Color.  For a designer, it's a noun, adjective and verb.  Through this spectrum, ideas are communicated, personas are made, identities formed.

But has the size of the palette begun to shrink?  An alarming new trend could be setting the pace for the future of color usage that would not only effect designers, but emerging brands and companies alike. Though small, there is a growing movement of corporations who own the trademarks of specific hues, which means that color could be the next scarce resource.

Currently, cellular giant T-Mobile owns the rights to the color magenta.  You did not misread…they have trademarked the color Magenta™.  Over the past several years, the company has sued other entities, most notably the technology blog Engadget Mobile.  Although T-Mobile can only trademark within the industry they are registered, the color may not be used in design pertaining to digital media or phones, and most anything affiliated with the Internet.  That’s a pretty big blanket.

Further trends show that not only are colors being trademarked, but the actual names of colors are being claimed.  For example, Owens-Corning, the producer of insulation products featuring The Pink Panther, has trademarked “PINK” in association to its signature insulation, while in the UK, cellular provider Orange has trademarked... well, Orange.

How important is color?

If you think of Target, chances are the color red weaved its way into a mental picture.  In fact, many people you ask can typically spot a Target ad through color alone without ever seeing the name or company logo.  Red is not only synonymous with Target, but Coke, Macy's, and McDonald's.  The same can be said about blue, with Wal-Mart, Dell, Samsung, and Ford all incorporating this very accesible hue as part of their corporate identity.

So, was T-Mobile just guarding their brand by trademarking Magenta™?  Understandably, corporations have a need to protect their intellectual properties. But on the flip side, slowly removing pieces of the color spectrum could mean serious roadblocks for future companies and brands ahead.

This angle in restricting the usage of color to prevent brand confusion in the public's eye is a slippery slope.  Some foresee corporations trademarking choice colors until the palette runs dry for the rest of the industry.  For the time being there is saftey in numbers for companies like Wal-Mart, Dell, Samsung, and Ford; they all have to share blue.

Because our company cares for the women in our lives, we sponsored a team in Austin’s Susan G. Komen’s Race for the Cure. The day was filled with lots of smiles (and a few tears) as we honored women and families that have been touched by breast cancer. Austin’s Komen race raised $867,900.422, and counting. Way to go Austin!

In the Fall issue of Indie Slate (#55), Pixascope founder and creative director, Aaron Lea, tackles the familiar trend in using “floating heads” for a film’s poster art.

Seen on everything from Casablanca to Iron Man, this style of key art is recognized by the disembodied portrait shots floating in an abyss of design. However, unlike big studio pictures, smaller indies don’t always have the luxury of having Humphrey Bogart or Robert Downey Jr.

“Know that this aesthetic principle seen in mainstream key art is not an artistic choice, but merely a method to sell a film based on celebrity. They’re not selling story here, or even concept, they’re selling familiar faces. If you don’t have a Bruce Willis, or even a Bruce Campbell, then you should re-examine how you plan on marketing your movie.”

Be sure to pick up a copy of Indie Slate issue #55, available at most Barnes & Noble, Borders and Books-A-Million,

Legendary Beatles’ producer Sir George Martin was recently honored at the Grammy Foundation’s 51st annual Starry Night benefit gala chaired by Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison. The Timelapse Wand were among the exclusive gifts presented in the “swag suite”.  For this event, Pixascope was asked to design two posters for the Timelapse booth to promote their line of cosmetic products.