In conversation with Laura Perryman, Founder, Colour of Saying. CMF Designer, Colour Expert, Trends Forecaster, Author.

Above: Laura Perryman

Susan Mathen, Partner & Strategy Director at Hue & Why, in conversation with Laura Perryman, Founder, Colour of Saying.

In this interview, Laura takes us through her fascinating journey within the world of colour - from establishing herself as a CMF expert, to starting her studio Colour of Saying, to authoring The Colour Bible, to pivoting to and being a trailblazer in the revolutionary climate positive approach to colour. Read on to delve into the world of colour and more specifically - circularity in colour and how this will influence trend forecasting, design and more.

Susan: I have been following your work for a long time now, Laura. And I have absolutely loved and respected your work. Could you tell our readers about how you got interested in the study of or the field of colour, in the first place?

Laura: I have always loved colour and have been fascinated by plants and flowers since I was a child, especially those grown by my grandparents in their garden. I can still vividly remember their colours and smells even now. Professionally, I studied textile design, so I learned about colour theory and pigments from the beginning. In textile design, colour and material are taught first, followed by the concept, which is different from other design industries such as product or industrial design. Textile designers are taught to see the world as materials.

Susan: There is such a lot that you are doing, how do you juggle all these roles? CMF Designer, Ethical Colour Researcher, Author, Workshop Facilitator, Trend Forecaster, Teacher, Trustee on the Board of a nonprofit and more… What is at the core and how do you diversify your roles? Is there something exciting that you are thinking of in addition to all this?

Laura: Well I call it a sustainable eco system! Ha! As an independent consultant in CMF, I have a unique career path that combines my industry experience and innate creative skills. I've been able to leverage my strengths in insight and design to work with different industries. Colour is a destination and a powerful tool, as it appeals to consumer senses and provides insight into its composition. Taking a unique approach to this topic has been a game-changer for me. There is a growing understanding that colours, materials, and finishes are integral to various fields like industrial design, branding, and interiors. The skills required to refine and select them are increasingly in demand. So, to answer your point I think the sky is the limit.

Susan: How was it to start your studio – Colour of Saying? Colour was and still is a fairly niche subject, was it a difficult journey to decide to pick and focus on this niche for the studio?

Laura: It started off as a niche concept. In the UK, there were no other independent companies offering CMF (Color, Material, and Finish) design services or maintaining a CMF library, apart from more general design consultancies. Some people questioned where I fit into the design process, saying that I couldn't operate as a standalone agency. I wanted to emphasize that CMF and colour are an integral part of the process, but I also see Colour of Saying as more of an umbrella under which to collaborate with companies that are interested in developing their CMF language and embarking on a journey of discovery.

Susan: How did your book come about - The Colour Bible? How did you decide to work on this book, who is it intended for, what have the readers been telling you? Will there be a Part 2?

Laura: During the Covid lockdown, I lost my job at an electric EV company. Since colour wasn't a focus at the company, I chose to leave and focus on researching and developing more in that area. I began writing about colour and sharing my ideas and dreams, which led to a publisher approaching me. This was a pivotal moment, as I was considering becoming fully independent or returning to a full-time job in the industry. Creating the book was a beautiful experience where I delved into 100 colours, researched their origins and pigments, and integrated my knowledge of trend forecasting and innovations. I wanted to bridge the gap between colour futures and publishing, making it accessible to the public rather than just a niche trend. I'm excited about the prospect of making colour a topic that everyone can understand and relate to. There are more publications in the works, exploring inclusive nuances for specific industries, but my ultimate dream is to publish a book focused on Colour Futures.

Susan: How and when did you pivot to the world of sustainable colours? Could you explain to the readers what circularity in colour is? Why is it a critical topic today and how would it contribute to a climate positive approach to design?

