CATH KIDSTON - colour scheme development

The brief states that it is looking for three different colour schemes, all of which should be in a stepped out pattern and a tile repeat. Things I need to take into consideration are:

- what colours are relevant to the brand

- how will the colours work across a number of formats

- should any of the colours stay the same

- whether or not to keep the number of colours the same

- suiting the colours to the audience

- suiting the colours to the imagery - will it look odd if some of the illustrations are certain colours

Exploring colour schemes

I began to explore some possibilities using feedback giving to me during a crit. It was suggest that I look at spring shades, including blues, yellows and pinks in order to create variation. Some possible colour ways were put together, which could then be applied to the pattern to see how they would work. 

Colour experimentation

Applying the new colours to the pattern was a long and painful process. It was taking me ages to select all of the individual bits and change them as there was so much going on. It was until a peer who was doing the same brief mentioned to me that there was a way of creating colour groups so that a particular colour could be changed all at once. This speeded up the process massively, however some areas of the print refused to alter which was stressful. 

I started to develop a print with blues and pinks, however this turned out to look rather sickly and very reminiscent of a child's playroom. I felt that it wasn't relevant enough to the audience and it also didn't work well alongside the other colour scheme. 

I also explored a different range of orange tones, which I then showed to a number of my peers. They all agreed that it wasn't very successful as it didn't really stand out or create impact. 

As these warmer colours weren't working, I then started to develop something a bit cooler that created a nice contrast with the reds and pinks, which would allow a different visual to be formed. It was agreed that the use of these colours were a much needed contrast to the original pattern and it would work well alongside it. It also offers the pattern in a less stereotypically female colour scheme. 

Chosen colour schemes

These are my three chosen colour schemes in a standard tile repeat. Overall I believe they are successful and reflective of the Cath Kidston brand. They would work alongside existing prints, covering the theme of Cath Kidston's English countryside childhood. The colours allow for variation in the print, creating different moods and settings.