COLOR THEOR
MARIA ELISA MARINI
TABLE OF CONT
4. About me 5. Color+Design 22. Color+Psychology – Amelie
32. Color+Balance
6. Color+Designer(s) – Luis Barragan
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TITLE
34. Color+Rythm
36. Color+Emphasis – Commercial design analysis
46. Color+Travel – Havana, Cuba 88. Color+Culture
44. Color+Proportion & Scale 58. Color+Unity & Harmony – Hospitality design analysis 74. Color+Variety – Workplace design analysis
ABOUT ME
My name is Maria Elisa Marini, I was born in Italy and I consider Italy as my country. I lived, studied, and worked in many different countries and I feel lucky to have experienced so much. I love to travel and discover new places, I love to learn new languages and about new cultures. I love colors, my interest started in 2013, when I did a project for a neighborhood in my city. Since then, I started to understand how colors can influence your life and I really like the idea that you can change the perception of a place just with a can of color (or maybe a couple).
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C+THEORY
• HUE, VALUE, CHROMA are the three dimensions of colors • Additive color theory applies to combining the three primaries of light: red, blue, green • Subtractive color theory applies to combining the three primaries of pigment: magenta, cyan, yellow
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C+DESIGNER(S)
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LUIS BARRAGAN
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UIS BARRAGA CASA BARRAGAN
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BACKGROUND
Luis Barragan (1902-1988) was a very influencial Mexican architect. He was born in Guadalajara, and completed his studies as engineer and architect there. Two of the most important formative influence were two European trip he did after his graduation. Firstly, he spent two years in Europe, there he was able to admire the Italian and Spanish historic villas. After that trip, he started to be interested in landscape architecture. The second trip in Europe occurred after his father’s death (1930), there he met Le Corbusier and Modern architecture. Barragan was influenced by it, but never agreed that the house should be a “machine to live”. In his beliefs, the house needed to express SERENITY and HAPPINESS.
9 http://www.mkgallery.org/img/pages/216/f/tumblr_mfihahtban1s1prabo1_1280.jpg
THE PROJECT
Luis Barragan House was started in 1947 in a working class neighborhood of Mexico City. It was surrounded by small-scale traditional houses called ‘vecindades’, typical of Mexico City. The house is not recognizable from the street because it preserves the appearance of the surrounding, it shows introvert and intimate aspect. The architect lived and worked in this three floor house with garden untill his death in 1988. The house was inscripted in the unesco Word Heritage register in 2004. The relathionship between light and built space needs to be noted. he light flowing throught the windows engage its inhabitants with the passing of time, the space can be perceived differently depending on the time. Color is “substantial to form and materials”.
10 https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4003/4531661140_326cde01aa_b.jpg
THE PROJECT
Luis Barragan House and Studio. Constructed in 1947. Mexico City, Mexico. Concrete Building. Three floors. Garden.
11 http://www.archweb.it/dwg/arch_arredi_famosi/luis_barragan/barragan_house_and_studio/barragan_house_drawings.jpg
PLAN
Plan of the Barragan’s House first floor. In the next pages we will explore the first floor of the Barragan’s house.1 We will use this path: 1. Entrance Hall 2. Vestibule 3. Living room 4. Library 5. Studio - workshop space 6. Patio de las Ollas 7. Garden 8. Dining and breakfast rooms
1.Note, the first image of the presentation represents the roof terracet, on the 3rd floor.
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ENTRANCE HALL
Here, we start our tour of Barragan’s house and studio. This is the entrance, yellow is the prevailing color, the black stairs are made in lavic stone. On the left there is a wood wall with a sitting cantiliver bench. The artificial light emphasizes the tones of yellow and wood colors.
13 http://www.casaluisbarragan.org/fotoscasa/
VESTIBULE
The Vestibule is the second room we encounter. Barragan was convinced that a house is a living organisme and it’s never quite finished. This image represent the original setting of the vestibule room, or perhaps the most effective. Here on the right, we can see a balance between white and Mexican Pink, a color that Barragan uses a lot. On the top of the stairs there is a yellow/ gold simple picture. The white in its background is lighter than the one that surrounds the pink because of the light that flows from the window on top left.
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LIVING ROOM
In this room, the most interesting thing to note is the frameless window. Luis Barragan always paid a lot of attention to the relation between interior and exterior. Choosing a frameless window he highlighted the continuity of inside and outside the house.
