Anything but Grey
The use and application of color is a minefield
in any of the creative disciplines.
BY RICHARD PRIME
COLOR & DESIGN TREND FORECASTING CONSULTANT
In 1878, Ewald Hering carried out
research into color perception and
began to develop several key theo-ries on how we all share the same
method of ‘seeing’ color. Further modern
research shows that the human being
can identify approximately 10 million
colors. That said, the research in the
world of color has not yet been able to tie
down why the emotional response to
those colors differs for each of us.
It would be a fool that suggests that
color in design terms is an easy field to
control and indeed master. Add to the
mix the field of technological research,
evolving swiftly to meet the changing
needs of the consumer, global or
regional legislation and indeed those of
the designer, and the world of color
looks like a fearsome opponent.
The color options open to the coatings and paint industry are vast and it
is very important to realize that color
has never held a more powerful position where getting a client to part with
money is concerned.
“We always say, and this is a sad
fact, that a badly designed product in
the right color will be a success whereas a well designed product in the
wrong color simply will not thrive,”
said Jackie Nash, managing director of
London’s Global Color Research, one of
the world’s leading color trend forecasters with more than 25 years in the
color business.
One only has to look at the recent
icons of the design and architecture
fields to see that color is not the dirty
word it once was. There is a new wave
of industrial designers like Apple’s
Jonathan Ive for example, whose use of
Bondi Blue on the first iMac revolutionized the technology industry in
such a powerful way it’s rare we see a
grey in the grey-goods sector anymore.
Plus a dynamic assortment of architects like Berlin-based practice
Sauerbruch Hutton and Australia’s
PTW (the Beijing Watercube) are also
pushing the use of external color to
new places, reflecting a change in
thinking.
The times when yellow and blue
were only seen in drafts (supposedly
the first colors we see when our eyes
open as a child) and shades of grey
were the only colors allowed in the
thinking process are long gone. Color is
a powerful emotional force, which can
be used to seize the mind, form lasting
associations and generate powerful
emotional responses.
“As a designer color is seriously important as it is one of the most vital
tools for design thinking,” said color
designer Latika Khosla, director of
Freedom Tree Design based in India.
It is vital to have knowledge of color
before you can begin to use it to its maximum, according to Swedish architect
and color designer Kristina Enberg.
“Many architects are afraid of colors.
Dressed in black and working in white.
They have no awareness of its power
and fear the unknown, which is sad,”
she said. As she sees it, the problem
with the market at the moment is that
architects are still too afraid to make
mistakes due to how costly these can be
and so only use color (and very bright
chromatic color at that) as accents in a
design, otherwise sticking to the safety
of black and white.
“Those working with colors often
only use ‘strong colors.’ But to work
with color properly you must have a
