LAKESIDE OF OAKDALE
How do paint companies name their colors?
Soaring foyer, grand staircase, pool, outdoor kitchen, Dallas style, Edmond address
Sever al years ago, I painted a bathroom in my house a rich, smoky blue. Everyone who sees it asks for the color name.
When I answer, “Benjamin Moore's Gentleman's Gray,” the questioner inevitably looks perplexed and assumes I have conflated two colors, because
there is nothing gray about the shade. Even on Benjamin Moore's website, the color is described as a “blackened blue” that “leans toward classic navy.”
Why did the company choose a somewhat misleading name?
The name, though not entirely descriptive of the color, does conjure the image of a man impeccably dressed in a tailored three-piece suit, an image that aptly matches the richness of the hue.
Hannah Yeo, Benja min Moore' s color and design expert, said names play an important role when people are making color selections.
“While color descriptions such as `light blue' are helpful to narrow down colors and are quite straightforward, we also look for names that evoke positive associations, experiences and are inspiring,” Yeo said.
Sue Wadden, director of color marketing for SherwinWilliams, said that in some cases a color name can be a tiebreaker.
“In the past, alla name needed to do was describe a color; for example, bright pink ,” she said .“Today, however, we want consumers to connect with colors. So instead, that color might be called `Vivacious.' “
Charlotte Cosby, head of creative at Farrow & Ball, said inspiration for their color names comes from all over. Cosby travels extensively for work, so she gets lots of name (and color) ideas from the places she visits, but just as important is the inspiration she finds in the landscape and dialect of England's Dorset County, where the company is based. Farrow & Ball's naming process is organic, Cosby said.
“Even when we are not working on new colors, if we encounter a great name, it gets filed away for when we are,” she said.
Sometimes, she said, the color comes before the name, and sometimes the name comes before the color. An example of the latter is Farrow & Ball's Mizzle.
“Mizzle,” Cosby explains, “is the word we use in Dorset to describe the weather when it is both misty and drizzling.” Stored on a someday list, the name was eventually matched and attached to a hazy shade of gray green.
Although many of Farrow & Ball's color names pay homage to the past, Cosby said, “We always opt for names that we hope will delight and intrigue the people who pick up our color cards.” In fact, Cosby said, the names become a huge part of the identity of the color and often help with a color's popularity.
“Elephant's Breath is always a favorite among our fans. It's a gorgeous gray with a magenta under tone, very beautiful in its own right, but its unusual name definitely helps its popularity,” she said.
California-based paint company Be hr frequently turns to its landscape to name colors, said Erika Woelfel, Behr's vice president of color and creative services.
“Colors like Surf board Yellow and Beachside Drive reference a sunny, oceanside culture, while Vintner is a nod to the lush Napa Valley wine region,” Woelfer said.
However, Woelfer and her team try to keep their paint names as universal as possible so they appeal to a wide audience; Behr paints are available nationwide at Home Depot.
“We put a lot of research into our paint color names, knowing they often sway consumers toward one shade or another,” Woelfer said. “We choose names based on the imagery and mood each color evokes, with the goal of making the color selection process easier and more personal for our customers.”
Nicole Gibbons, who founded the direct-to-consumer online paint company Clare in 2017, said her company' s naming process is rigorous and thoughtful, seeking to invoke the feeling of the color, in a fun and relevant way. Clare takes naming cues from pop culture; names such as Matcha Latte and Avocado Toast are timely references to trendy menu items but also immediately evocative of their green hues.