15 http://blog.abilia.mx/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/B9.jpg
LIBRARY
This is one of the most famous image of the house. The cantilive stairs cover the angle between the right and front walls. Moreover, the light condition in this room allows the right wall to merge with the front one. In result, the cantiliver stairs are apparently floating. There are two wood color, on the floor and on the stairs. Then, there is a shade of the darker one, on the ceiling.
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STUDIO - WORKSHOP SPACE
In the studio-workshop space, yellow is the prevailing color. This is due to the reflection of the lights flowing from the right window on the yellow ceiling. The reflection gives a yellow tone to all the room. The white wall becomes light yellow too. Depending on the time of the day and on the intensity of the light, the room changes yellow tint.
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PATIO DE LAS OLAS
The patio is the first outside space we encounter and is well defined by white walls. There is a strong contrast between the walls and the gray/back lavic stone of the floor. Another contrast is between the Mexicanpink door that let us out is in contrast and the green of the plants hanging down on the wall in front of us.
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GARDEN
At the beginning the garden had a structutred character. After a while, Luis Barrgan decided to let the garden to grow freely, for this reason the garden can be considered as a wild oasis in the middle of Mexico City. The garden in essentially monochromatic and made by shades of green. Barragan never uses green as an interior color, just because of the relation inside-outside that he always considers. 19
DINING-BREAKFAST ROOM
The brakfast and dining rooms are the only two that contain homogeneous ceiling lights. The walls are white and color is given by furniture, from the view on the green outside and from the artificial lights. More tones are defined by the sunlight.
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CONCLUSION
Barragan believed in “emotional architecture”. During all his career, Barragan was interested on the interior as well on the exterior of his project. How can the relationship between in- and ex-terior change the experience of the end user of the space? Barragan was able to syntetize his modern influence with his Mexican tradition and his philosphy of space. He was able to give personality to the spaces that he created. What is notable about
Barragan’s house is that it embody exactly his idea of hose as living organism. The house changes with the light of the sun, the strongest is the light the more tones you see. Moreover, the contrast between different colors and the reflection of one over the other changes depending on the time.
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+PSYCHOLOG
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AMELIE
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AMELIE Direction: Jean-Pierre Jeunet Cinematography: Bruno Delbonnel
Directed by: Cinematography b
DELETE this image insert the intro film
2001 – Paris, France
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FILM SUMMARY Amelie is the main character of the movie. Her story begins when she is young. She wasn’t send to public school, and she was educated at home by her mom. For this reason, she had a lonely but happy childhood, she was always helped by her lively fantasy. When adult, she left her parent’s house to go to live in Paris Montmatre, and to work in a bar as waiter. Amelie is shown as a happy and passionate character, she has happiness inside and she helps the others around her to
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CHARACTER
BACKGROUND
find it while she is looking for love. When she noticed some imperfection or somebody who is not happy she helps him/her, and she makes up some way to do it. The movie shows how her fantasy helps her to fulfill her mission to help others, while on the same time she tries to find her way to be loved. The main colors of this movie are red and green. Red is the color that represent Amelie’s feelings, she is driven by passion and love for others. At the same time red is a dynamic
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THIS SCENE
color, it’s the color of action. This also represent Amelie’s 1 character in her attempts to help others. Green is the second main colour, which balances the first, being its opposite. The world out of Amelie’s apartment is usually green based, and especially Nino’s character and her thoughts about him.
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SCENE ANALYSIS I’m going to analyze one of the last scene, where finally love 3 comes in Amelie’s life and a better balance of color is shown. The main characters are Amelie and Nino, the scene takes place in Amelie’s apartment. At the beginning (1) she looks herself in the mirror and the red color is the main dominant, she is wearing a red dress. Then, she is in the kitchen preparing a dessert, she changed outfit, now she wear a black top with a green sweater. Her thoughts 4 28
about Nino are shown in a left window on the screen, the 5 dominant color is green, to balance her red surrounding. The right side of the screen is still red. When she realizes that she is just dreaming she starts to cry (2). Then, the knock on her door connects her dreams to reality, when she hears Nino’s voice is calling her (3). She is not able to face him and she doesn’t open the door (4). He goes away, leaving a note 6 that says he was coming back.
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She goes back to her red reality, but when she realizes that she 7 is missing a chance to be loved she jumps from her chair and runs to the door to find Nino (5).
HIM
HER
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When she opens the door she find Nino (6-9). 9 The red color becomes more balanced (just on one side) with green and yellow-brown (7, 8, 9). The final shot is about the green eyed cat (10), with a yellow and red background.
