The Smart Way to Simplify + Strengthen Your Color Strategy
One of the smartest ways you can improve your color strategy is to design your color palette in tandem with your color merchandising plan.
Why?
Approaching color this way allows you to immediately confirm that your palette is truly able to achieve the results you need it to. You are able to focus the palette changes on the color areas and color types that will actually get used that season. You are able to validate that your palette is not just beautiful and trend-relevant, but that it is a capable tool that will create the impact your brand desires.
It’s also much easier for other stakeholders in the process to evaluate color and offer concrete feedback when they are able to look at the color merchandising plan alongside the palette. In addition to the actual color swatches, they can see how color will be applied, combined, and distributed throughout the line. This gives such important context and adds a much deeper level of understanding. And that leads to better input and insights, which, in turn, leads to an overall smoother, more efficient color process.
And seriously, don’t we all want that?
Let me give you an example of using this approach:
Right now, I’m working with a footwear brand on color and trend strategy for Fall/Winter 2026. Here’s what my process has been as I created the initial color palette and color merchandising plan:
At project kickoff, the team I’m working with gave me a brief for the season outlining color needs, line structure and evolution, and key initiatives. We discussed, and I got started.
First, I looked at color from the last several seasons to get into the brand’s color identity headspace, with a focus on the previous two seasons - 1) Spring/Summer 2026 because it is the most recent evolution of the palette and merchandising plan, and 2) Fall/Winter 2025 because it is the most recent Fall/Winter season for the brand. I pulled all the SS2026 & FW2025 color swatches and studied the VLPs (visual line plans) from these seasons, noting the usage (or not) of each specific color as well as color application and combinations within styles and across categories.
Then, I created a digital workspace where I organized color and trend inspiration relevant to this brand, their audience, and this season. Some of this I pulled from an ongoing reference library I keep (~35%) and some (remaining ~65%) I gathered specifically for this project. It’s weighted this way because I can be much more precise in my targeted inspiration when I’m aware of the brand’s exact color needs for that season, as well as their color history. I’m also looking for inspiration that not only captures color and color application but also conveys the right mood; some of these images get included in my presentation deck.
This brand’s goal is to minimally evolve the color palette for FW2026. Dovetailing with larger consumer trends, they are interested in evolving their color purposefully and sustainably. They want a focused palette with a lot of muscle. (Honestly, my favorite kind of multi-tool.) So, the inspiration workspace also included ideas for new ways to apply or combine existing colors in the palette. And, of course, any new colors need to work well with carryover colors, so building this one workspace that visually mirrors what the entire line will look like is imperative.
From here, I started pulling possible new colors that I felt would be strong potentials to add to the palette. Whenever I am pulling new colors, I usually grab several options and whittle these down to the winning one as I continue the process. The aim is that the final, selected color evokes the strongest individual impression and collectively works best with the entire palette.
At this point, I have a solid plan for potential new colors. I have a strong sense for which colors should carryover from the SS2026 palette. And, I have a set of colors from the SS2026 palette I think might get dropped.
Now, it’s time to refine and confirm the color palette by creating the merchandising plan and testing the color direction and application.
Like most product lines, this brand segments its line into distinct categories; three in this case. Color needs to be unified across the line, and each category needs to have a unique color POV tailored to its usage and audience. Before selecting actual colors, I made a plan for how each category would differentiate itself through the use of color, as well as integrate into the wider, overall brand color strategy.
Next, was to decide on how many color options each category needed for the FW2026 season. I based this quantity on how much change was happening within each category, as well as my knowledge of the brand and what works well for them. Each category needs enough color options to have depth and variety, and be focused enough that the color identity is cohesive and recognizable. I settled on 6-7 color stories per category, per gender.
Color stories, in this context, are groupings of colors that outline 1-2 main or dominant colors, complementary color(s), supporting neutral(s), and accent color(s). (The quantity of colors within a color story varies by product type and brand color identity, but usually there are 5-6 colors per story.) Color stories are a visual representation of how color should be applied to products. They define color direction and create color guardrails while still offering enough flexibility so that color application can be compelling and specifically tailored to individual products.
