it talks about the person who designs the garments. And of course, there are those ‘special sunglasses’ that are oh so Rodeo Dr.
For us, when we hear the word shades, it is often associated with the color wheel. A color has a tint which is lightened by adding white, a tone, which is the true chroma, and a shade which refers to a color that black has been added. All colors can be found on a color wheel and if you look closer, most will show you a value scale which refers to the amount of white or black that is added to a color.
Seasonality has a big impact on color value. For instance, take the color yellow. In the spring, the color is bright and intense. Think about a daffodil or a lemon. The color yellow is bright and alive and makes a very strong impact. Now, take that same yellow and switch seasons to summer. Because of the heat and the strength of the sun, that same yellow has a more bleached or slightly paler look than spring time yellow. While it is still considered yellow, the intensity or color saturation has changed. Now we have autumn. Those yellows turn to wonderful rich gold tones because of the reduced amount of intense sun and cooler nights. Think of yarrow and golden chrysanthemums. And then of course winter yellow turns to bronzy gold for the holiday season.
Most colors go through this type of transition. Even white that starts in spring as a bright white turns to a rich and creamy off white through the seasons. Orange goes from bright tangerine to savory pumpkin as time moves on. You can track most colors through their seasonal changes. It’s fun and exciting to watch the color pallet change over time.
But remember, you may want to add a splash of color to brighten up or wake up sleepy autumn colors. This can easily be accomplished by using either Chartreuse Green or Violet. Both of these colors give life and energy to those surrounding colors that may be a bit dark or sleepy. Also, these two colors are melding or blending colors that help other colors that may be fighting visually come together and ‘play well together’.
Knowing your color wheel and how colors interact with each other is a great asset when it comes to selecting those ‘designer shades’. Enjoy the beauty of the season and check with your Account Manager to find out just what is available this harvest season.