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+BALANCE
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• BALANCE is the relationship of different hues to one another when each is perceived to be equal in perceived or visual weight • Perceived or visual weight involves size and scale of objects in the space and the visual weight of color • Four keys to establish good color balance: amount of color used, number of different colors, visual weght of colors, location of colors
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+RHYTHM
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• RHYTHM and color can be used to create five types of visual effect: repetition, alteration, progression, continuation, and radiation • The use of color impact the overall design, and is a way to add visual movement with minimal effort • The stronger the contrast, the stronger the color rhythm. The weaker the contrast, the weaker the color rhythm • A color rhythm of more than three hues should be avoided due to visual clutter.
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+EMPHASIS
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COMMERCIAL DESIGN ANALYSIS
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AllSaint Spitalfields is a British fashion retailer founded in 1994 by Stuart Trevor, and Kait Bolongaro. The brand has a connection to popular culture since its founding. A lot of British and American young celebrities have been photographed entering AllSaints stores or wearing AllSaints clothes at parties or events.
ALLSAINTSPITALFIELD 910 LINCOLN ROAD Marini_M8
INFORMATION: The original building was designed in 1929 by Walter C. De Garmo, the first licenced architect in Miami. The store manager was interviewed, he stated that before AllSaints Spitalfield the building was renovated several times. According to him, at the beginning it was a sinagogue, then it was renovated into a church and then into a restaurant. The space is double height, and composed by two structures. The first one is historic, and faces Lincoln Road. The designer mantained the original floor tiels. Featured Projects The second structure, four stepsNews elevaThe Firm ted from the latter, is partially renovated, with wood floor.
SHOP NAME: AllSaint Spitalfields
Contact
MIAMI BEACH
LLSAINTSPITALFIEL BACKGROUND
ADDRESS: 910 Lincoln Rd Miami Beach DESIGNER: Shulman+Associate YEAR OF DESIGN: 2010 AWARD: 2015 Dade Heritage Trust
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LLSAINTSPITALFIEL HUE CONTRAST
Contrast of Hue helps to give identity to a space, it draws attention to the elements with different hue The horizontal secondary beams of the ceiling give a sense of extension to the room. The vertical bigger beam draws the attention on the doors of the fitting rooms. The main contrast of hue is between the cherry-wood-colored doors and ceiling and the dark wall of the fitting room. The furniture elements help this contrast because their color is very similar to cherry wood. Moreover, there is a less strong contrast of hue between the oak floor and the cherry-wood elements. In this part of the retail environment, the designer used different kind of contrast: contrast of hue, contrast of value (the corner on the right is in shadow to avoid a sense of closeness) and contrast of texture (wood floor, metal finish of the wall, leather of the furniture).v
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LLSAINTSPITALFIEL VALUE CONTRAST
According to Ron Reed, contrast of Value is one of the easiest contrast to achieve through the use of light/dark contrast. In this example, contrast of value is between the bright wall and the dark background. The use of light helps to emphasize the contrast. The chosen AllStar Spitalfield retail shop is spatially complex, due to pre-existing condition. In this case, the contrast of Value was used to help the customers to orient in the space.
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LLSAINTSPITALFIEL DESIGN FEATURE CONTRAST
Design feature contrast can be achieved through the use of different shapes and forms. In this case, the contrast is made through the use of vertical elements. The scaffolding components are in contrast with the lights support parts, made by a metal grid. While the scaffolding elements emphasize verticality of the double height space, the lights bring the customers eye down on the products on sale. Another contrast of design feature can be found in this example, the tall vertical scaffolding elements put on the side of the room are in contrast with the horizontal dress exhibitors.
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LLSAINTSPITALFIEL TEXTURE CONTRAST
The contrast of texture is my favorite contrast, I like materiality of surfaces and to be able to feel the roughness with my hands. Though, texture contrast is not only achieved though physical interaction with the surface and it’s not only about materiality. The image of a material is able to give you the idea of its texture. In the chosen retail space, different examples of texture contrast can be found. In the first section of the shop, the pavement texture is the strongest element in the space, it draws the customer attention from outside. The contrast between the floor complex brownish-colored tiles and white walls texture is the first visible contrast. The floor texture is so prominent that the dress exhibitors had to be simplified as much as possible, as far as to arrive to the scaffolding idea. The use of simple metal scaffolding structure against the strong floor texture is another contrast to be appreciated. 42
LLSAINTSPITALFIEL FOCAL POINT
Focal point is a design element that receives visual emphasis because of its importance. It can help to orient in the space and it can be achieved in a lot of ways. Isolation, contrast of shape, size and color, progression and repetition of elements can all be considered means to emphasize a focal point. In this case I found a focal point on the cashiers of the retail unit. This focal point is evident because of contrast of texture, shape, hue and value. Texture contrast is given by the dark metal finished wall behind the cashier. It is in contrast with the white ceiling, the oak floor and the dark wood furniture. The contrast between metal and wood is recognizable on the floor, where a contrast of shape brings the customers to the cashier. Hue and value contrast are easily recognizable, furniture’s brown wood color with brighter oak color of the floor, dark metal color of the wall, and white color of the ceiling. At the end, the light feature gives a value contrast within the metal wall.
