Comments on: Grandma’s yellow kitchen

By: Finley Caruana

Finley Caruana — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 14:55:12 +0000

Grandma had a Picaso print hanging over her stove, walls were eggshell white, I think. The painting made the impression, and made cooking an adventure.

Current studies show oranges to be the happiest and most energetic color. This might explain the appreciation for the more orange sand colors being used in everything SouthWest.

Thanks for the excellent article!

By: Tamara G. Connolly

Tamara G. Connolly — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 17:28:58 +0000

There is actually good reason to stay away from yellow kitchens. Psychological tests have shown that yellow walls tend to make people more irritable so they fight more. Perhaps your client had some lingering memories of mommy and daddy argueing in grandma's kitchen. Here's some more info:
http://www.info-arch.org/lists/sigia-l/0104/0014.html

By: HS

HS — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 00:34:51 +0000

Great article...

I found it interesting that the first respondent to this article felt compelled to let you know what THEIR grandma's kitchen colour was. (light green -fading to cigarette smoke yellow at the top if you REALLY must know) Just goes to show how powerful those associations are.

In many cases I think people are fully aware of their predilections, but just can't get past them because of their power. I often wonder if, subconsciously, it becomes more difficult at that point to make a decision regarding ANY design choice because it becomes a guessing game as to what OTHER people are thinking when they look at the final choice that is made. That insecurity usually causes people to withdraw to what they consider a "safe" choice.

While you bring up personal associations with colour, I think most people have almost a dual nature when it comes to colour/design in the sense that they not only have these personal connections, they apply what they assume is a "third person" view of design so that they end up believing , for example that "other people think that nike means such-and-such, therefore I must follow (or not)".

Maybe we need some sort of Id, Ego and Super-Ego classification system and an analysts couch in every Studio space, just to get to
the bottom of this...

HS

By: TW

TW — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 11:07:42 +0000

First; thanks for the insightful blog.

I have a similar take on the objective use of color and design in general as espoused by your article, yet I feel that there are occasions when there are the objective criteria may not be completely sufficient in helping a customer with the choice of palette.

We can compare to norms within the clients field of business, decide whether it is best to ignore them, break the trend, or fit in. We can try to predict how the target group will respond, even measure it in some instances. We can avail ourselves of the huge body of literature and research on the use of color and follow the latest color trend predictions (or try to avoid them). In the end we have to decide and, while in some instances the our decision may be objectively defensible, they can seldom be determined to be "the" correct solution.

When I first meet with client in a situation where choice of color is integral decision to be made I usually say that it is a subjective matter.
Having said that I then begin with a simple discussion regarding the "objective" aspects of the choice to be made. It usually leads to a greater understanding for the client as to how designers work, making at least some of the following dialogue more constructive.

Of course then there was the guy who told me that as far as he was concerned there were only two colors; Ferrari red and British racing green. At least he is now aware of at least one more choice, I sold his company on black and white.

By: Eric Karjaluoto

Eric Karjaluoto — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 02:07:19 +0000

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for the comment, point well taken. :-)

I feel it's always important to weight the emotional function of a piece of communication; nevertheless, that impact should consider whether the client’s or designer's emotions may cloud the dialogue with the audience.

Perhaps it is all related to the desired end result. The question we have to ask as designers is whether the piece of communication is intended to convey our personal voice, or to make contact with the audience on a level that acknowledges their emotional reaction. Sometimes these two intentions align, but when they do not we have to be make these decisions deliberately.

I appreciate your feedback, and hope you'll visit again!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 01:49:06 +0000

My nanna's kitchen was a retro combination of pale green and yellowish brown. I still remember it vividly and it brings back happy memories. Goes to show that the emotional function of a design is as important as the more quantifiable functions - and how much this can vary from person to person.

Lovely post and blog.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 19:13:24 +0000

Great article.

This is my first visit to ideasonideas and I have to say I'm quite taken with your material.

Keep it coming.

By: Uta

Uta — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 23:11:58 +0000

It's about time you guys got into the blogosphere! :)

Congratulations on the upcoming wedding Eric. Of course, I heard about it quite some time ago, but haven't seen you since then.