Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Beyond aesthetics
Dr Zena OConnor zena@zenaoconnor.com.au
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Learning objectives
1. Understand colour attributes and categories.
5. Practical solutions for real problems in design and the built environment.
Most early colour theories and research studies focussed on hue only.
Zena O'Connor, PhD
Categories of colour
Colour symbolism
John Woodroffe
The Serpent Power (1919)
Pseudonym Arthur Avalon.
Charles W Leadbeater
The Chakras (1927)
Quoted Madame Blavatsky s The Secret Doctrine, Woodroffes
The Serpent Power and Atkinsons The Human Aura .
Josef Albers
Grouped colours and assigned them with specific meanings.
10 Cultural groups
(Rings)
84 Colour meanings
(Spokes)
(McCandless, 2010)
Zena O'Connor, PhD
Colour Symbolism
Aslam, M.M. (2006). Are you selling the right colour? Journal of
Marketing Communications, 12 (1), 15-30.
Anger,
aggression,
danger, violence,
pain and death
Revolutionary
ideology,
Communism,
Socialism
Love, romance,
virility, passion
Winning,
confidence,
competitive
advantage
Fixational Reflex
Visual search times are faster for red than other colours,
dependent on contextual colour (Elliot, 2015).
Red draws attention in a film poster, hotel interior and Washington DC underground station.
Church of the Light (1989) in Osaka and Chichu Art Museum (2004) in Naoshima
Office colour impacts mood and productivity but can vary due
to individual differences (Kwallek, Woodson, Lewis & Sales, 1997).
Stimulus screening ability, preferences.
RIBA Offices, London, Theis + Khan (2015) & LEGOs offices, Rosan Bosch & Rune Fjord (2010)
Googles Dublin office (2013) by Camenzind and Facebook Menlo Park (2014) by Gensler.
Moos London offices by Trifle Creative (2014) and Microsoft office by Perkins + Will (2014)
Supergraphics
Transform perceptions of the built environment.
Encourages engagement.
Supergraphics
Supports social engineering in educational institutions.
Motivational slogans to support teaching policies.
Achievement First Endeavour Middle School (2010), Brooklyn by Paula Scher, Pentagram .
Supergraphics
Highly saturated colours in supergraphics on shipyard buildings.
Supergraphics
Highly saturated colours in supergraphics on shipyard buildings.
Hotel Puerta America (2003) & Torre Agbar tower (2005) Spain
by Jean Nouvel; Red House by Jarmund Vigsnaes Archts (2002)
Medibank Melbourne, Hassell & Macquarie Bank Sydney, Clive Wilkinson Architects.
Inherent colour
Perceived colour
White functionality:
Things should be seen to be clean Florence Nightingale.
Children prefer bright, more saturated colours (Cohen & Trostle, 1990).
Signage
Sans serif fonts Strong, thick strokes.
Signage
Text/Background colour contrast aim for 85+ Light-dark
differential for effective legibility (Arthur & Passini, 1992).
Heritage Colours
Colour-coded buildings