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+PROPORTIO
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• PROPORTIONS of color should be considered in the context of the scale of the space and amount of lighting available • SCALE ans proportion can alter and enhance the visual perception of the environment. • Scale refers to our relationship of the human body to objects, whereas proportion refers to the size arrangementof objectswith each other in an interion space
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+TRAVEL
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HAVANA, CUBA colors and contrasts
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+UNITY&HARM
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HOSPITALITY DESIGN ANALYSIS
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PROJECT: Fontainebleau Hotel DESIGNER: Morris Lapidus LOCATION: 4441 Collins Ave, Beach, FL 3314
Miami
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The first area that I’m going to analyze is the lobby. Some of the most prominent elements that we find in the space are original from 1950s, when the hotel was designed by Morris Lapidus. The marble columns, the marble floor and the rounded wall in the back with marble climbing stairs, are all original. Marble is a noble material and it gives a sense of magnificence.
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Color + LINE The columns are the most visible linear element in the space. They are not touching the ceiling and we are not able to see their end. For these reasons, with the use of lights, and the reflection on the floor, we perceive a sense of infiniteness. The light fixtures are a combination of vertical and curved element. They work in contrast with the columns because they reduce the height and define a more intimate space under them.
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Color + SHAPE The repetition of the circular shapes add rhythm and unify the lobby area. In the case of the light fixtures, the dark color inside the circular shape is in contrast with the white ceiling.
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Color + TEXTURE I love texture, I love the combination of view and touch senses. In this case, the white marble columns gives a sense of cold touch that is balanced by the purple-based carpet. The latter, gives a warm feeling thanks to the color and the idea of soft texture. Moreover, the columns’ texture is in contrast with the lights’ texture. On one side an idea of firmness and security, on the other side a frivolous idea of opulence.
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Color + PATTERN The black pattern on the white floor gives a sense of dynamism and movement, in contrast with the sense of firmness and grandeur given by the columns.
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The second zone that I’m going to analyze is the bar area. There, we understand the importance of color to define the space. Here we see again what happened in the previous example, the color is used of in combination with different kind of varieties. For this reason, the space is well defined, diverse and with contrast. The color palette is based on cold orchid/lotusblue and purple.
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Color + LINE The curved lines on the ceiling are the complementary accent that balance the cold palette of the area. The curved lines are combined with the straight lines of columns and curtains, that are warm-colored. These three elements emphasize each other balancing the palette.
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Color + SHAPE The focal point of the bar area is the white column (with a lot of liquors on it). Its circular shape is repeated on the bar around it, on the tables, on the chairs, on the ceiling, on the first set of columns.
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Color + TEXTURE The floor give an idea of cold feeling Here, my attention was taken by the background lobby image where we can see a warm pattern that is the in perfect balance with the cold blue space. Moreover, the warm-colored leather furniture is another balancing object, not only for its color but also for its leather texture.
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Color + PATTERN The straight-angled patter that is on the floor can be considered a contrast element. The area is developed around a circular column, that represents the focal point. The blue floor gives the idea of floating into the water (or space‌). For this reason the darker squared pattern gives an idea of stability. On the ceiling there are small points of lights that gives the idea of stars.
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+VARIETY
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WORKPLACE DESIGN ANALYSIS
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PROJECT: Pandora Media NY office DESIGNER: ABA Studio, Andrew Bartle Architects LOCATION: VPark Ave, New York, NY 10168, USA
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OVERVIEW
20th floor plan
19th floor plan
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OVERVIEW
19th floor
Louver wall elevation
Acrylic screen
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Conference room graphic treatment
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OVERVIEW
20th floor
Louver wall elevation
Conference room wood grain graphic
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color palette
ANALYSIS
Pandora’s NY office is divided into two floors, and each one is characterized by an open floor plan. A neutral color palette can be identified as background. There are linear elements that unify the space with their prominence and neutral color. Then, high saturated colors (the primaries, blue, red, and yellow, and one secondary, green) attract the attention on specific design features in the space. The plans are U shaped, the service space is constrained in the horizontal part, while the space for work, socialize, and conference, is 80
on the two vertical fingers. Each finger is characterized by a high saturated color. As result there are four areas, each one identified by a specific color. More in detail, the colors are used to help the visibility of specific elements (e.g. walls, chairs, benches) or a space used for a specific reason (e.g. meeting rooms, activity rooms).
