October 2021 Color Alert®
The Paper Bag
HEX #cb9974, sRGB 190, 153, 115, NCS 3020-Y30R
The Paper Bag
Fall in Love with AI Love
How can something so utilitarian, such a commodity inspire a color? Easy. It represents so much of we need now and in the future.
The Paper Bag grew from CMG North American meetings in 2019, with expectations to appear in 2021. It has emerged as a statement beige of the times. Beige is not boring, it is not plain, and it certainly is not “expected.” It has become a hit with deeper meaning.
Long a staple hue in discussions of recycling and sustainability, The Paper Bag has expanded its initial designations of simple and easy to include power and warmth. With its red nuance it certainly has a warm aura, but the added definitions add a quiet power and grand design possibilities.
From somewhat humble beginnings as a sturdy commodity to carry groceries or a school lunch, The Paper Bag’s beige color is also a color of building materials from sand to stone. It has come to also represent the bedrock color of the built environment. It connotes inner strength and power. This hue is something upon which to build, it can support things, and it endures.
The warm nuance it holds also makes it a color to embrace, and perhaps cuddle. Think of fuzzy teddy bears, a wooly sweater, or even the paper for a craft project. It is with us always and has a future of adding more warmth and comfort to clothing, home, commercial environments, even automotive. Basically, the broad appeal of The Paper Bag will be seen across all industries.
In both interiors and fashion camel beige and grey are tried and true classics, counter surfaces often mix the two within an aesthetic, and nature’s landscape is the best example of the two colors in harmony. The Paper Bag is a soothing evolution from the cool grey world that has been prevalent. Though grey will never be entirely gone, The Paper Bag introduces a hue that complements and balances the austerity of pure grey while not dismissing it.
As with any color, it becomes glamorous with a metallic shimmer, sharp and modern in high gloss, or muted and serene in matte look. It is as important as any other hue, possibly more so, as it redefines itself as a color for all products.
From the humble beginnings of The Paper Bag, come new respect and definitions for beige and all of its variations. It stands tall as a color of comfort and strength, and as a foundation for design and countless products.
Pure, simple, familiar, strong. It’s The Paper Bag.
DOWNLOAD the October Color Alert®
View more Color Alert® Images on Pinterest
October 2021 CONTRIBUTORS: Sandy Sampson, Paula Leonard, Mark Woodman, Samantha MacLean, and Judith van Vliet