“Should old acquaintance be forgot”? What kind of lyric is that? Why are we going to forget anyone? That seems ridiculous!! Okay. It’s not old, it’s auld… and I don’t even know what that means. What I DO know is that it’s 2010 and we’re at the front of a whole new decade; Happy New Year everyone.

With a new year and a new decade come new trends: trends in fashion, music, film and so on. It is vital to follow not only these trends, but also trends specific to design and marketing when creating pieces for your ministry. As I discussed last week, continuing to stay relevant is essential in the success of your promotional ads and artwork.

One of the best ways to follow design and marketing trends is to pay attention to color trends. Color can speak more than the information given if used well, and it can also turn your audience’s attention away if used poorly.

One of my favorite websites is www.colourlovers.com. Colour Lovers is a great resource for all types of designers. They offer a wide selection of information and content ranging from color palettes to patterns and to current trends. There’s a great section on trends in magazine and website design that shows current covers/pictures with their corresponding color palettes.

I try to use ColourLovers or a site like it in my research for projects often. In my book, there’s hardly anything new under the sun; just new takes on the old concepts. When it comes to color, use combinations that work and have worked in the past. Find palettes and patterns that have stood the test of large publications and websites.

Some helpful links:

Colour Lovers: www.colourlovers.com

Some Good Color Theory Concepts: www.colormatters.com

Pantone Colors for Print: www.pantone.com

Web Smart Color Wheel: www.ficml.org