When I was a kid, Crayola had a contest to name the 15 new crayon colors they were planning to release. It was the first time in the brand's history to use outside sources for names. The contest was a HUGE success, and although none of the names I suggested were winners, the names that were chosen are still used today. The only colors i remember are Macaroni and Cheese, a yellow-orange the exact same shade as the Kraft stuff, and Razzmatazz, a bright neon-ish berry hue. While the contest was lots of fun it never once occurred to me that perhaps I was doing someone's job. It wasn't until a few years ago that I actually met someone whose job was to come up with color names.
At ON, we have two lovely ladies who do just that: name colors. Some of them they come up with themselves and other are supplied by the factories that do our dying. A lot of the names are self-explanatory: Marshmallow White, Taxicab, Caribbean Blue. Other color names are more elusive. What color do you think of when you hear "Laserbeam" or "Playing the Field"? Those are actual color names. My current favorite is the color above, called North Beach Neon. Let me remind you that this color is used in KIDS CLOTHES and will show up on the website when the garments rollout in October. Do other people not know that most of the neon in North Beach lights up the signs for Big Al's and other XXX establishments? I truly don't know and honestly I think the name is absolutely hilarious. What about you? What does North Beach Neon conjure up in your mind? Or Laserbeam...or Playing the Field?
More colors of note to come in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment