The Influence of Colour
There’s a smell that brings you back to a certain location, or a song that takes you back to a time in your life. Sensory experiences can trigger strong emotional responses, and this is no different with the visual colours that surround you. Some will make you feel relaxed, maybe even sleepy, whilst others will excite you and propel you forward. These reactions are instinctive, within the subconscious and somewhat primitive.
Hosted by Dulux Trade and Allermuir, the topic “Wellbeing, Sustainability & Colour” was discussed as part of a panel talk. Moderated by Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director at Dulux, panel speakers included Peter Howard - Sustainability and CSR Lead at AkzoNobel, Nicola Holmes - Design and Colour Specialist at Dulux Academy, Simon Hamilton - Interior Designer and Careers Mentor, and Michelle Heath - Senior Interior Designer at TP Bennett.
Colour psychology was a solid starting point of discussion, with Marianne Shillingford highlighting the emotional and cultural contexts of colour: An obvious association of the colour Green, for instance, is nature, though for the Irish, the colour is associated with the lucky clover, whilst in Asia, the Green Jade comes to mind, that is considered both of luck and a precious material. Taking a more scientific approach, colour wavelengths play a role where, for example, Red would appear closer to the eye.
Given the material influence of colour on the human experience, colour analysis and colour forecasting have come to play a pivotal role in the design process. Marianne spoke about the evolution of colour analysis from commercial and fashion trends, to studying how people were coping in a new, fast-paced environment.
“We are suffering from sensory overload…
We want micro dosing of happiness.”
- Marianne Shillingford
It was suggested that the emotions of ‘Belonging’ is associated with warmer colours, ‘Simplicity’ with calm colours, and ‘Joy’ with uplifting colours. Furthermore, the popular biophilic movement in design undeniably assists with countering the stressors of the everyday environment.
Peter Howard continued the conversation, having presented a database of statistics with sustainability in mind, including the fact that:
The built environment in the UK account for approximately 50% of carbon emissions;
With 80% of current buildings in the UK to remain existent in 2050; and
That people spend 90% of their time indoors.
Peter discussed the importance of selecting sustainable paints and paints fit for purpose. For instance, selecting specific paints for high traffic areas (whereby paint ingredients have a high carbon footprint), versus low traffic areas (paints with low carbon footprint). Interestingly, Peter notes that white coloured paints are the least sustainable but are still widely used; certainly deeper colours are both more environmentally sustainable and interesting from a design perspective. This begs the question of why are designers and builders still not opting for a wider range of non-white colour applications on a commercial basis, which would benefit both the human psychology and the environment?
The panel speakers further contributed to the discussion, with some key considerations posed to the audience, including:
Educating the client in a collaborative manner on colour decisions, and ensuring the client is on board with the proposed ideas, are required for a purposeful design to be successful;
When selecting colours, consider a room’s purpose - i.e. high energy and stimulating vs calming and restful spaces; and
Different surface levels and finishes, as well as the degree of light reflection, influence the delivery of a colour selection.
The audience was left with thought-provoking ideas on how to approach colour for the visually impaired and those who are colour blind. Being ahead of the curve, Nicola Holmes directed us to tools on the Dulux website which attempt to address such considerations.
As the panel discussion came to a close, Q&A around the room continued as the audience delved further into the topic of colour design. Certainly, the conversations and knowledge shared this evening demonstrated how colour is not just a splash of paint, but rather an instrument that can have a very real impact on wellbeing.