The PPG Global Design and Color Marketing Team developed 110 new concept colors for consideration by automotive designers for the 2009-2010 model years. The colors were recently unveiled to automakers as part of PPG's annual color show.

The PPG Global Design and Color Marketing Team - which consists of colorists in North America, South America, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, China, Malaysia, India and Australia - developed 110 new concept colors for consideration by automotive designers for the 2009-2010 model years. The colors were recently unveiled to automakers as part of PPG's annual color show.

"In addition to blue, the natural color family is going to be an area of growth for the automotive market," Harrington said. "This new trend is based on the consumer's desire for handcrafted-looking products that are authentic and exclusive."

Harrington said she believes brighter colors are working their way back after years of silver, black and white dominating the popularity charts.

The color experts at PPG are forecasting the following North American color trends for the 2009-2010 model years:

  • Blue: The color blue will increase in popularity, with updated rich classic blues featuring sparkle effects for a unique iridescence and some shades featuring green and red casts. Medium-valued blues with silver highlights also add new dimension to the palette.

  • Green: Nature-inspired textures and patterns will expand the range of greens, especially with continued consumer interest in the environment and "green" products. The color will be enhanced with a light, almost translucent hue on one end of the spectrum, while a combination of green with brown will create a new dark khaki on the other.

  • Naturals: The metallic looks seen in fashion, packaging and product design are strong influences on the natural color family. Medium values will showcase subtle tones of copper and bronze, while special-effect pigments will help create contemporary and luxurious browns influenced by wood and leather products.

  • Red: This classic color palette will be highly influenced by interior design, resulting in deep burgundies and bright, saturated reds. With new effect pigments, the depth and brilliance of red can be expanded.

  • Neutrals: Comprised of silvers, blacks and whites, the neutral family has strong ties to fashion. Blacks with metallic effects will be the new focus. Tonal whites and pearl colors will continue to become established. Silvers will continue to develop with the addition of metallic flake and effect pigments, while a move to darker graphite colors with slight tints of brown and green will add new interest.
Recognizing that consumers yearn for the latest in technology in all aspects of their lives, PPG is turning to a more technology-focused, trend-infused showcase, inventing colors that show complexity under different lighting.

"Aluminum flakes continue to be a major component of new colors due to their brightness and size variety. They allow us to formulate colors with exceptional travel and remarkable effect," said Jerry R. Koenigsmark, manager of color design, North America, automotive coatings for PPG. "Another way PPG is showing creativity is with a tri-coat process, where a layer of clearcoat is applied over a pigmented layer of mid-coat and a solid or metallic base coat. We're developing a more colorful mid-coat layer which we're hoping will open up a whole new technology palette to designers."

The Global Design and Color Marketing Team combines research on global automotive, interior design, fashion, product design, contract and consumer markets, architectural coatings, cosmetics and packaging with insight about regional influences and knowledge of new technologies to gain a better understanding of international color preferences.

For more than 20 years, PPG has been tracking and presenting color creations and the latest technical information to automakers worldwide. In addition to identifying automotive color trends, PPG also helps define trends for aerospace, aftermarket, architectural, general industry, glass and trade sale products.