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Color + LINE
ANALYSIS
lines - shapes
The curved lines on the ceiling are the complementary accent that balance the cold palette of the area. The curved lines are combined with the straight lines of columns and curtains, that are warm-colored. These three elements emphasize each other balancing the palette.
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Color + SHAPE The focal point of the bar area is the white column (with a lot of liquors on it). Its circular shape is repeated on the bar around it, on the tables, on the chairs, on the ceiling, on the first set of columns.
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texture - pattern
Color + TEXTURE
ANALYSIS
The floor give an idea of cold feeling Here, my attention was taken by the background lobby image where we can see a warm pattern that is the in perfect balance with the cold blue space. Moreover, the warm-colored leather furniture is another balancing object, not only for its color but also for its leather texture.
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Color + PATTERN The straight-angled patter that is on the floor can be considered a contrast element. The area is developed around a circular column, that represents the focal point. The blue floor gives the idea of floating into the water (or space‌). For this reason the darker squared pattern gives an idea of stability. On the ceiling there are small points of lights that gives the idea of stars.
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DETAILS
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+CULTURE
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COLORS OF ITALY & JAPAN
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My culture and country is Italy. I decided to concentrate my research on the colors of nature in Italy. My country is rich in culture and nature, for this reason their relationship has always been tight. In history, the most prominent cities were close to the sea or in a favorite natural position for trade. Italians shaped and produced their landscape trough its heritage. Nowadays, nature represent one of the most important vales of Italy. We have all sort of landscape, from desert to snow and ice, from swamp to mountain, from level ground to hills and high mountains with glaciers.
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I’m going to read the color of nature through five traditional Italian colors. The second CULTURE and country that I have selected is Japan. I have chosen to learn about its culture and its use of color. I’ve never been in Japan, and I would like to know more about its beautiful culture. I’m going to show the relationship between color and nature (waiting for the time when I’ll go there…).
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Tuscany
Venice
Amalfi
Naples
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VERDE VERONESE – Virdian, is a blue-green pigment. It’s a intense green color discovered by Paolo Caliari Veronese, Italian Renaissance painter.
TERRA DI SIENA – Sienna, is a yellow-brown natural earth pigment. It takes the name from the city of Siena, its main producer in the Renaissance.
GIALLO NAPOLI – Antimony yellow, it is made by one of the oldest synthetic pigments, dated around 1620. The genuine pigment is toxic and nowadays is rarely used ROSSO VENEZIANO – ROSSO POMPEIANO Venetian red, is a darker shade of scarlet. Its red earth color was widely used byVenetian Renaissance painters. Ancient Romans knew it as “sinopia” and we can find it on the mural drawings in the ruins of Pompei. For this reason is also known as Pompeian red. 94
The Italian tradition has a great use of colors. My intent here was to show the close relation between nature and colors. I chose four colors that are relate to the Italian history and landscape. Each color chosen relates to a city and to a precise time in history. In this picture I show how colors have been used in traditional architecture in towns along the cost. Bright colors were chosen to distinguish each building and to be a focal point to the fishermen on their way back home (when no mobile phone were available‌) 95
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WAKATAKE-IRO – YOUNG BAMBOO COLOR Bamboo is common in Japan, it’s part of their culture. For this reason, they named a color to it.
FUJIMURASAKI – WISTERIA PURPLE Wisteria is another common plant, its color and perfume are an important part of the Japanese tradition
Sakura-iro – CHERRY BLOSSOM COLOR The color of the cherry blossom. In spring the cherry trees blossom and they give an amazing spectacle. AKABENI – PURE CRIMSON (DYE) Originally obtained by safflower, red is a basic color for Japanese tradition. For example, they use it in traditional clothes, temples structures. In combination with with it is used for happy and favorable occasions (wedding, graduations…). Japanese consider the sun as red colored not yellow. 98
The Japanese tradition has a strong relation to the use of color. The first trace of a color system can be found in the Twelve Level Cap and Rank System which was established in 603. The names of the colors originated from names of plant, animals, or natural elements because the system was based on the five Chinese elements (fire, earth, metal, water, wood ). Historically, certain colors determined ranks and social hierarchy. For example the orange color was reserved for robes for high hierarchic level.
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