Outlook Enhanced by Science

Colour Studio works on projects approaching color in a scientific manner. Check out this infographic we put together to demonstrate our belief that "the right color choice always has a reason behind it."

Designed by Naomi Kuhmann

What's up with ceilings?

The story is as old as paint. You move in somewhere new or just decide  your place needs a new look. Out come the paint chips, discussions about base color, accent walls, moldings, windows  and doors ensue. But what about that forgotten ceiling. Usually just left to their own white devices, ceilings are often ignored for their color potential. Ceilings can have a presence all their own.

Via Apartment Therapy

This stunning red violet  beauty is by designer Sara Story.

Via Apartment Therapy

 Or why not bring the heavens down to earth with a sky blue ceiling. Painting the ceiling can add to a vibrantly colorful space, but it can also subtly warm a neutral zone.

But by now you might be thinking that walls are looked at far more as we are walking around our homes and offices but what about those places where ceilings take center stage. The hospital, for example, is full of people lying in bed staring at the ceiling. Blankness is hardly an uplifting visual.

Hospital ceiling via Made in China

Hospital rooms should be designed for healing, and mental stimulation goes a long way to keeping patients engaged.We understand that happy welcoming environments help children when in the hospital and strive to make children's wards friendly and cheerful. Why not the whole hospital? Adults do not grow out of the need to feel at ease in new places while experiencing stressful diagnostics or frightening procedures.

Via Soliant Health

The above image is of Alfred DuPont Hospital for Children in Delaware. It was ranked as one of the most beautiful hospitals by Soliant Health.

"[The] dazzling domes full of luminescent stars in the hallways conjure-up images of the Hogwarts Great Hall ceiling from Harry Potter. What child  wouldn’t want to stay here?"

Also on the list was Providence Regional Cancer Partnership in Everett, Washington, with this amazing ceiling treatment.  

Via Soliant Health

 MRI's are very loud and can be overwhelming so this MRI room is fitted with a swirling blue aquarium ceiling. What better way to relax before or recover after the long MRI scan time than gazing at sea life. 






 What colorful ceiling treatment could  take your mind off your next medical treatment or enliven your home? 
  

- Emily Eifler, Writer, Colour Studio
- Jill Pilaroscia, Principal, Colour Studio

The Color of Light

Manhattan - Via Kw-ny on Flickr

Architectural lighting is an important consideration when planning the color scheme of a large building. Once the sun has gone down and painted colors and natural materials fall mute, lighting brings buildings to life in new way. New York paints a beautiful portrait awash in the glow of the rising sun but when the topography is no longer bathed in golden yellow and warm copper glow,   each structure fades back to grayed mid-tones.

Shanghai - See the whole panorama via Wired New York

When we paint epic cityscapes in our heads we tend to create something similar to this shot of the cloudy Shanghai mega-city. Grey, silver and black hues dominate the visual horizon in every direction. Studded here and there are rivers of headlights and  the faint glow of ambient lights.

Some cites especially in Asia, are glittering with post sunset color. The lights of advertisements and architectural lighting mix with the glow of street lamps and passing cars.

Tokyo - Via Wallpapervortex

Architectural lighting designers allow buildings to participate in this glorious polychromatic display of nighttime color. Take this example below:

Hong Kong - The Nexxus via Laservision

This is the Nexxus building in Hong Kong.

"Laservision was engaged by Mutual Capital Limited to create, design and install a state of the art dynamic lighting design that would demand the attention of passersby, whilst maintaining the natural grandeur and iconic physical characteristics of the Nexxus Building in Hong Kong." 

A custom LED layout was created to cover the skin of the Nexxus with changing and flowing color. The lights are placed  to both accentuate the existing structure and  redefine its shape with negative and positive spaces. The building becomes an active changing participant in the cityscape instead of a static on looker.

What are your favorite colorful architectural lighting projects?

- Emily Eifler, Writer, Colour Studio
- Jill Pilaroscia, Principal, Colour Studio

Organized by color

The organization of objects in our environment, both our physical as well as our digital environment, is a large part of visual communication. When you are trying to design the character and mood of a space, each object with in the space whether revealed or concealed  plays a role in the visual landscape.    It seems like a simple idea. But what needs does organization have to fulfill? Ease of use, storage and visual aesthetics come quickly to mind. Sometimes all of these goals can be served by the same type of organization, but not always. Take a closet or a materials library for example:

Via Lou, Boos, and Shoes

The accessibility of the materials, storage, as well as the composition are well served by this organization of light to dark, warm to cool colors within the storage zone.

Via Apartment Therapy

You'd never lose a heel again with this bright arrangement by specific hue working around the color wheel.

