Week 2, Color and Paint, Reading from Dimensional Color by Lois Swirnoff

Image from www.amazon.com

For our second class reading we read Lois Swirnoff's Dimensional Color.  As the title suggests, the locus of Swirnoff's book focuses on the idea that color should be considered another dimension.  What Swirnoff means by dimension is a dimension such as the height, width, and length of an object, and she suggests that color too is such a dimension.  The glaring problem here and my initial question is, how one goes about quantifying color?  With standard dimensions there is an established units measurement, and thus we can quantify an object's height as exactly a certain measurement.  But, even if we use labels to identify color, such as red, each person may choose any number of a wide range of color choices that qualify as red.  Lois however, is not as concerned with quantifying color as she is with explaining how color is much more dynamic than objective measurements, in that color serves so many purposes within and around a structure.  Original here is her idea that color creates a perspective, similar to the way merged lines on paper to a single point creates the perspective of depth, she writes that color can create this sort of perspective by including and centering the viewer as part of the space.  Color also can appear as a series of surfaces that form the parameters of a given space, again creating perspective.  While I understand her point, I still think that color by itself does not define a space, but the depth and distance between colors and spatial planes create that perspective.

Lois also introduces the idea of form versus color, where she believes exists a strong bias in design towards forms over their surfaces.  A good example of this would be where a color is selected subsequent to a car being created.  Lois believes that a relationship exists where form and color are cohesive and color is not simply a surface, but offers more dimension.  The example she offers in her book is from Persian architecture, where the surface is emphasized over the form, thus the surface creates the form.  This is where she lost me in her explanations, because the fact is that the surface is still wrapping and sitting on top of the form, thus acting as a surface.  Even when form and color are integrated, such as with solid colored plastic, the final product is still plastic that is colored, right?

Lois goes on to review and discuss the many theories about how people perceive and process color in the brain.  This excerpt was very obviously well researched and thorough, as evidenced by the technical nature of the discussion, which seemed to require a background in anatomy, physiology, and a little psychology.  While I understood that each theory presented did offer morsels of how color is processed by humans, I hope never to have to refer to that section in her book when I need to understand why my brain selected a certain paint color.  In case I ever do find myself in such a situation,  I will always have that special section in her book to look forward to.


On another note, I thought I should put up some photos of interesting color combinations and how they seem to really dominate a space.  I also thought I would put up some photos of how designers have used paint within a room to really set the tone for the space.  Of course, when I talk about color I have to give a nod to the queen of hue, Kelly Wearstler.  Besides being just a design goddess in general, she is most well known in the design community for her use of color.  Most of the picture I am posting below are of her work.  

Image from www.kwid.com

 These are Kelly Wearstler's limited edition prints of her book, Hue.  She really is the color guru, and this book is a photo graphic documentation of her feats with color. 

Image From www.kwid.com

I love this combination of dark green and black,  it is really masculine and vintage at the same time, but the subway tile pattern makes it modern and clean.  Kelly Wearstler here!

Just such a simple kitchen with some great green paint slapped on.  I think this is a great example of how strong of an influence paint can have on a space.  This could be in any apartment or condo, with just a single rich hue to offer an updated look to older kitchen cabinets.

Image from www.elldecor.com

This is just some very simple furnishings with a strong paint color influence.  The turquoise color is calming and serene, and the brown furniture seems beachy next to it, instead or old or worn out.  The paint color also provides a great background for the bright paintings in the background. 

This is a great example of how color can define a space.  Here the rainbow book collection really defines the space and adds interest.  I really like this application because it wouldn't be that difficult to emulate this design in ordinary residential applications.

Great patterns and great color, with pops of that hot pink, very feminine and vintage.  The color looks great with the rich tones of the wood furniture.  

This is just a great example of a fantastic color combination, orange and purple.  I just thought it was aesthetically appealing. 

Image from www.kwid.com

Kelly Wearstler here again.  I love the bright orange with the dark charcoal gray.  The pattern in the wall paper is also pretty neat, I like the organic feel of the wood grain, but in such an obviously unnatural color.