What an unusual colour, grey is. It is equally at home in the mists and fog of late autumn, when the leaves have left the trees and the skies are often leaden - as well as in the most stylish homes in the most up-market areas.
Grey continues among the top few colours always recommended for home décor, and there are many to choose from. The current offering from Dulux includes “Chic Shadow”, “Polished Pebble”, “Urban Obsession” and “Night Jewels 3”, and as the website explains, “Grey is a beautiful colour on its own but it also works so well with every other colour because it's the ultimate neutral.”
It truly is a tone that can make other colours pop, and there’s even ‘greige’, which is a mixture of grey and beige, which allows it to work in both ‘cool’ and ‘warm’ décor!
But it isn’t just grey paint that is popular, grey clothes are too. And through the last decade, all the major clothing brands have been selling vast quantities of T shirts and other garments in this shade.
Looking back through history, it’s easy to imagine peasants in grey clothing (the colour of undyed wool), but fast forward to the more recent times and we see all sort of men, wearing grey morning wear, especially at weddings.
The grey business suit became fashionable in the 19th Century and with concrete becoming a major building component, in the industrialisation boom in the 20th Century, it sometimes has seemed that the whole World is turning grey.
I studied at Brunel University where the lecture block is a marvellous example of Brutal Architecture. It looks particularly grim and an extraordinary structure at the best of times, but when it is raining, and the grey sky complements the wet concrete…well you can see why it was chosen as a location in ‘A Clockwork Orange’!
In the natural world, many animals, birds and fish are the colour grey, from the tiniest mouse, to a large elephant, and a huge whale, which is testament to how good a camouflage colour grey is.
So, what’s your view of this complex colour? Apparently, in Europe and America, only 1% of people choose grey as their favourite, but 13% say it is their least favourite colour. But that doesn’t seem to be borne out by how the colour dominates our lives.
How can the colour grey work for you in promotional merchandise? As discussed earlier, it can be a wonderful contrast to your house colour, whatever it is.
A grey pen barrel with a bright yellow or red clip could look very smart. A Bic Grip Roller is offered in a range of colours, including a light and dark grey, and these colours, as well as dark blue, black and white tend to go down well with professions like accountants and solicitors etc, which most of the time, tend to choose those ‘sober’ colours - that’s just the way it is.
Of course, many better quality gifts tend to be produced in metal, which of course is going to give a silvery-grey appearance (unless you can afford gold!). A metal pen, a metal drinks bottle, or techno product such as Bluetooth speakers or a powerbank, can be very desirable gifts to give, with them having a high-received value.
Finally, when clients choose corporate clothing, grey is extremely popular, because not only will it contrast well with the embroidered or printed logo, but it also avoids, like other darker garments, them looking grubby, especially in heavy-duty environment.
Call me today if you feel you need some grey in your life and your company promotions!
(Other colours are available.)