Laura: When I was writing The Colour Bible Book, I realized that there are many important colours in our history that come from natural sources such as plants, roots, weeds, and fungi. However, these natural colours have been overshadowed by quick decisions and mass consumption. Exciting innovations in colour pigments are emerging, such as biotech developments like dyeing with bacteria. This offers a more sustainable and scalable way of dyeing textiles, using fermentation processes in a lab setting, instead of solely relying on extracting colour from plants.

Susan: Is circularity in colour a byproduct of the consumer shift towards overall wellness and wellbeing mindsets today? How does circularity in colour help wellness and wellbeing?

Laura: Many ways, not only do we have benefits such as fewer toxic chemicals entering waste water streams and effecting our health. But we have the benefit of circular colour aesthetics too. Not only do natural (non-chemical based) colour and materials have an immediate impact on of physical health – the tones produced have emotional benefits too. From a fundamental point of view, we are not exposing ourselves to VOC’s and synthetic waste consequences. On top of this, natural colour is more soothing to look at and experience. Softer organic tones (but not necessarily muted) or those with hue and variance, have a tactile and therefore emotional quality we can all engage with.

Susan: What should designers and makers keep in mind while working and creating, to ensure circularity in colour becomes a key part of their process?

Laura: Starting with a mindset of keeping your product in use for as long as possible by designing away from short-term trends and towards timelessness, durability and reuse is the first step to colour circularity. One important aspect now for a designer is understanding impact. In this case, colour origin - it’s important to know where, when, how and of what a colour or material is made. If we don’t know any of this it can’t be ethical or transparent at the start.

Susan: How is your colour trend forecast different from the other forecasts? How do you see colour and design trends evolving in the near future? What big impact would that have on products - especially categories like fashion and lifestyle?

Laura: Ethical Colour is an example of how to move in a different direction with colour forecasting. Instead of replacing colours every season because they don’t fit for style reasons, I aim to keep colours going. Perhaps they change and are influenced by what they are made from, or if they have been recycled or reused. I’m only advocating adding new color when, as a studio, we connect with circular technology or material, or engage with a community. In short, this is design for longevity, and brands will need to go down this road in the future to keep in line with changing needs around climate action and waste. The biggest impact is that many products will need to be designed differently, with less waste and less replaceability. But there are opportunities to be had. I would advise embracing a designed-to-fade aesthetic as part of the design identity by working with an entirely natural colour source. Qualities such as UV and lightfastness can be harnessed to create positive colour variation.

Susan: Could you tell us about the Ethical Colour Research piece? How were the specific colours arrived at? Were there various subject area experts involved in the process, and how was the actual process of creating these colours in the lab?

Laura: I joined together many experts and interviewed them, I did set out to create a spectrum of choice as a colour expert to prove it’s not just grey, brown and orange that’s possible with natural colours. I wanted to reveal slow blues, living-pinks and greens from seaweed. I collaborated with scientists, makers, pigment producers and asked them to demonstrate what is achievable. I incorporated these colours and insights with editor Sarah Conway and graphic designer Laura Jane Boast to develop a set of circular frameworks. These frameworks are essential for understanding the decision-making process.

Susan: Given the sustainability aspect of such colours, would it be fair to say that a global colour trend approach might soon give way to a more localized, nuanced, region specific approach to colour trends?

Laura: For sure and it should. Does it make sense to ship colour and materials across globe just to use them? There are fresh opportunities here - such as exploring colours made within a small footprint of your production area that make sense to your brand. Smaller batches of colour can also be applied responsibly in limited edition scenarios. For London Design Festival we have nuanced Ethical Colour again, making a series of 5 colours within one mile of the studio. Food and metal waste all are part of the community.

Susan: It’s very exciting that your research will be exhibited at the London Design Festival. Could you tell us (what you can) about the exhibit, when and where we could possibly catch it?

Laura: Yes, it’s nice to bring it home to London. The past year it has been on a tour from Poland to Egypt. But in London we are back at our studio and CMF library Switchboard Studios in Walthamstow, E17. And are bringing the insights alive from the report into a series of participatory workshops and exhibition of circular hues. More info can be found here!