Director of Color & Trend, Home & Outdoor

Our Home & Outdoor division is united by thoughtful design and lasting quality. From kitchens to campsites, we provide consumers with premium, innovative products for life -- in and out of the home. This business unit includes our , and brands, and this role may support one or more of these brands.

Look around your home, and you'll find us everywhere, in your kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom. We are already making your everyday lives better. We are powered by knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and forward-thinking people committed to developing a culture of inclusion. Whether you are just starting your career or in need of a challenge, we recognize, develop, and empower talent!

Position: Director of Color & Trend, Home & Outdoor

Department: Creative for Hydro Flask,OXOandOsprey

Work Location: Bend,OR,Hybrid (work 3 days onsite)

Hybrid Schedule: At Helen of Troy, we embrace a flexible hybrid work model designed to support collaboration and productivity. For roles eligible for hybrid work, our standard schedule includes in-office collaboration from Tuesday through Thursday, with the option to work remotely on Mondays and Fridays. Any updates to this model will be communicated in advance. Please note that hybrid eligibility and schedules may vary based on business needs and manager expectations.

What you will be doing:

The Director of Color and Trendownsthe product creative direction for the Hydro Flask and OXO brands including the strategy and execution of core and seasonal color palettes, limited editions, and special make ups. Additionally, the role contributes to seasonal color and pattern selection led by the Osprey design team.

For Hydro Flask, the Director of Color and Trendcreatesshared trend and CMF frameworks while tailoring outputs to the brand’s unique category needs, consumer insights, and visual identity. This position owns the brand’send to endcolorstrategyincluding channel and key retailer segmentation. This role partners closely with cross functional teams to ensure color, material, and finish choices aretrendright, consumer relevant, and support differentiated retail assortments.

For OXO, the Director of Color and Trendis responsible fordeveloping andmaintainingan overarching color strategy that ensures consistency across categories, providing forward looking color recommendations and strengthening foundational color direction. This requires a deep understanding of OXO’s target market and competitive landscape to deliver relevant, insight-backed proposals.

Success is measured by stronger channel specific assortments, improvedsellthrough ofseasonal colors and limited editions, faster and higher quality color development cycles, and consistent color execution across materials and factories.

• Develop seasonal color palettes, ensuring alignment with brand identities as well as market and consumer trends.

• Work closely with the Industrial Design, Product Development, Marketing, and Sales teams to integrate trend insights into our seasonal product lines.

• Craft narratives for internal and external stakeholders that articulate the vision behind each seasonal palette.

• Align color, trend, and CMF choices with our commitment to sustainability and eco-friendly practices to protect our brand values and reinforce Hydro Flask,OXOand Osprey asvalues-led brands.

• Fully own color development from briefing through product approval. Define how many colors are needed by season/category/channel, create briefs, run the cross-functional cadence, and drive on-time decisions in partnership with Sales and Product Development.

• Fully own the final market color. Ensure color matching and color standards across plastics/metals/finishes and across factories, including robust master standards, tolerances, and QA alignment.

• Define and execute a logo color strategy (by base color, finish, and channel) and ensure correct implementation across production and decoration methods.

• Establish a multi-brand color/CMF playbook and seasonal process (calendar, gates, and deliverables) that connects trend POV to line architecture and SKU strategy.

• Lead a team of color specialists and designers.

• Collaborate with marketing, sales, and retail teams to gather input and build alignment and excitement around proposed color palettes and finishes.

• Collaborate with suppliers to develop new colors, materials, and finishes.

• Partner with Marketing Creative Director to define and evolve Hydro Flask’s visual brand language including color, finish, pattern, and graphics.

• Lead (or be a key decision-maker in)selectionof external artist partnerships and special collaborations; ensure color/CMF and brand language consistency across limited editions.

• Lead cross-functional palette approval forums (Design, Product Development, Sales, and Marketing) andmaintainclear decision rights and documentation.

• Build retailer-specific color strategies and toolkits (stories, rationale, mockups, and segmentation) to support sell-in and retail differentiation.

• Utilize trend forecasting services toidentifyfuture on-trendcolorand patterns.

• Monitor andevaluate graphics and color performanceand provide recommendations for improvement and innovation.

• Conduct research toidentifycurrent and upcoming fashion and color trends in various industries, including fashion,designand lifestyle.

• Monitor competitor products and industry developments tomaintaina competitive edge in color and trend development across our brands.

• Understand and integrate consumer insights tools like TURF analyses, brand equity trackers, social listening, and other relevant market research to incorporate target audience preferences andanticipatefuture trends that will resonate.

• Research new materials and finishes to remain at the forefront of CMF innovation.Identifynew colors, materials, and finishes that can be introduced into the assortment.

• Collaborate with the Sr. Director of Consumer Research to test andvalidatefuture color selections,identifyingtop‑performing colors and styles by channel and keyretailerto strengthen color assortments overall.

Skills needed to be successful in this role:

• Ability to develop and own a long-range color/CMF roadmap and cascade into seasonal deliverables.

• Strong cross-functional leadership and the ability to influence Product, Sales, Marketing, Consumer Research, and Supply Chain.

• Confident decision-maker with ownership of final palette approvals and color segmentation.

• Exceptional presentation and storytelling skills, with the ability to confidently present color strategies, seasonal direction, and key recommendations to retailer buyers and at annual sales meetings.

• Deep experience with color development across plastics, metals, coatings, and printing/decoration processes.

• Strong understanding of color standards, tolerances, and cross-factory matching/validation.

• Ability to interpret consumer insights, testing outputs, and retailer-specific data to guide color choices.

• Ability to help define,maintain, and evolve the visual brand language, ensuring consistency across product and marketing.

• Experience partnering with artists or creative collaborators for limited editions and capsule collections.

• Familiarity with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop,Keyshot, and color analysis tools (though execution may be delegated).

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design, CMF Design, Color Science, Fashion, ora relatedfieldrequired.

• 10+ years of progressive experience in color strategy, CMF development, trend forecasting, or related fields.

• 5+ years of leadership experience managing creative or CMF/color teams.

• Experience inhardgoodsconsumer products, outdoor/lifestyle categories, or trend-driven consumer brands.

• Experience supporting or driving retailer-focused segmentation andexclusivesstrategies.

• Experience developing multi‑brand or multi‑category color systems, standards, or long‑range CMF frameworks is strongly preferred.

• Authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree (Design Strategy, Trend Forecasting, Consumer Insights, or related)

• Strong color acuity, witha superiorFarnsworth Munsell Hue Test score

Benefits: Salary + Bonus, Healthcare, Dental, Vision, Paid Holidays, Paid Parental Leave, 401(k) with company match, Basic Life Insurance, Short Term Disability (STD), Long Term Disability (LTD), Paid Time Off (PTO), Paid Charitable (volunteer) Leave, and Educational Assistance.