Category: Colour

If you follow me, or know me, you’ll know I have a passion for colour – in particular I love orange! To demonstrate my love and passion for orange it’s influenced many purchases and also influences the gifts I’ve received from friends and family over the years. For example, my Orbea carbon bike frame was orange, a glass antique vase salvaged by my mum in a Brocante in France is the most gorgeous rich orange, a light orange cotton bathing towel gifted to me by my sister (it also doubles up as a scarf if chilly on a summers night), a vintage burnt orange silk neckerchief gifted to me by my parents, and an Anorak reusable organic cotton bag with a beautiful retro flower print on it. The last product mentioned here combines several things I love – the colour orange, nature with the floral print, and being kind to the planet as being a reusable product, it helps removes the need for single use plastic bags.

Dial up joy, optimism, love, passion and life  

So why am I banging on about orange? In June this year, Italian car manufacturer FIAT announced that it will no longer offer grey cars as it wants to make our lives more colourful. In the FIAT | Operation No Grey campaign, a key part of the narrative and storyline told by CEO Olivier Francois, is based on joy, optimism, love, passion, and life told through the joy of colour, he explains why FIAT look the decision. He states “The world doesn’t need another grey car. So, let’s change the rules”. A closing key message in the campaign reads “Italy, the land of colours”, “FIAT, the brand of colours”. It’s clear here that FIAT wants the absence of grey to become a “distinctive feature of FIAT’s cars in the automotive market”. Therefore, from June 2023, FIAT will no longer produce grey cars.

To my surprise, the spectacular campaign footage featured a grey FIAT car being dipped into a vast drum of orange paint – yes, my favourite colour! The stunt took place in the Italian city of Lerici, during the summer solstice on 21st June, 2023.

Congruent with FIAT defining themselves as ‘the brand of colours’, they have a wonderful way of naming their colour range, all celebrating and referencing FIAT’s country of origin; for example, colour names include Venezia blue, Passione red, Sicilia orange, Gelato white. I love their passion for colour. Perhaps my next vehicle needs to be an orange FIAT to spark more joy, optimism, love, passion and a zest for life out on the open road?

You can watch the campaign HERE.

Don’t look at me, I want to blend in  

In the automotive industry, did you know that grey is the most popular colour for new cars registered in the UK, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Trade (SMMT), June 2023. Over the last decade or so I’ve really been intrigued as to how grey become so popular, particularly as it’s a colour that has no positive psychological attributes.

To me, grey says blend in, don’t stand out, don’t look at me, I want to stay hidden. Like a battle ship on the ocean hiding from the opposition, or a person wearing a grey suit in to work to blend in with their counterparts in the city, grey is a colour that almost wants to be invisible.

I suppose you could say that grey is safe, it’s middle of the road – pardon the pun as we’ve been talking about the automotive industry and FIAT banning grey from its range. It’s neither black nor white, but I find it rather emotionless and find it dulls any feelings of creativity, which is most likely why I steer away from it as it dampens my positive energy and zest for life.

In 2011, the Guardian published an article titled ‘Why has everything gone grey?’ – and let’s face it, grey has dominated many areas of our lives from interior design to fashion and the clothes we wear. I wonder if this new more championed direction to celebrate colour and the psychological attributes of colour is a response to the challenges, we have all faced in recent years? Perhaps it’s a global response and desire to collectively feel more joyful, happy, optimistic and positive as we flow into the coming years.

Of course, colours and trends come and go, but I do hope that celebrating colour, in the many ways it can be utilised – in our lives, homes, cars, wardrobe, down to the brands we interact with – is here to stay.

