Woodman is president of the Color Marketing Group, an Alexandria-based international association for color design that identifies color trends for manufacturers.
Why the hyperfocus on color?
I have always had an affinity for color that went back to childhood. The old D.C. Navy Yards used to have 55-gallon metal drums that were painted every color you could possibly imagine. I was not quite 2 years old and wanting to go there to see the colors.
How do you develop your color palate?
Some of it is inherent. People have an eye or don’t — I know people will scream at that comment — but some people, even young people, get it. The biggest clue is what does nature do? You extrapolate. It opens up a world. If you ask people who live here, they see a lot of whites and grays. What tourists don’t realize is that D.C. is a fairly low city. As a major city, we’re flooded with a lot more light so everything seems brighter.
How much does color influence consumer purchases?
Generally, 85 percent of consumer purchases are based on color. People don’t buy a car that’s not the color they want. I know somebody who had $5,000, went to a used car lot and asked, ‘What do you have in red?’ You look at what’s happening in automotives, music, cuisine — in the end, it comes down to color.
What new trends are you seeing?
We’re seeing an interesting movement in purple across the board. Even internationally, the largest number in a single hue was in violet. We see a redefinition of purple as a neutral. The basis is in politics — saying a swing state is a purple state. One of the strongest colors is now middle of the road.
And what’s your favorite color?
I always come back to pink. There’s something about it that makes me happy. ‘Pink is but a promise of red,’ my dad said.
— Brian Hughes