Before creating the new FW2026 color stories, I referenced the colorways that would be carrying over from past seasons. I wanted to make sure that the FW2026 color stories I designed were meaningfully different from carryover color stories. And, I wanted to make sure that all new color stories merchandised with the carryover colorways. A harmonious brand is a leadership brand.
For this project, my proposed color stories in each category spanned a range of color families and color values (light to dark). Color saturation varied more across categories versus within a particular category. These choices were based on what makes the most sense for this brand, its values and color philosophy, and its audience’s expectations.
Creating color stories and planning color merchandising is a complex, interwoven process. As I designed new color stories, and especially as I started on a new category, I needed to verify that each story was achieving the job required, was not redundant, and maximized appeal and originality without expanding the palette unnecessarily.
So, as I completed each new color story, and each category, and each gender, I would zoom out to re-evaluate the whole plan. If color stories were too similar, I made adjustments to make them more distinct. If colors were too close to warrant both being in the palette, I chose the one that did the job best, or pulled a new color in to accomplish this and dropped the others. I went back to the inspiration workspace, color brief, and previous seasons’ VLPs regularly to ensure that the strategy I was proposing reflected trends, the brand’s goals, and the brand’s reality.
Once I had the color stories set, the final step was testing how they performed. To do this, I mocked up colorways on product lineart from each category and gender. This is such an immediate, powerful way to confirm that the visual plan translates to actual application. Because that is indeed what is happening - real application.
For this part of the process, I highly suggest using lineart specific to the category, and preferably lineart of one of the best-selling products and/or a key new product. Both of these represent places where a brand needs to make sure they nail color, so testing the merchandising plan here is super smart.
For this project, this part of the process showed me that the balance of some of the colors in some of the color stories needed to change. Colors that I thought would work better as secondary colors got reduced to accents, for example. Or neutrals in some stories got swapped for warmer/cooler or lighter/darker options.
This part of the process also confirmed, as I had hoped, that the color stories offered the ideal amount of both complexity and focus. I could use all the colors within a story on a single style or just use a handful; I could rotate which accent colors got used or which main color dominated. And, each of these variations still captured the intended color mood and accomplished the necessary job of the color story.
Having validated the color strategy, I finalized the color palette. The FW2026 palette carries 88% of the SS2026 colors forward. Only 12% of the colors are new, and the overall size of the palette has been reduced by 8%, honing the brand’s color identity and alleviating unnecessary color complexity.
Then, I built the presentation deck which walks the brand through the seasonal methodology and vision. It includes macro trends (not discussed here at all, but key valuable insight!), macro color, color palette evolution, and application strategy. The color palette evolution outlines carryover colors and dropped colors from SS2026, new colors for FW2026, and key seasonal trend colors. The application strategy shows the key colors and color stories per category per gender, inspirational images to reflect mood and trends, and examples of the color stories applied to actual product.
The deck is designed to visually communicate the why behind the seasonal strategy and to build understanding and buy-in.
This entire process is designed to communicate the why and build understanding and buy-in, as well as reduce stress, inefficiencies, and cost.
That is why I design color palettes and color merchandising plans simultaneously - to minimize hassle and confusion, to maximize strength and excellence…
…to make color better.
What would be the biggest benefit for your brand if your color palette and merchandising plan were created together?
Take care,
Dawn Rae
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I help brands understand what their customers will love and value in the future, and I create the color design + trend strategy to get them there.
I design client-specific seasonal trend forecasts, color palettes, and color merchandising plans. Find a full outline of my services here.
If you are curious about working together, reach out: knoth@dawnrae.com.
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website: dawnrae.com
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I love learning about your process! As I’ve mentioned before, I find myself relating to color relationships more thoughtfully, and find myself creating mini color palettes, especially when I’m out in natural world. 💚