Facts about grey 

When you look at the ways in which we might related to the colour grey personally, culturally, and psychologically, is it any wonder FIAT made this decision to ban grey from their colour range? Some insights and facts below:

• It is a neutral or achromatic colour, meaning literally that it is ‘without colour’, because it can be composed of black and white
• The first recorded use of grey as a colour name in the English language was 700 CE
• In military uniform soldiers commonly wore grey to be less visible
• The German Army chose a colour called field-grey, specifically to be less visible at a distance
• In the 1930’s grey became a symbol of industrialisation and war
• Grey is rarely used by political parties as it’s commonly associate with conformity, boredom and indecision
• In design, grey is often used in fonts and headers to appeal to a mass audience
• Grey is a type of camouflage… it conceals, it hides, it doesn’t want to be seen, it wants to blend in with its surroundings and not stand out

Let’s talk – colourful conversations

When do you find yourself wearing grey or being attracted to grey? Or are you drawn to orange? As a brand strategist, colour consultant and coach, I work with heart-led people and businesses who are looking to make a positive impact in the world. If you’re looking to stand out from the crowd and distinguish your brand for all the right reasons in your marketplace, do get in touch, I’d love to help you develop your brand strategy.

With joy and colour,
Emma 🧡

Header image courtesy of Pixels – Anton Ivanov.

When I was growing up, I was a tom boy… I was outside in the garden, climbing in the trees, building base camps in the woods, making swings and climbing ropes in amongst the trees. I was not a Barbie girl – Barbie was for girlie girls, not girls that rebelled against wearing a dress and preferred to be outside in nature getting muddy. Now as an adult, have my preconceived ideas of Barbie changed?

Behind the scenes on Barbie  

This week I listened to a Woman’s Hour – Radio 4 podcast, where I heard a conversation between the presenter Anita Rani, and two key women behind the scenes on Barbie – set director, Katie Spencer and production manager, Sarah Greenwoood – where they talked about how they created and set the scene for Barbie in a UK film studio, in winter, in Watford, Northwest London.

Just in case you’ve been under a rock, Barbie is a 2023 American fantasy comedy directed by Greta Gerwig; the movie features Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken (swoon), and heavily features the colour pink!

As part of the creative process, they created over 100 pinks from salmon pink to dark purple pink, and during that time discovered the sweet spot and defined their unique, highly pink colour palette for the movie. Working with Rosco, a company who specialise in products for the entertainment industry, they ordered 200 litres of pink, causing a global shortage of pink paint!

They went on to say that film-sets are often dark and mysterious; however, Barbie was different. In the podcast they touched on how influential light and colour was on set, commenting “You walk in and you’re into this amazing bath of colour and light, and it really was a therapy. It really was, it just glowed. It was like pulling you in, into this studio. In that sense it was really joyful.”

Keen to hear more? I highly recommend having a listen – Woman’s Hour, Radio 4 – HERE.

Fun facts about pink  

• Baker-Miller Pink was known for temporarily reducing hostility, violence and aggressive behaviour, and has been used on the walls in psychiatric wards and in prison cells to calm inmates and pacify prisoners
• Throughout most of the world, pink is considered a feminine colour
• Madame de Pompadours favourite colour was pink
• Pink became associated as a feminine colour post world-war II
• In 2016, Rose Quartz was Pantone’s ‘Colour of the year’, known as millennial pink
• Pink has been used to emasculate people and to make them feel physically weak, hence some football teams choosing the colour pink to paint the changing rooms of the opposing team
• Global brands that have chosen to include pink in their logo include Barbie, T-Mobile, Tinder, AirBnB, and Dunkin Donuts (there are many more)

How I associate with pink – personally, culturally, and psychologically  

Personally, when I was young, I thought pink was very girlie-girlie. As a child it was not for me as I was very much a tom boy, always outside playing. Dolls and pink weren’t really part of my world – I don’t recall it being in my wardrobe either.

During my teens, the film Pretty in Pink was released which starred Molly Ringwald as Andie and Jon Cryer as Duckie. I loved that movie and unbeknownst to me it started to shift my perception of the colour pink. Andie made it cool, funky, and individual, because of her unique style and dress.

