The Function of Colour | As a studio we’re thinking more carefully about our rules around colour, in order we can articulate our philosophy as proficiently as we do space.

‘Space is the ultimate luxury.’ We place great emphasis upon this notion to activate and bring efficiency, purpose and wellbeing to buildings. We fully understand our rule book when it comes to space; how we compose and zone activity, and how best to configure or reconfigure buildings, justifying the planets invaluable resources and delivering best prosperity for our clients and the community’s that use them. Colour though, it is said, is subjective but I am not so sure as it is inextricably connected to our goal of creating inspiring experiences. So, as a studio we thought we should think more carefully about our rules around colour, in order we can articulate our philosophy as proficiently as we do space.

It is all too easy to take inspiration from Pinterest, and in fact it can be lazy to do so. Our innovations are set around engineering space; this makes our work new, contemporary, relevant, and unique. Copying from Pinterest will only seek to replicate projects of the past and look to copy those that are existing. This is not an authentic or innovative way of creating the new.

The studio has alternatively looked to think about how we can add character and identity, searching outwardly to set our rulebook on more than just our own self-expression. These are our key drivers:

Outlook | The world is in turmoil with tension surrounding us. This is echoed with beige and grey trends (‘greige’) reflecting the Instagram context and the Kardashian influence which is often self-conscious and self-indulgent. Greige is an infinitely flexible tone that melds with any colour as its the sum-total of all colour and light in the universe – Cosmic Latte. We, as a studio want to express a positive and optimistic outlook on our collective future by using colour to bring joy and hope; using colour can do just this to create uplifting and authentic spaces.

Architecture | We endeavour to create holistic buildings; a cohesive journey from exterior to interior is a crucial factor in deciding their success. Contextual research and the historic fabric of a site or building often form part of the design narrative and inform the use of materiality for our projects, firmly rooting the interior scheme as purposeful built environment, with a strong sense of place.

Tempo | Is a colour fast or slow? We understand a lemon is faster than a potato, but why and how? They are similar shapes but one is zesty, the other heavy. A combination of uplifting highlights, combining flirty and dirty tones help shape the atmosphere and feeling of a space.

Flavour | We are more often now giving spaces depths of ‘flavour’ and in a synesthetic way thinking about what our spaces ‘taste’ like. A rich but subtle mix of ingredients is key to creating spatial resonance, however within each one of our projects we tend to introduce a kick of spice or zest and highlight the interiors with an energetic, vibrant tone or in contrast, a mellow accent to ground the palette or materials and colours.

Tone | We balance interiors through tone, understanding maturity from youth to wisdom, light to dark and interpret gradations between reflectivity and sparkle; all of which will deliver a clear identity moulded to the end-user and the demographic.

Light | The quality of light is critical to the colour rendition of the space. Light will provide the widest colour spectrum and highest rendition. Colour is not just about a paint finish but we attune light in all the colour temperatures to ensure the space is fit for purpose.

Expression | Through our exercise of finding brand identity and uniqueness of expression, colour will support the narrative and story, as a result creating a unified experience with a strong sense of purpose.

Application | When we apply colour, we ‘paint’ with colour, light, materiality, finish and tone, thinking of ourselves as abstract expressionists positioning hues across our spatial canvas.

Space is the ultimate luxury and so importantly, we articulate space and function by the interplay of purpose and material finish. We intrinsically link a function of a setting or space with the colour, mood, texture and finish which amplifies these settings as purposeful zones, with colour serving as the final layer of its soul function.