2008-05-29 23:51:20 -

- Color experts from all over the world will gather in Bilbao from June 19-21 for the 2008 European Meeting of Color Marketing Group, the leading international association of color design professionals.

"People who attend CMG's European Meeting work with and specify color for a wide range of industries - from hospitality and retail design to transportation to the

color of airplane seats. There are also interior designers, architects and an entire range of people professionally interested in color," said Jaime E. Stephens, executive director of Color Marketing Group in Alexandria, Virginia in the US. "Some are sent by their companies; others are independent consultants."

"The setting provides a unique opportunity for networking with fellow professionals, hearing intriguing speakers and, especially, participating in CMG's Color Workshops, where color trends and European color directions are identified and predicted two to three years in advance, providing sufficient time for manufacturers to put the right colors into their production and marketing cycles."

Color Marketing Group believes that "color sells and the right colors sell better." Workshop participants analyze key life influences that affect color preferences, including social, political and economic influences, as well as the effects of fashion, culture and the environment.

"The collaborative process has always drawn color professionals to CMG," said Stephens. "For more than 40 years, this intellectually challenging process has produced remarkably accurate predictions. The color professionals who participate always tell us they find the process fascinating and rewarding."

This year's speakers at The Sheraton Bilbao include Pati Nunez, who runs her own design company in Barcelona, specializing in Corporate Identity and Packaging Design. Ms. Nunez, who recently received Spain's '07 National Design Award, will speak on "Graphic Coloured Talk." The keynote speaker is Annette Bruns of Visual Research in Berlin, whose talk about the way applied colors occur as a combination of color and surface material is entitled: "Do We See Colours of the Future?"

Co-chairs of the event are Filip Roscam of Merck KGaA in Darmstadt, Germany and Beverley Cottingham of Tarkett, Inc. in Maidstone, England.

The program also includes a boat tour along the river, a tour of the Guggenheim Museum and an optional Rioja Vineyard Tour. The cost is $500 US for members and non-members. For registration information visit www.ColorMarketing.org.

Freeman PR
Bobbi Schlesinger, 973-226-6097
schlesinger@freemanpr.com