I’m not a graphic designer; in fact, I always state that on my profile when I’m out on the lookout for a new job. That’s the only skill that I boast with NOT having in my expanding skill-set. Still, it so often happens that I end up doing some design work for my clients, sometimes in an extent up to entire branding. With so many apps and online editing sites, design has never been easier to deliver. But, good design is another thing.

Creating a good and consistent design is a skill we can learn. I personally am not a big believer in talent. The only talent I believe exists is the will to persist and try, again and again.

So I end up reading a lot on the topic, trying to figure out what will work best to propel my clients’ brands to success.

One of the things that’s always easy to predict are the trending colors for any given time period. Yes, the trending colors are easy to predict: the trending colors are not chosen on their own, organically. Instead, they are more or less randomly chosen by the big brands, as they have their annual or any other kind of seasonal brand face-lift. After they chose a color for any particular campaign, they put their massive marketing machinery in motion, flooding the market with their marketing materials and ideas. The colors, the shapes, the fonts, the web-page layout- all those things are then pushed onto consumers and other, smaller brands by sheer force of paid add time.

Embodying success, being the success, the brand lends part of its appeal to the specific color they’re using. Big brands dominate the market in terms of sales, and their brand colors flood the landscape with specific symbolic language. A smart thing to do then is to just follow in the wake, and be smart about it because an obvious copy could just as easily backfire. But leaning on the cozy cushion of somebody else’s professional work is fine, as long as its done right.