For Color Designers, the World Is a Palette

When Beatrice Santiccioli was studying art in Florence during college, she took regular breaks in the Capponi Chapel of the 16th century cathedral of Santa Felicita. There, soaking up the cool of the stone interior on hot summer days, she would study Jacopo Pontormo's wood panel, Deposition. The brilliant colors of the Renaissance masterpiece left her in awe. "I would wonder, 'Where did he get the inspiration [for these colors] in the 16th century?'" Santiccioli says. Then, she would wander outside the church, look up at the blue of the sky, the pink of the clouds -- and understand.

Revelations from those school days have led Santiccioli to one heck of a day job. Now in her late 30s, she traverses the globe looking for cool colors. As one of only 2,000 designers worldwide who specialize only in color, Santiccioli makes big bucks picking eye-popping shades for corporations that recognize that the tint of their boxes may be as important to customers as the contents inside. Santiccioli's client list reads like a Who's Who of hot product design. She was one of the primary color consultants (no pun intended) for Apple Computer's wildly successful iMac. She also came up with the colors and graphics for more than 100 Swatch watches, a line of Herman Miller furniture, and a set of Nike eyewear.