- Indian design today is becoming global, often associated with colours. Earlier days design would signify traditional patterns, intricate work and there is generally a story associated with that piece of work.
But nowadays, design and colour have taken a different meaning altogether. Lets take a look at certain sets of colour trends that are hugely favored among the youth.
In the previous post, we spoke about design and how its perceived among the younger generation, but how does design change with gender?
Appeal to the Mass with Minimalist Design and Neutral Colour
When you talk about design online, most sites today cater to both sexes without changing the look and feel for one. For example, Facebook has captured the mass audience comprising both genders. The site also managed to get a huge amount of its competitors' share, how did they manage to do that? Of course we are only looking at the role design had to play.
Amit Ayre, a senior business analyst and freelance web developer, said, “When it comes to youth or even the working class, you can't go wrong with a minimalist design. Youth have shorter attention span, so showing only the things that matter in subtle colors, is the new trend.”
Similarly, Facebook has a minimalist look, and with its recent revamp last month it put user notification, messages and friend requests upfront, the three most things a person uses.
Gender-Based when going personal
- A good user interface is appreciated by both genders, however, a portal catering only to women or men plays with colors that makes the difference, in these cases vibrant colors are in. Like Sunsilk Gang of Girls, a community meant exclusively for girls, uses bright colours to attract its target segment. In the offline world, the same feature applies to even automobiles, like sccoty made for women and don't they love it. This is more to do with the experience of being mobile, chic and comfort. A striking example here would be TVS's Scooty Pep, available in various shades, showed in the video below.
Brightful colours and the tween spirit;
Like wise in cell phones, for instance, built for women would not only have feminine colours like pink, purple, sky blue, etc., but it also needs to be packed with easy-to-use functions and in all possibility a man would not like the same phone.
There have been a number of cell phone manufacturers who have experimented with making phones for the fairer sex. You can see a list of cell phones for women here, where the shape changes too for some of them.
Its not only restricted to cell phones, but more chic gizmos catering to girls are being introduced in the market, like trendy iPods, pen drives, headphones and earphones in innovative shapes and colours, are all catching the attention of young girls.
Be it a green iPod that probably matches with their shoes, or slim and lightweight Sony Vaio notebook, many girls are using gadgets to make a style statement.
- Colourful and sleek laptops combined with stylish and funky laptop bags like animal prints, graphic art prints, polka dots etc., are getting popular among girls.
Gothic Looks
- While for some the colour is black, the gothic look is quite prevalent among college students. So black nail paint, dark eye make up, heavy metal t-shirts, combined with traditional beads, bands and gadgets, is the Indian goth culture.
Opposite Choice
- As compared to this, the opposite gender definitely don't prefer minimalist look when it comes to gadgets, bikes or even cars. For example, Harley Davidson, who recently made a foray into the Indian market, has got them excited due to its sheer power and speed.
Though some feel differently about this. Jonathan Sreekumaran, who works for a digital media firm, explains, "Design isn't based on gender. it's based on perception - and perception isn't very gender-centric."
In a nutshell, designs (gadgets, automobiles, apparels etc.) might differ according to gender since more women are entering spaces traditionally dominated by men, but in the online world, minimal look is what appeals to both.