As a culmination of a yearlong design and lifestyle research, Jotun has unveiled its annual colour card featuring 36 shades that will define global interior trends in 2018 and beyond.
The Norwegian paint manufacturer is one of the world’s biggest interior colour suppliers. A large part of its success can be attributed to the forensic attention its colour specialists pay to the ever-evolving tastes and trends that shape modern life and style.
Dubbed ‘Rhythm of Life’, the 2017 colour card is a snapshot of the ideas, realities, values and aspirations shared by people around the world, expressed in 36 new colours that Jotun has developed in response to the changing nature of modern international living.
Led by the brand’s Global Colour Manager, Lisbeth Larsen, a group of colour consultants based across South-East Asia, the Middle East, Turkey and Scandinavia have each contributed extensive regional research and market analysis to the project. By identifying the common threads and shared social tendencies across regions, Larsen has been able to condense the research into three clear themes, each of which describes a different style of living – with a distinct colour palette to match.
“How people think and what people dream of is actually surprisingly similar whether you live in Muscat or in Copenhagen. Everyone shares a love of colour. Our research identified three trends that are common to inhabitants of every global city: our longing for the restorative power of nature; our dream of a calmer, slower-paced way of life in the sun; and our desire to make the most of our increasingly compact urban living spaces in minimalist but creative ways,” said Larsen.
Soft Skin.
Soft Skin.
Space.
Sandy.
To illustrate the themes and their associated palettes, Jotun collaborated with Oslo creative studio Kråkvik & D’Orazio, who have worked with the paint company for the last 10 years. Shot in private homes in Sweden and Denmark by renowned photographer Line Thit Klein, the sets they created translate each of the three palettes into real-life interior spaces, using materials and domestic objects that explore the themes in three-dimensional detail.
City Motions represents modern urban creative culture, expressed through the pared-back design of compact city living spaces. Fusing an industrial aesthetic with comfortable, easy-living simplicity, it presents a refined and restrained palette of deep blues, marble greys and woody browns.
Silent Serenity embodies the meeting point of mindfulness and multiculturalism of the considered, nomadic lifestyle, captured in the light shades of earth and sand – soothing creams, desert pinks and muted peaches.
Lush Garden takes us out of the city and into the forest, representing the grounding and restorative connection with nature, and offering a botanical sanctuary from the relentless pace of life. The blue-greens of leaves and jungle pools are contrasted with the red-browns of bark and branch.
Founded in 1926 in Sandefjord, southeastern Norway, Jotun is one of the world’s biggest paint companies, found on interior and outdoor walls in more than 100 countries around the world. With a long tradition of ground-breaking research and colour innovation, Jotun is renowned for both the aesthetics of its decorative paints and the protection and durability its powder coatings offer.
Over the years Jotun has painted the Eiffel Tower, the Petronas Towers, the Burj Khalifa and dozens more. As well as being one of the country’s industrial giants (by nature and by name – in Norse myth, the jötunn are a race of giants), the company is actively involved with Norway’s creative scene, and takes a leading role in design and interiors events and exhibitions worldwide.