“In today's challenging economic climate you need colors and designs that are fresh and exciting to get the consumer's attention and to get them to buy,” said The Trend Curve's Michelle Lamb. “The best defense against slow sales is innovative designs.”

Vibrant splatters of color soak the United Colors of Benetton advertisement in flamboyant fashion.

Made of recyclable materials, the silk ball pouf spotlights a vivid array of colors from Karma Living.

“Innovation advances common materials with an element of fun and alternative thinking … and suddenly, you have a new culture,” the Color Pulse states. It is about outside-the-box thinking with the overriding mentality that there really never was a box to begin with. “Print mania and graphic-pattern frenzy mix unexpected motifs from natural to tech influences.”

A flurry of eye-popping colors stands out against a sea of midnight blue on the Birds of a Feather rug from Company C.

Pantone Color Institute's palette titled Pastiche is reflective of the “continuation of the irreverent direction that has been and continues to be influenced by Japanese anime — a movement that has made major inroads into the world of design and color,” said Leatrice Eiseman. Pastiche is marked by an incongruous combination of materials and colors. “This palette illustrates not only a collection of unexpected styles, but colors as well.”

Rainbow-bright hues whimsically stripe the bench from Butler Specialty.

Lamb also mentioned the continuing influence of anime and manga (Japanese comics) on color palettes for 2010. The Trend Curve created a collection titled Cosmic Brights to represent the trend's presence. “The colors are really surreal with a comic feeling,” Lamb said.

Color Forecast: Safe Haven: 
Color Forecast: Great Escape:

Color Forecast: Natural Embrace
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