But what about book libraries? Can books, objects we commonly think of in alphabetical terms, also be approached like the yarn or shoes?

Via Colossal

Via Web Urbanist

This is beautiful visually,  but are books by color practical without subject or author to go by? That all depends on the reader. To be more precise these systems, alphabetical vs chromatographic, are visual narratives (which you can read more about here). We get to use them to tell a story about our spaces. So we manipulate color not just by painting a wall or buying a certain dress but also with organization. How do you organize you books and shoes and yarn? Maybe this secret life of books video will get you thinking!

- Emily Eifler, Writer, Colour Studio

- Jill Pilaroscia, Principal, Colour Studio

Blue pill or Red pill

From vitamins to prescriptions most people take some kind of pill every day, but have you ever stopped to think about what color those pills are? Could the color of the pill dial up its effectiveness?  A study from India says color can amplify both the positive and negative placebo effects of medications.

"You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes." -Morpheus (image, link)

"According to recent research the color, shape, taste and even name of a tablet or pill can have an effect on how patients feel about their medication. Choose an appropriate combination and the placebo effect gives the pill a boost, improves outcomes and might even reduce side effects. Now, researchers at the University of Bombay, New Mumbai, India, have surveyed users of over-the-counter (OTC) medication to find out just how much the color of a tablet influences patient choice." link

Swallowing a bitter pill? Maybe its just the color (link)

"Writing in the International Journal of Biotechnology, R.K. Srivastava and colleagues report that red and pink tablets are preferred over other colors... Strangely, they found that 14 percent of people think of pink tablets as tasting sweeter than red tablets whereas a yellow tablet is perceived as salty irrespective of its actual ingredients. White or blue tablets were judged to taste bitter by 11 percent of the participants  and 10 percent  said orange-colored tablets were sour. (link).  The over all conclusion of the study is in favor of the red pill but the details are a bit more complicated than that: "Twice as many middle-aged people preferred red tablets as younger adults and more women chose red tablets as were chosen by men."

So the red pill is best? But wait it depends on what the medication is for. Sleeping pills have been shown to be more effective if they are blue. A blue sleeping pill could have the opposite effect if you live in a region which culturally associates blue with a high energy activity, like soccer. Italian men for example, who root for a national team decked out in azure blue are immune to blue placebo effects.

So should we design medications to be gender specific? What about age, culture and geographic region specific? And if red and pink reign in the world of medication which reds and pinks would you prefer to take twice a day?  If you had to submit to blue, would this color seduce you?

- Emily Eifler, Writer, Colour Studio
- Jill Pilaroscia, Principal, Colour Studio

The power of Rainbow

When musing about the power of color we often think of the emotional effect color has on its viewers. But what about a different kind of power, take powerful companies for example.  How do the biggest, most powerful, and well known companies approach color? We were surprised to find that our list of the top three: Google, Apple and Microsoft; all have used a similar color scheme for their brands.

We know Apple has switched to the more subdued slate grey but the rainbow apple along with the other logos make a striking set. The rainbow has even been adopted by the LGBT community for its symbol of unity in diversity. So if the powerful and re-empowered alike are using the rainbow as identity; what is the power of rainbow?

SF Weekly

Wikipedia points us to a history of rainbow symbology "The use of rainbow flags as a sign of diversity, inclusiveness, hope and yearning has a long history." It has been employed historically by very diverse groups including Incans, Jews, Buddists, Italians and others.

A few weeks ago we posted about color beliefs by culture and found that the color meanings most agreed upon cross culturally were those closely associated with natural phenomenon. Rainbows fit in that category. These bright swathes of color born from the elements of water and air are seen all over the world. They have throughout history been imbued with glory and significance. Our pre-scientific explanations of rainbows ranged from the paths of gods to a wound in the sky healed by a goddess.

So while we now longer believe rainbows are the gods mark on Earth they still hold some of that old power, a different kind of power. We are still awed by rainbows, even if they are just in logos instead of the sky.

Do you need a rainbow in your life? If there are none outside here is the next best thing:

 For more see: Miri695, Jaqian, Rwangsa and Moyan_Brenn on Flickr

- Emily Eifler, Writer, Colour Studio
- Jill Pilaroscia, Principal, Colour Studio

The materials of color

Paint is not the only source of color at our disposal. What about paint chips!

Cozy little cave did a stair way spruce with a little paint chip wallpaper.  Notice the yellow and white painted stripes on the ceiling leading to the magical stair.

Ish and Chi made a striking color wall composition.

Design Verb has a tutorial for how to make business card holders out of chips.

Scott Prendergast used 500 chips from Home Depot for his color fade wall.

- Emily Eifler, Associate Designer, Colour Studio
- Jill Pilaroscia, Principal, Colour Studio