See the world in colour
Marketers are under more pressure than ever to make their campaigns ultra-impactful, provoke a reaction and increase footfall, so they’re relying on colour as one of the most powerful tools at their disposal. And as we emerge from pandemic restrictions, neon colours in particular are being used to stop audiences in their tracks1.
You only have to look at the cultural history of neon to see why it’s so prominent right now. Fluorescent colours represent fun, frivolity and excess – think 1950s Las Vegas, Miami Beach, Madonna in the 1980s, cocktails, ‘90s house parties... Neon shouts party, feel-good, carefree, dance, glamour2 – the polar opposite to the dreary, drab, anxiety-ridden experience of pandemic lockdown and social restrictions. Quite simply, brands are using neon as an antidote to troubled times.3
And it’s not only graphic design and packaging that is switching on to the power of neon, but actual products too. Designers such as Kenzo, Longchamp and Balmain4 and more mainstream fashion names including Adidas and Puma have launched 2021 collections in brights and neons, and the trend has been picked up in the beauty and home furnishing industries too.
But can print service providers confidently meet rising demand for large format promotional applications that pack the visual punch of neon? Is there anything more disappointing for a brand customer than print that falls flat compared to the original graphic design, or under-sells a product? Colour is the expression of a brand’s personality, so if the printed output doesn’t meet the buyer’s high expectations, it will most likely be rejected and it’s back to the drawing board, meaning waste, expense, lost time and an unhappy customer.