DULUX - A Mood Creation Business

Plans are very like people in that at any given moment, about one-tenth of them are not quite up to snuff. When it comes to painting your house, the task might seem straightforward, but there’s still a good chance that you might turn it into a catastrophe of colour coordination and get scolded by your partner…or even your cat. That's precisely when Dulux’s Visualiser app comes to save the day, which allows you to virtually apply different Dulux paint colours to the walls of your living space in real time. And it's just one of the many STEP CHANGE innovations that ICI Dulux has introduced during its impressive 90-plus years in the business of creating moods.

Back in the nineties, ICI paints division has the conventional look and feel of a large corporate entity. Ian Kenyon had just been appointed head of innovation and wanted to start breaking a few patterns. His vision was crystal clear, recognizing that if ICI remained solely focused on paint, it would struggle to meet the ambitious business goals set by the broader company. Yet, all around him and his team surged the fast-flowing river of paint. Paint products; paint business targets; paint market research. They needed some fresh breeze to inspire fresh ideas.

As part of their creative journey, Ian and his team explored far beyond the world of paint. They set out to find some truly different related worlds. For instance, they met a Colour Me Beautiful consultant who talked to them about how she matched colour to someone’s skin tone and personality, like if someone exuded a "warm," "deep," and "clear" aura, possessed grey eyes, red hair, and rosy skin, terracotta lipstick might prove to be a fitting choice. Then they met a colour psychologist who had a complex model matching personality types to tonal colour groups. Interesting. Could ICI sell colour based on personality types instead of mere names? Imagine the possibilities: London Retro Cool Colours range, for example, or English Country Lady range?

Then, a West End theatre lighting designer told them he could work magic with lighting to create any kind of illusion. Interesting. Could ICI produce a range of paints that responded differently to different lighting conditions? Their journey also led them to meet a fashion director — one of the people responsible for telling them that ‘grey is the new black’, which kind of makes sense when you think about the British weather, where grey is the new blue. Meanwhile, an interior decorator went all out preaching about how colour can change the mood. ‘If I could paint the world,’ he said, ‘I could change how everyone feels!’

And the insights kept coming. An estate agent shared tips for making a home more saleable. It’s all about colour, smell, look, and airflow (a true art form in itself). They talked to an Australian computer programmer who had created the world’s first commercial ‘room on a screen’ interface, allowing DIY enthusiasts to experiment on-screen rather than on their own walls.

The result of this work was a huge insight into how ICI wasn’t really selling paint but was in the mood creation business. This in itself opened doors to exciting possibilities. One specific idea for innovation was the creation of the world’s first integrated home decorating solution. Imagine this: even if you're not the most skilled decorator, you can effortlessly harmonise colours by sticking to a coordinated set of interior elements that link your wall colours with the room's overall decor. Consumers can experiment with various fabrics, paint shades, and furniture layouts on their screens, allowing them to explore a wide range of room atmospheres before making their final choice.

No doubt, tossing in new ideas comes with its fair share of risks and uncertainties, especially for well-established businesses that might not be as quick to embrace change as their younger counterparts. We humans tend to be creatures of habit, sticking to what we know and keeping within our cosy comfort zones. But here's the thing: you'll never know the potential benefits if you never step outside that comfort zone and actively seek some fresh inspiration. Still sceptical? Just remember, there’s always somewhere more comfortable than your comfort zone and eventually, that thought will make you so uncomfortable you’ll venture out of your current comfort zone (lmao).

The experiences and insights that Ian and his crew picked up while dabbling in ventures beyond the paint game have undoubtedly served as the bedrock for numerous innovative solutions introduced by ICI Dulux later.

Let's recap some of their key milestones:

In 2006 – Light & Space range launched, a revolutionary paint that reflects double the amount of light to make small rooms look bigger.

In 2007 – Launch of the ‘We know the colours that go’ campaign – sparking a new wave of personalisation in colour.

In 2014 – Dulux launches MixLab, Chromalock and Visualiser app.

Now, let's fast forward to 2024. Can you guess what Dulux's Color of the Year for 2024 is? It goes by the name ‘Sweet Embrace.’ This hue is designed to provide a sense of comfort during periods of change. Just uttering the name "Sweet Embrace" conjures images of a cosy living room filled with warmth, a sense of belonging, safety, and boundless joy.

In a recent interview with SBID, Martha Dunican, the Commercial Colour Services Operations Manager at Dulux, put it ‘Paint has the power to pull the final design together, marrying up all elements of a space or aid as a backdrop for other elements to take centre stage.’

After 90 years in the industry of colours, Dulux has been there through it all, serving timeless trends that are still coming back into fashion, time and time again, from the pastel green craze of the 1930s to the colour-blocking frenzy of the swinging '60s. From the subtle elegance of eggshell wood wall panels in the 1980s to the tech-driven surge of purple feature walls in the 1990s.

Dulux's story is a testament to their ability to continually seek different perspectives and experiences that jolt them into making fresh and unique connections with their customers. Ian Kenyon and his team never assumed that their business was the only one facing such challenges or that there was nothing to learn from the world around them. They boldly ventured beyond their comfort zone, drawing upon the experiences of others in a truly creative way.

And here's the takeaway: you can do the same. Go out of your way, experience new things, meet people you would not normally cross paths with, and view the world from different angles. Make a deliberate break with your usual pattern of life. That's when the floodgates for new ideas swing wide open.

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Just a little heads-up for those who couldn't care less about keeping up with the hippest paint colours. No matter how uncool you think your interiors are, it's just a matter of time—about once every two decades—before your entire home and wardrobe will suddenly be in vogue. So, if you're still keeping that humble checked shirt and a trusty pair of low-slung baggy jeans somewhere, now it’s time to channel your inner ’90s grunge rocker because in 2023 those very items have become objects of desire courtesy of Bottega Veneta, Fendi, and a bunch of other trendsetters.