What is the first thing you see when you come across a person for the first time? It is believed that it takes three seconds or less to form a first impression. If that is the case, one can easily comprehend that it takes only a blink for customers to judge whether they like a product or not. The key to grabbing the customers’ eyes is through visual communications. The most powerful method of communication is colors and designs. Kim Min Kyung (KMK Color Institute) speaks this powerful language successfully. She is a renowned colorist who plays an active part in the field, both in Korea and worldwide.
 | ||
| ▲ Provided by KMK Color Institute | ||
She is one of the vice presidents of the Korea Society of Color Studies and the head of the KMK Color Institute, a matchless institute devoted to color consulting and color education. In addition to being a hands-on colorist, she also has a passion for color education as a visiting professor at Sookmyung Women’s University. Recently returning from France, she agreed to give an interview with The Granite Tower (GT). The interview took place at Kim’s office at the KMK Color Institute. Kim had a colorfully polished office with endless shelves of books on color studies and samples of color codes.
Ever since she finished up graduate school in Paris, she worked as a colorist, consulting for diverse companies. She is the first person in Korea to be called a colorist as she introduced the job that was unheard of in this country. “At first, many advised me to compromise my title. The term ‘colorist’ was too new for them. They often tried to categorize my job as a personal color consultant or a designer.”
She still says that colorists are still better recognized abroad than in Korea. However, the future looks bright for colorists. Colorists have been included in the list of jobs with future prospects by the Education Broadcasting System (EBS) in 2011. Companies and customers are attracted to and paying more attention to the colors of a product. Although Korea is a late starter in the field, the rapid growth in interests in colors, such as its infinite application in marketing, fashion, and interior design, has been noticeable.
So what does a colorist do? “Simply put, colorists are those who design colors,” she says. One might be puzzled by the concept, so she clarified herself for the confused. “It means that one mixes the right colors to make a color that is the most appealing to the customers.” For instance, she designed the color “Red Wine” while consulting for LG, trying to decide what color to manufacture for their new home theater. Home theaters at the time were mostly black and the new color received soaring popularity. “‘Red Wine’ is a mixture of red, purple, and black, and this color appealed to stylish and young customers,” she says. After its initial success, with sales proving that using appealing colors for marketing was effective, color marketing in Korea became the next new thing.
“Colors have an impact on people’s emotions;
colorists use their sense of style and
knowledge to select the colors that most
appeal to those emotions.”
 | ||
| ▲ Provided by KMK Color Institute | ||
Her professional expertise in colors also proved to be valuable internationally. One of her most satisfying accomplishments was designing the colors for the product “Cyclic Soap”. The product took off at Zitomer, a famous producer of cosmetics in the U.S. making it a best-seller for six years. Designing colors for a product is just one part of what a colorist does, they take active part in areas such as fashion and architecture. For instance, Kim consulted on the color design of Seoul Metro guideposts for Line Number Nine.
Colors have an impact on people’s emotions; colorists use their sense of style and knowledge to select the colors that most appeal to those emotions. To acquire the knowledge and sense of colors, one has to strive. Since the field is considered relatively new in Korea, Kim had to go abroad to study due to lack of information in her home country. However, nowadays it is different. “I do not believe that one needs to go abroad to study. There are proficient color educations that can be provided in Korea,” she says. “Also, it is more important to have first-hand experience. Theories are very important, but having diverse experience out in the field at a young age in the beginning stages is more crucial.”
She advises that the sense of style and color develops as one sees and tries new things. “See things new and beautiful,” she says. Her way of doing this is planning a trip to a location like Paris or New York, where it is considered a developed city for colors and style. It is important to stay there for some time, a month if possible, observing and noticing all things. Sometimes she would do research in a mall for ten hours to spot and try out new styles and colors. “Colorists should know how it feels to wear a certain color or use a product of a certain color. That way, they know how the customers feel.” This effort should be continuously made even after being an experienced expert in the field. It is vital that the colorist knows current trends.
Another quality that makes a prominent colorist is never having any preconceptions with colors. Judging a color based on common perceptions hinders creativity. An expert should be open-minded and willing to try out new things. “Upon seeing a color match that is not considered the norm, instead of thinking that it is wrong, I say ‘These colors could go together.'
Colors have profound influence in our lives whether we know it or not. When putting on clothes each morning or deciding which products to buy, customers unconsciously or consciously consider the color. Compared to the impact it has on real life, there is little recognition of colorists and colors itself. Thus, it is expected that, in the future, there will be more opportunities for regular people to learn about colors and a wider stage for colorists to show their talents.
Jeong Ji Hyun
jkhaila@korea.ac.kr