Eye on color

When designing a package, how important is color? What color palettes are you currently drawn to and why?

Amy Zunzunegui

Amy Zunzunegui is the director of product development for Urban Decay and Hard Candy Cosmetics. Urban Decay Cosmetics describes itself as “beauty with an edge…feminine, a little bit dangerous and a lot of fun.” Hard Candy Cosmetics is tailored for the young and fresh trend-setter with a “style that’s meant to be seen.” www.urbandecay.com and www.hardcandy.com.

Urban Decay incorporated purple into the brand image about six years ago and it has remained a consistent visual element for us ever since.  It has now become our core color in regards to both packaging and merchandising.  Purple is a little feminine, definitely has a touch of danger and is fun.  And this is what defines Urban Decay: feminine, dangerous and fun.  The use of purple keeps our product line consistent throughout, but at the same time allows us the freedom to explore other colors that might work within each product category.

For our core line items, we always include purple on the outer packaging.  It could be on a paper box or on a clear box, or be in varying shades of purple, but it is there somewhere.  In regards to the inner packaging, we do not follow quite as strict rules.  If purple seems the most appropriate color, then we use it.  But sometimes silver or black better express the feeling we are trying to communicate.  Each of our products has its own personality.  We try to differentiate our products from one another, as well as from existing products in the marketplace.  And to do that, we sometimes have to go beyond our normal visual guidelines. For instance, we just launched the Deluxe Shadows which each have different artwork in the lid — all eight in various colors.  One is pink and orange, another is blue, yellow and red, and yet another is green and black.  But again, the outer packaging ties them all together with the use of purple.  

That being said, the color we are most inspired by at the moment is purple and black.  We have brought it back in a big way for Holiday.  We are using it in all different forms on different products.  Each product in the Urban Decay lineup is completely different from the other; however, they are all tied together by the use of color.  It makes it a very coherent look and one that displays beautifully on the shelf as well.

Marc Rosen

Marc Rosen is president and chief executive of Marc Rosen Associates, ACCESSmr and Horizon Beauty. An award-winning (seven FiFi’s) designer in the areas of fragrance, skin care and make-up, he is also a professor at Pratt Institute, teaching the graduate course in designing fragrance packaging. A trustee at Pratt, he received an honorary doctorate in 2002. Rosen has created bottles for Karl Lagerfeld, Perry Ellis, Ellen Tracy, Elizabeth Arden Red Door, Nina Ricci, Guess and Jill Stuart. He is the recipient of the 2004 FiFi award for the packaging of his fragrance, Shanghai. www.marcrosenassociates.com.

Color is what our business is all about.  Whether it’s the shade of a lipstick or the folding carton that contains it, color creates the image.   It is our greatest branding tool.  When I was just starting in this business color defined the brand — Lauder blue, Arden pink, Revlon red, Chanel black.  Today we have learned that color can create a subliminal emotional response.  Designers can create new lines or revamp old ones just by choosing the right palette.

Clearly black has proven over the years that its use can signify status, elegance and luxury.  I like to choose colors that can create a mood, an image for a product — a personality that can evoke an instant response.  I like to choose colors that haven’t been used for a long time and re-define them by selecting a hue that makes it new.  We are all about fashion and color is the essential element.   

Glyn Eppy

Glyn Eppy is president of TheDesignSpot. TheDesignSpot is a design and branding company located in the heart of New York City’s Flatiron District with a team of award-winning designers and creative thinkers who specialize in building beautiful brands. They’re experts at creating and executing unusual packaging and identity pieces, with an emphasis on skin care, personal care, cosmetics and fragrance. TheDesignSpot handles everything from the big picture to the tiniest detail. www.thedesignspot.net.

Color is extremely important! It is actually one of the most important attributes of a brand, and in many cases becomes even more memorable than the name or logo. Colors also create visual impact and in most cases, it is what the consumer will remember about the packaging and products that they use. They might not remember a brand name, but they will always know what color the package was. Coca Cola and Kodak are just two examples of the many companies that have a trademark on their brand colors, showing just how important the intrinsic value of color is.

Color is universal and since ancient times, colors have evoked emotion and have had different meanings — green is calming, blue is truthful and red is bold or hot. This being said, the absence of color is also important. A white package, although clean and simple, can be very distinct and upscale.

As far as particular colors are concerned, I’m not necessarily drawn to a specific palette of colors, but drawn to what the color represents and how it will in effect, portray the brand. When designing a package, we choose colors that we feel will best demonstrate the brand’s image in a unique, effective and memorable way.

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