Summary

My Journey of Analysis and Application

Process

I have been trying to apply the learnt color theories since starting up this blog. (Split complementary is used for Title, menu and post heading) Then my skills are enhanced by analyzing Diesel. It's nice to have a brand stick to, but the process is not easy because of the personality of the brand. Diesel was chosen because we were attracted to its style - not only about clothing, but also it's attitude to living. Renzo Rosso said he sells lifestyle rather than clothes. So starting from the beginning, we research the ads of every season, their marketing in the 3 era and their spirit. Colors usage and arrangement in ads were analyzed and concluded. However, our assignment is about the clothing collection but there is no obvious connection between their product color and their ads! (Anyway I am still happy for having looked into its relationship with Hollywood and Italiano style because it is the brand's spirit! The more we researched about the brand, the more we love it because Renzo’s attitude is so cool! His team design for themselves, they create events to tell people how to enjoy lives… their actions and inspirations are so contemporary.)

After surfing for a whole day in the Internet, the clothing collections were retrieved and analyzed finally. The results were quite disappointing because the clothes on runway were not much colorful as their naughty and controversial ads. The clothes were casual wear to sell finally. Normally only 3 colors were used in each outfit on the runway, including 2 neutral tones. The way of color matching were not hard to learn - use neutral tone to intensify/highlight the only color! I thought the whole coloring of our collection had to follow the chosen brand. So after deciding my theme by following Diesel’s marketing direction, I colored each outfit with 3 colors only. Honestly in the beginning I didn't do any 'acceptable' job even with only 3 colors. During tutoring, it was frightening to find that Robert wanted colorful outfit, instead of imitating the brand. (OMG!) Then I kept on trying different position and proportion of the colors. I had changed colors during trial period because I couldn't create the sparkle with the original colors. I had also changed some styles because I found some styles were easy to have harmonized color combination but some never have. So I have to improve the problematic styles. After numerous trials, I used the first few pages of trials to carry the color pencil sharpener ashes – these pages were so shameful!

Trying to make my collection integrated, some scenarios were used to present the collection. I like this idea but it is a risky decision to my assignment. My drawings were not that good and it may affect the presentation of the collection. I had thought about cropping images from some resources and change the colors. In this way the composition of the computer-aid images could be easier to control but the clothes would not be my designs. So I just followed my ‘trial and error’ attitude to make the 4 pages.

Self-Evaluation

I should try to research more about Italiano culture and how it affect the brand. There aren't many International street fashion brand in Italy. Most of the Italian brand tends to be elegant, but Diesel goes to different targets. I should learn more about how Diesel differentiate itself from normal elegant Italian brand.

I should try to use more different colors (may be seven to ten) in the collection. Now nearly all the 6 selected colors are used in every outfit. However, during the lesson, some designer collection using variety of colors were shown to us and it's found that it's not necessary to have same color in each outfit in a collection. They use the same color order in each outfit.

I should try to use computer graphics in those "advertisement".

I should analyse how designers manage the color position and proportions in advertisement. My drawings are not "space" enough, not "focus point" enough and the color proportion are not good enough. Even the press journal got more attractive color than I have.

This is my journey of learning color from Diesel and self-evaluation. I hope you enjoy my blog.

Thanks.

Agnes

Collection

This is the final decision of the collection:

There is no complicate textile pattern, but details such as piping and facing are focused.
In this collection, the dominant colors are accented by the counter color in each outfit.


To express the theme "Guiltless", the outfits are presented like an advertisements.
In the shots, the models are committing crime out of urging for luxuries.
The enviroments are colored in low chroma, so as to make the main roles stand out.

Ad I: Girls kicked down a security guard to shoplift a bag of clothes.

Green and violet stand out in this shot. So dull green and bluish purple is used for the backgound in order to create harmony. I tried to used lower valued green and yellow (just in front of the camera) to create a space from the background - also it can break the boredom (contrast color to purple) meanwhile not distracting from the outfits.

Ad II: Girls throw stones to boutique windows to shoplift watches.

The ground floor is made dark blue so as to make the pink and green outfit at the LHS stands out. It also harmonize the violet dominated RHS out fit (analogous color). The back ground is balanced with grayish olive at top and brown at right (triad color).

Ad III: A girl trying to drill treasury.

The pink is the dominant color in the scene, so the treasury heading and the point of drill are relatively red, to create focus from the B/W background.

Ad IV: Girls riding on bike to shop lift handbags in a dept. store.
The red cushion of the bike intensifies the green and violet color of the outfits.

The gold bag creates space from the purple and green outfits. (Contrast color)

Gosh! I should be swimming on the beach in this sunny day...

Diesel XXX party Journal (from Nov 08 Prestige)

09FW Theme Decision

Continuing the "individual persue of pleasure" and "daydream of impossible", and embedding the financial crisis and social pressure, I would try to create a theme of "Guiltless" in which the people doing something illegal out of their pursue of dailylife accessories which are too expensive to afford. The mood need to be bright enough to express "we are doing something right for living!"
To follow the routine of Diesel color patten, a shocking color, a pair of analogous colors and some neutral colors should be chosen for a collection.
Allora, I have tried below combination:

Finally, the colors are chosen for following reason:
Bright green - nature and hence innocent feeling; meaning "doing right".
This green color is very important because it is predicted from the trend of Diesel
06FW - red
07FW - Purple
08FW - Turquoise
So if we continue to shift the color wheel, it would be the green color!
Violet - generating the "envy" and "greedy" feeling of humanity. It could help to balance green color.
Pink - analogous to Violet and promoting "innocent".
****The above 3 colors have similar level of value, but green and pink have relatively higher chroma. It is very important to use high chroma color, so as to express youth fantasy.

Black - Very dark neutral color to intensify the dominant colors.
Gray - Neutral color to harmonize colors.
Brown - Neutral color to harmonize colors.

Diesel Marketing Direction

At 2000, Diesel have turned their advertising strategy from centring on critizing society, politics, and religions, towards individual hedonism and life motivation. Their campaigns in recent years focus on pleasure, morality, staying young (probably 50-year-old Renzo Rosso starts to treasure energetic old days), urban day dreaming.
Since then, Diesel gear towards very informed individualistic people, who want to be treated intelligently.
The persue of pleasure expressed in advertisements elevate the urge of obsession of audience, inspire the dreams in urban living and resulting in resonance of audience.

Collection Color Analysis

Diesel have played with hundred colors from primary to outrageous colors.
If we glance the collection from season to season,
we might think that 25-40 colors were used in every season.
However, if we group the outfits by the dominant color and usage of color,
around 3 to 6 collections could be classified in each season,
and then the color adoption could be traced.
(This is what I did in Color of Collection in Each Season !)

No matter it is shocking colors or pastel colors,
the impact created was very impressive.
The dominant color alone may be the attractive rose,
but the counter color which intensify the dominant color play an important leaves role.

The most common intensifying agents are black/white, gray and beige at most.
The black could be a tiny as a trim at neckline or shoulder to highlight the outfit;
or it could also be large enough to compliment the dominant color.

It's seldom to have contrast color in a single outfit, 1-2 outfits at most in each seson.
Although the colors chosen for each season are contrast of triad,
which is very American way,
the use of color conform to elegant Italian style.

Color Name

For easier reading and description of color

Assignment 2

Color and Theme in Each Season

Let's see if Color of outfits and Ad Themes are related!

09SS
Color	Theme
	Unknown
08FW
Color	Theme
	Intrinsic Humanity
07FW
Color	Theme
	Human After All
06FW
Color	Theme
	Angels