A yellow-orange shade between saffron and mango, a rusty red turning brown, hemp and flax shades combined to a taupe shade, aqua blue in harmony with chocolate, not to mention the infinity of blues... Valérie Bernard’s Studio, rue de Wattignies in the 12th district of Paris, where was previously established the Dorin factory, offers a display of pigments and shades. “Each colour has its own meaning and a strong evocative power. To coordinate them, like in music, is a matter of harmony. There are those that go together naturally and blend together to create a world of their own, and the ones that collide, shock us and surprise us,“ she explains.
A graduate in a graphic school, Valérie Bernard began her career in design with Alain de Mourgues and then Joël Desgrippes. But it was in Japan in 1991, that she created her first agency after working during nearly a year and a half for Kosé. After her return to Paris, two years later, Asia continues to inspire her work. “In the early 90s, design really began to draw the attention of European skin care brands. Japan, and its products with beautifully worked shapes, seemed very much in advance in this matter.”
A strategic choice
With a very sensory approach of design, she rapidly focuses on the role of colour in the attractiveness of objects. “I immediately started creating my own colours in my studio,” she says. “Each colour has its own meaning and a strong evocative power. Therefore, choosing a colour over another may have important consequences in terms of image and identity. Colour is also what helps differentiate oneself from others. It is a strategic choice.”
Even if some segments are still resisting, especially in dermo-cosmetics where the proximity of the medical world seems to limit the range of possibilities, the use of colours in the skincare world has become widespread. Neutral colours have not disappeared from shelves, but they no longer impose their rules. The world of luxury itself is concerned. Hence, colour is gaining ever more ground in the world of perfumery, especially with the development of flankers that must be clearly differentiated from one another.
Among the achievements of the Valérie Bernard Design studio, there are many different creations like candles (Rigaud), perfumes (the packaging design and graphics of the limited edition Fleur de Narcisse, L’Artisan parfumeur; White Reseda, Roger & Gallet), luxury make-up (Les Météorites, Guerlain), of mass or masstige make-up (Fun by Espoir, Amore Pacific; les monos by Bourjois ; Aube de Kao), toiletries (Les Bains Essentiels, Yves Rocher ; Eau Précieuse, Omega Pharma) and of course skincare products (the design of graphics and the colour of the Oxyance range, woman and man, by Sensiblu; the design of the corporate image and the packaging of the Filorga products, and several lines from the Dr. Pierre Ricaud brand with which she has been working for fifteen years).
To these references in the world of beauty, can be added a line of wrapping paper for Sephora. “The brand had the idea to develop a range of colours of papers, with a range of varied Pantone colours but guaranteeing that the combination was harmonious.” In another domain she created in 2012 for the famous champagne producer, Dom Perignon, a corporate colour named “DARK”.
Trends and fashions
Just like shapes, but in a much more pronounced way, colours obey to fashion. Colour designing requires to be attentive to changing lifestyles and to immerse in trends. “There are the colours of the moment, and the ones which are already dated. My role is to become imbued with the spirit of the times and to focus on colours which are on the up and up or on the contrary, on those who will flourish over time. It all depends of the needs of my clients. Sometimes you must dare move away from fashions and trends.”
Especially since the correspondences between the cosmetic discourse, which relates to molecules, effects on the skin, is not always easy to transpose in a coloured form.
Remains the question of cultural differences. We know that the symbolism of colours varies from one civilization to another. But for Bernard the trend on this matter also, is clearly globalization. “Cultural differences tend to fade. When I started in the trade, some colour codes were very marked from one market to another. This is less true today, even if some colours still remain sensitive. I remain cautious on reds, gold, etc. But all this has changed a lot. Fashion and trends have gone global. The result is that many impediments have been removed and that we can now dare propose more colours. Yet some colours and combinations remain more acceptable in some countries than others.” The studio, which still has many clients in Asia, mainly in China, continues to regularly make itself acquainted with cross trends between Europe and Asia, its two main sources of inspiration.
The industrial stage
But the designer’s work does not stop with the definition of colour harmonies. “Once found the perfect colour, the whole challenge is then to industrialize it. The different manufacturing techniques available do not render colours the same way. Some colours will not work with certain techniques. This requires a close cooperation between designers and manufacturers,” emphasises Bernard. “The designer’s role is to guide the industrialist on the way the colour was obtained. My job even consists in the industrialization of the chosen colour.”
If indeed the different colour scanning tools have facilitated exchanges between the various actors, for Bernard, “an experienced human eye remains indispensable.” Indexing tools, she says, do not necessarily render accurately colours with a heavy content in nacres nor material variations.
A delicate and sensitive work, sometimes difficult to put into words, but so essential to the success of new developments.
