Mark Woodman CMG, a passionate, dynamic designer, writer and speaker, has contributed to the pages and airwaves of media, the stages of exhibitions and the product lines of international manufacturers. Through the world of color and design, he has embraced consultancies with international companies. Mr. Woodman’s aesthetic understanding of “real-life” color and design helps balance his approach to product specification, complementing practical application with the excitement of “the new.”

Happy! If you want to be happy, then surround yourself with Happy! This trend direction is about embracing the present, and finding and living your joy. Discovering, or re-discovering, your sense of adventure, wide-eyed wonder, and daily delights, whatever they may be, is key to finding your happiness.

Go big and live life to the fullest with moments of color joy that create happy exclamations in your life. There should be no waiting for happy. New places to travel, new foods to savor, and new experiences to enjoy are things to be relished now! The colors appear spontaneous and mood lifting. They appear in fantastic finishes such as high-gloss, become sparkling with special effect, and take on a modern, fashion edge in matte looks.

The colors are bright and fresh, and new; think primaries for grown-ups! Hues that fulfill fantasy, adventure, and colorfully set the stage for living Happy!

Your happy, becomes others’ happy, and so environments become places of passion and enjoyment. Be Happy!, and make others happy, too!

A trend story that is bigger than the individual, Considered is about how your actions affect others, and links to the world. But it starts with one person and the internal journey. Moments of contemplation, meditation, and thoughtfulness are key to connecting the inner self with the outer world. What begins with personal growth, ultimately reaches everyone. Simplicity is grounding, and simple acts become important markers for helping others.

Human touch means more than the touch of tech, as devices are left quietly in a corner so as to pursue one-to-one connections. Genuine caring, altruistic endeavors, and inner sanctuary, often overstated, are key for the considered life. They are incorporated in aesthetics, color, materials, and the zeitgeist of the designed space. Creating environments with colors and textures that express consideration and comfort those that enter the spaces. The colors and finishes are relaxing and slightly familiar. The hues are quieting with a sense of repose and reflection. There are colors, but they are subtle, and almost ethereal. The palette of hues is composed with grounding grey to create visual support and engaging balance. Matte and brushed finishes will signal softness and comfort, as will velvet-like textures, to satisfy both visual and sensory touch. Sheens will be softened to a stain glow to suggest inner light and create an aura of calm.

Considered is a trend with which to bind, to ponder, and to embrace that which brings purpose to the designed space, as well as life.

Makers and doers of the world unite! Engaged is about creating, crafting, sharing, and being involved in a community. Whether it is a Kaffeeklatsch of knitters, an urban farm, local group, or online selling community, the trend continues to create, from the hand, the head, the heart, and from within a community. Taking cues from “Happy!” and “Considered,” Engaged is expressive and rooted in caring and participating. It embraces joyous pursuits and personal growth in a way that connects everyone to the outward journey. Modest handcrafts inspire handcrafted finishes beyond a completed project.

Gardening, whether on the terrace or plot of land, offers connections to nature, and nature’s bounty can be shared with others. From food, to libations, to hand-made articles and furnishings, creating engages the mind and spirit with the processes and the sharing of the outcomes. The volunteering of skills, ideas, and the fruits of labor, becomes a higher calling and energizes the community, as a whole.

The colors of Engaged are rich and somewhat lush. They connote involvement, appear to have history, and are easily relatable. They visually carry stories of materials and the voyage of creating something. Their finishes can be worn with love, often matte or rough-hewn, to continue the direction of craft and creating.

Take on new things, create, get involved, and become part of a community. Simply put, get Engaged.