November 17, 2021
Color Alert® is an exciting monthly feature from Color Marketing Group® (CMG), illuminating one color each month from CMG’s World Color Forecast™ and validating color predictions in the market.
Blue comes in many colors from light to dark, but its deep versions set the heart racing with intrigue. Whether navy, midnight, deep space, or any of the other words to describe dark blue, the hue can suggest voyages through spaces and worlds of mystery as well as enlightenment.
It is a color to examine, often virtually, hence the appropriate handle of Libertad Virtual (Virtual Freedom). This dark blue, discerned at Color Marketing Group Latin America meetings, for emergence in 2021, is an immersive color that offers a deep, subtle color journey that can burst with life and enthusiasm when combined with other hues.
Recognized as perfectly classic, it also has the ability to morph personalities when sheen levels, textures, and finishes are used to create a different mood or sensation. Libertad Virtual can be virtually anything you want.
For commercial interiors, it is a hue of welcome, comfort, and ease. Velvet, gloss paint, or porcelain bring elevated levels of design. Each piece is lifted in a different way as the dark blue enhances each of the materials. It is also an elevated color for branding and creates an aura, virtual though it may be, of stability and authority. The color, whether digital or analog, creates a sense of space and richness.
For residential interiors, much has been made of dark blue kitchen cabinetry and counter surfaces, as well as paint, upholstery, and textiles. It works with other hues, wood, metals, stone, and practically any other material you can imagine.
A color recognized for its classic uses, it now raises the bar, and awareness, to a virtual space where it can be almost anything you want, in any material. It’s up to you. Enjoy the freedom of Libertad Virtual.
At Standard Textile, we’re seeing requests for dark blue hues in fabrics that pull in grey tones. In hospitality, customers are pairing Libertad Virtual’s dark blue hues into window treatments like drapery and furnishings for lounges and guest rooms. In education, customers are incorporating shades of this deep blue color into furnishings for student collaboration areas and wallcoverings. Fabrics like velvets and sheers add dimension and texture to a space, as well as play with light to create the Libertad Virtual morphing blue hues. Bold geometric patterns and classic plaid and tweed fabrics are just some ways our customers are incorporating texture with Libertad Virtual colors into their spaces.
In healthcare, we’re seeing Libertad Virtual tones used for furnishings such as chairs and benches for lobbies and patient rooms. Privacy curtains utilizing muted dark blue colors with grey add a soothing and calmness to the room. In long term care facilities, custom-printed top-of-bed decor brings comforters and throw pillows to life with unique designs and patterns showcasing this dark blue hue.
All these clues lead to Blue! Check out our fabric gallery for Libertad Virtual color inspiration for your next project.
Color Marketing Group® (CMG) is the premier international association for color design professionals. Their mission is creating accurate and relevant color and trend forecast information by connecting global color professionals in their shared passion. Members represent a broad spectrum of designers, marketers, color scientists, consultants, educators, and artists.
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