It’s fascinating to think that the endless possibilities of color all emerge from the humble color wheel. Within this very limited spectrum, we’re forever concocting new combinations. We gravitate towards certain co-ordinates on the wheel every season or so, led by the collective intuition of fashion, product, and graphic designers.
Despite the rationale that accompanies each seasonal palette, it’s typically just a self-fulfilling prophecy: bold designers instinctively explore new hues and combinations, and if they look fresh and easy on the eye, others soon replicate them, and a trend is born.
Which is why this year, though much will be made about the celebrated ‘Colors of the Year’, we’re interested in expressions of color that move beyond any replicable palette. ‘Wild’, ‘excessive’, ‘over-saturated’, ‘artificial’, ‘electric’, and ‘explosive’ are some of the adjectives we’d use to describe them. In line with the prevailing theme of rebellion, color is rioting in the streets.
“As more and more synthetic materials enter our world, it stands to reason that their physical properties will infiltrate our imagination.”
Made all the more malleable by digital technology, we’re definitely seeing more synthetic tones, gradients, combinations, and surface textures – colors we’d never see in nature. On second thought, some of these might be inspired by new perspectives on nature that technology has enabled: an insect’s eye, beetle’s shell, or scales on a butterfly’s wing are digitally psychedelic under a microscope. The fashion industry is booming with experiments in iridescence, mimicking nature with synthetic materials.
The artefacts of technology have also expanded the color wheel’s repertoire. Things like silicon, plastic, neon, and petroleum all throw light back at us in fascinating ways. As more and more synthetic materials enter our world, it stands to reason that their physical properties will infiltrate our imagination. Plastic wrap, for example, is an analogue texture we’re seeing all over the place. There’s an element of nostalgia behind this for sure, but the crumpled synthetic texture adds visual interest as it distorts light into random rainbow slivers.
Made all the more malleable by digital technology, we’re definitely seeing more synthetic tones, gradients, combinations, and surface textures – colors we’d never see in nature. On second thought, some of these might be inspired by new perspectives on nature that technology has enabled: an insect’s eye, beetle’s shell, or scales on a butterfly’s wing are digitally psychedelic under a microscope. The fashion industry is booming with experiments in iridescence, mimicking nature with synthetic materials.
"The artefacts of technology have also expanded the color wheel’s repertoire.."
Things like silicon, plastic, neon, and petroleum all throw light back at us in fascinating ways. As more and more synthetic materials enter our world, it stands to reason that their physical properties will infiltrate our imagination. Plastic wrap, for example, is an analogue texture we’re seeing all over the place. There’s an element of nostalgia behind this for sure, but the crumpled synthetic texture adds visual interest as it distorts light into random rainbow slivers.
Technology gives us the ability to blend gradients with perfect precision and unlimited freedom. Any two, or three, or sixty-seven colors can be integrated in an instant – and we kinda want to see what that looks like; how much further we can push it. Glitch art remains big within the anti-design uprising, short-circuiting the code that recreates color as we know it to generate garish clashes, visualising hysteria, tension and chaos. The ‘broken machine’ aesthetic is an evocative expression of rebellion.
Whereas most art in existence has used the abundant tones of the natural world to reproduce it to some degree, many contemporary artists and designers are choosing to represent our new digital reality with a palette beyond the organic world, developing a new color language as different as Java is to Japanese. We’re using computers to help us imagine the possibilities we haven’t quite imagined yet.
“Freed from the supervision of the logical mind, unexpected patterns bring themselves into existence.”
Another expression of unbridled color expression we’re seeing much more of is fluidity. Put simply, it’s the manifestation of color as pure energy, using abstract, organic shapes to create a sense of movement and life force.
In many cases this idea works hand in hand with the aforementioned trend of unnatural colors, emulating the fluid shapes of synthetic materials like warped plastic, soap bubbles, or petrol on a wet street. Digitally rendering or referencing these prismatic colors creates beautiful abstract forms that are popular in contemporary graphic design – particularly successful when counterbalanced with clear, minimalist typography.
Another expression of unbridled color expression we’re seeing much more of is fluidity. Put simply, it’s the manifestation of color as pure energy, using abstract, organic shapes to create a sense of movement and life force.
In many cases this idea works hand in hand with the aforementioned trend of unnatural colors, emulating the fluid shapes of synthetic materials like warped plastic, soap bubbles, or petrol on a wet street. Digitally rendering or referencing these prismatic colors creates beautiful abstract forms that are popular in contemporary graphic design – particularly successful when counterbalanced with clear, minimalist typography.
These fluid shapes are often generated with digital physicality to the point of being phygital objects, the centrepiece of a scene created entirely from imagination. It’s common to see 3D forms interacting with text and other graphic elements, enhancing the illusion of depth, volume, and tactility.
Not all variations on this trend are wild and outrageous. Some are more graphic and simplified, perhaps only using two or three colors. But the sense of dynamism, spontaneity, and energy remains consistent. Animation works perfectly in this mode, converting a sense of movement into actual movement, as organic shapes flow, twist, ooze, and rotate in mesmerising loops. Like smoke trailing up into the night sky, or a cyclone whipping across an island, there’s no apparent logic to the twists and undulations. They simply flow.
It’s a visual representation of that ideal state where we let intuition take the wheel, and our natural impulses guide the way. Seen in this light, organic fluidity might be regarded as a more sophisticated expression of doodling, another big trend we’ve identified as childlike expression.
Freed from the supervision of the logical mind, unexpected patterns bring themselves into existence. Amorphous, lava-lamp-like blobs of color might not seem like a representation of anything specific, but they definitely paint a picture of creative confidence.
“Like a lone lemon on a tree, a tangy pop of yellow can really grab your attention.”
If you’re looking for one specific and easy to implement take-away from our research into color trends, adding a squeeze of citrus into your designs would be it. Restraint is a very underrated design skill, and we know that not everybody will gravitate towards the wild expressionism we’ve been looking at. If subtlety is your thing, and you’re just looking for a lil’ Salt Bae sprinkle of on-trend flair, consider delving into the yellowy section of the color wheel.
Yuzu, Tangerine, Papaya, and Blood Orange aren’t just brilliant juice ingredients, they’re hugely popular colors at the moment. But that doesn’t mean you need to need to spread ‘em on thick in every design you create. Like a lone lemon on a tree, a tangy pop of yellow can really grab your attention, especially in a minimalist or monochrome design. It can be even more interesting in the mode of childlike expression – a spontaneous splash, spray, splotch, or speckle interrupting an impeccably ordered design.
Citrus accents inject a dash of energy, warmth, positivity, and vitality. Subtle notes of softer hues can also evoke nostalgia, like light leaks on old photographs, or the subtitles in a European arthouse film. ‘Mellow Yellow’ typography over raw, authentic photography is a very hot look in fashion and music right now, typically bolstering a retro or analogue anaesthetic.
There’s an intrinsic healthiness to yellow and orange (think sunlight, spring flowers and ripe Californian orchards) which makes it a great choice in the realm of wellness And it grabs attention like nothing else. Maybe it’s something in our primal jungle DNA, programmed to spot bananas or poisonous frogs. Who knows?
When creating your own color combos in Over, the only limitation is your imagination. There are no limits to how many colors you can bring together in a single design. Don’t forget to save and name your palettes once you’ve built them, so you can replicate the identical hues at a later stage. For bigger projects, you might even want to create a color moodboard at the outset, to preview the overall impression your selection will make.
