Life of Colours - EP07

A world full of colors is a world worth living for. Colors can make the difference in a project. Doesn't matter if it is the dullest project of all, and you have no budget to make new structures, colors and textures are your best allies here.

You have to consider that the human eye is carried away with what fascinates it, and colors are such a high stimulus that one can prefer a place over another just by its color palette. This happens because a combination of colors can create an ambience worth staying because people identify with it. No wonder why coffee shops are so successful. Of course there are other factors that contribute, like smell, lightning, a concept creation and such.

If I have to be very specific about the subject there are more that a 100 colors available, but all descend from the top 3 basic colors and its secondaries. These is the main list of colors with its meanings and which places are best used:

Red: Definitely the most passionate one. This color represents all intensity and excitement that helps stimulate and draw attention. It is often used for focal points, the entertainment and food industries. A lot for high demanding attention like fire protection and all sorts of important singling. Some people like to apply this color for accent walls. I highly recommend not to use this color in the entire room since it will create the sensation of saturation and make the place smaller. 

Blue: It is most people's favorite color. Doesn't matter if it is light or dark blue, it is such a great color to start with. This color gives a sense of security, responsibility , wisdom, and trustworthiness. It reduces stress providing calmness and order. It's often used for places where you can or need to be relaxed like living, offices, bedrooms, banks, and others. 

Yellow: Such a full of life color. It is energetic, enthusiastic, full of opportunities and promotes happiness or positivity. It also demands so much attention and encourages awareness and spontaneity. It is often used for advertisements, schools, recreational rooms, and exteriors. This color is used nowadays with a dark tone and tends to simulate modern and whimsical places. 

Orange: Although we've started with the secondaries, they're their own world and deserve some attention. Orange can be a powerful color, representing optimism, independence, adventure and creativity. It is generally used in offices, art departments, resting rooms, etc. Since it's a color that promotes communication it is great when applied in living rooms or dining rooms. 

Green: The nature color. It helps revitalize a room and it's often related to growth, a safe place, creates stability, kindness, and most: balance. Although it's always related to nature and plants, it can be demonstrated as an elegant color when used in a dark tone. Sometimes it's related to money so it's usual to find this color in banks, real estate agencies or such.

Purple: or Violet and its variants is a color of independence. Promotes creativity, mystery, and inner security. Helps to reduce stress and inspires an impression of luxury. It's often used in technology, bedrooms, fashion, and stores.

Pink: Such a lovely color often promoting childhood, love, immatureness and innocence. It is mostly used for nurseries, kids bedrooms, stores, and beauty products. This color could work in so many more places but it is already denigrated to be used in women's related things. 

Grey: A variant between white and black but worth mentioning because it is such a neutral color that balances a room easily. It can be used in any plane you want because it is practical, formal and promotes any interior design you'll like. Helps working with textures and such. Kind of like a clear canvas but not white. 

White: technically neither white nor black are official colors, more like all colors combined (white) and no colors at all (black), but when designing is a tone you'll definitely need even if you don't want to. Basically is the base to everything. The color of pureness, loyalty, order and balance. It is not bad that you'll prefer the entire room painted in white, since you can make it the way you want just from materials, furniture and textures. Promotes amplitude, so it is no wonder why it is better to sell a house all painted in white. Obviously works great with any other color.

Black: Last but not least, this color emanates power, authority, elegance and control. It often intimidates and is associated with mystery. Sometimes it can make the room feel a little bit smaller, but when well used it has the entire opposite effect. It all depends on a great quality finish, because when applied poorly it shows off all the defects quickly. Works great with any color too, but better with white, grey, yellow, and red. 

Even though we have covered all basic colors, I think it is best to get an insight on different color palettes used for interior designs, exteriors and product designs. This can help you with different styles you want but don't know where to start:

Nude palette: It covers all beige colors, from white to brown. It is an elegant but very simple palette. Often used in fashion, and in very low key places like museums, auditoriums. Since it is very simple, it can create a very minimalistic and elegant ambience. Generally people use these colors and let their object colors pop in the room. This palette doesn't draw any attention and wants to be very discrete.

Pastel palette: Imagine all the colors but very very light: pink, light green, cyan, light purple, etc. This palette can relate with the color Pink description. Used easily in kids rooms, schools, offices. Generally people use these tones in the entire house. 

Neon palette: Now we're talking. This palette is not afraid of anything and wants adventure and of course Attention. Often used for very attention demanding rooms like clubs, teens room, showrooms, music rooms and more. 

Whimsical palette: Usually is a combination of colors related to nature and a touch of bohemian or vintage. Generally are a set of greens, yellow, brown, orange, and beiges. This palette is often used to get a very comfortable ambience, like restaurants, living rooms, terraces. 

Warm palette: Imagine a sunny day in a vineyard with a cup of coffee. Colors brown, orange, yellow, grey and maybe lilac. This palette usually tries to make a place relaxed like you have time to waste. Sit back and relax. Coffee shops, restaurants and book stores use this palette. 

Cold Winter palette: Black, grey, dark red, navy blue, and some beige are the representing colors. This takes an atmosphere of professionality, elegance and maybe impersonal. Loving these colors in studios, bedrooms, stores and offices. 

I'm sure there are more of these and you can even create your own color palette depending on the feeling you want to convey. Playing with colors is something that every designer should do before deciding on a theme or at least buying the paint! I hope you have a great time entertaining yourself with these. Remember, you can always paint it in another color if you didn't like what you chose.