CMG’s July Color Alert^®: Digital ID

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.

The New Blue

Digital ID has stemmed as a new hue, bridging color for the technology of who we are, on the planet we want to embrace. It is neither specifically science nor nature based, but instead straddles between the two as an identifying color that has a cool, modern, slightly off-beat appeal.

Standard Textile fabrics featured: 1 ) Arise in Seaglass, 2) Discover in Atlantis, 3) Mirage in Bubbles, 4) Casablanca in Aqua, and 5) Brandenburg in Sea Spray

On and Offline

A light blue with a subtle green influence, Digital ID has emerged from its predictive roots, in Latin America Color Marketing Group meetings in 2019, to become an important global color for 2021. Its meaning has shifted slightly as the world continues to fight the pandemic. Technology has validated its place during the last 18 months, as well as the desire for nature, and this blue color literally and symbolically clears the air with a new age of fresh ideas, goals, and health.

Fresh and Familiar

Digital ID moves easily from innovation to simplicity, as it establishes itself as a symbol for technology’s buzz as well as nature’s freshness. The tech impulses and desires of various generations are concentrated into their digital identity. They are curating how their individuality is being presented and preserved in social media and attempting to define who they are beyond the digital landscape. Privacy concerns, device energy usage, and individuality are the primary goals as the generations move forward and can be represented in a color that is fluid, embracing, and open.

This blue hue bridges consumer appetite for freshness and familiarity with new technologies such as smart devices like wearable tech. It is a hue that is embraced differently by each user while still recognizing its contrasting inspirations from digital to natural.

A Personal Touch

Tech and nature will live together blissfully in this hue, so where is it going to go? Digital ID is strongly indicated in hospitality settings, where guests desire combined experiences of mod cons and organic elements. It is the glowing blue screen light of a device, as well as the crystal-clear color of a cloudless sky.

Used as an accent color in furnishings, accessories, and architectural coatings, it raises blue to an aspirational color, able to accomplish multiple goals and inhabit various meanings in tech and nature. Whether in a hotel, restaurant, or lounge space, it adds an important color note. Interestingly, as workers move back into their offices, Digital ID will become a bridge color from home to workspace, providing a consistent flow between the two. Expect it, also, to emerge in residential and commercial settings beyond hospitality that nevertheless need to achieve the same vibe.

How our customers are going Digital(ID)

At Standard Textile, we’re seeing requests for accent fabrics in blue green tones for both hospitality and healthcare interiors. In hospitality, customers are pairing neutrals and bright colors with this muted blue green forward color in custom printed solar shades and wallcoverings. The calming sense of Digital ID help brings a level of natural peace to a room, reminiscent of the sky. Textural fabrics for furnishings, throw pillows, accent chairs, or custom printed bedding are just some ways our customers are lightening up their spaces.

In healthcare, we’re seeing Digital ID used as an accent color in fabrics for furnishings such as chairs for lobbies and offices, adding lightness and harmony. In healing spaces, such as recovery rooms, privacy curtains that are Digital ID color forward bring a sense of tranquility to room.

Lets get digital! Check out our fabric gallery for Digital ID 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.