In my 30 and 40s, I have a very different relationship with pink. I have carefully selected items in my wardrobe that are pink – specifically a soft, muted dusky, dusty pink. Items include scarves, jumpers, a silk top (beautiful and timeless from Mint Velvet) and PJs (I’m a sucker for the leopard print ones from Hush – a lockdown purchase to make me smile). Moreover, two walls in my bedroom are painted in Rangwali Pink No. 296 from Farrow and Ball, it’s utter bliss – warm, cozy, kind, soft, yet strong and confident to.

Culturally and symbolically, I associate pink with hearts, romance, love, blooming peony’s, girls baby clothes. Even the saying ‘rose tinted glasses’ suggests everything has a warm, soft, attractive glow, designed to make us smile, feel good, and look at the bright side of life.

What’s your relationship and association with pink?

The influence of colour  

There’s no denying it, colour has a huge impact on our lives. As the ladies on Woman’s Hour advocate, the set made them feel joyful and uplifted. Colour can be utilised very effectively to change our mood, influence our behaviour, and impact how we feel. Some refer to it as colour-therapy, some call it colour healing, some don’t believe they associate with colour at all, but we do – we all do – some more consciously than others.

I love the fact that colour has the ability to influence every area of our lives, with its vibe, energy, light and frequency. It influences my life on a daily basis, to the clothes I wear, to the brands I’m attracted to, even to the food I eat and meals I prepare.

Back to Barbie

Are you going to see it? If yes, what draws you to it? If no, why not? Do you have any preconceived ideas about Barbie from your childhood? In all honesty, I never thought I’d go to a Barbie movie, but I’m curious. I want to see the set, the colour palette, I want to discover how it’s going to make me feel, I’m intrigued and open to having my past perceptions changed. Plus, who doesn’t love a fun, feel-good movie?

Let’s talk – colourful conversations

I’m a brand strategist, colour consultant and a coach, with over 20 years brand, marketing and communications experience. I work with heart-led people and businesses who are looking to make a positive impact in the world. Do get in touch to talk about and explore new perspectives.

With joy and colour,
Emma 🩷

Images courtesy of Pixels – Artem Podrez, Dids, and Carolina Grabowska.

This May saw a new beginning and a rather fabulous and inspirational visit to Clerkenwell Design Week. Known as the UK’s leading festival that celebrates London’s creative hub, l discovered open showrooms, workshops, talks and product launches hosted by some incredible designers, architects and creative businesses.

Optimism and change  

A joy to visit, I had the opportunity to join a raft of inspirational panel sessions covering a wide range of topics including ‘Diverse and Inclusive Workspace Design’ hosted by Women in Design, to ‘How can design drive optimism and change’ hosted by Solus where the panel included graphic artist, Anthony Burrill; Colour Design Expert, Justine Fox; and Rob Delius, Architect and Head of Sustainability, Stride Treglown.

In line with the flow of the conversation in the ‘How can design drive optimism and change’ panel session, I’m in agreement that colour moves through communities and changes through the decades, the meaning of colour changes depending on the culture and country, and that colour symbolism is learnt. I also agree that knowledge is power. “It’s more important than ever that we educate people about colour and about how we are able to use colour beyond aesthetics” commented Justine Fox. We need to ask what we want colour to do – how do we want people to feel, what emotions do we want to evoke, what actions and behaviours do we want to elicit. Colour does influence how we behave in a space, interact with a product, and connect and engage with a brand.

One of the aspects I love as a brand strategist and colour consultant, is to challenge the idea of colour and to educate people about what’s possible when they understand the psychology and power of colour. Moreover, how they relate to colour personally, culturally and psychologically. From a new foundation of knowledge, a new awareness comes forth.

Biophilic design

To be inspired by colour there’s no better place to look than Mother Nature. You’ll discover a full spectrum of colours along with textures, tones, finished, materials, a spectrum of organic shapes and sizes, and much, much more to inspire you.

I love being in nature and I’ve always been drawn to biophilic design – a return to nature is calling. I appreciate biophilia is not a new concept, but I love the fact that it’s seeing a resurgence in popularity, in both the residential and commercial world of design. Just like a river, trends ebb and flow, yet, when we combine biophilic design with other current trends such as colour psychology and sustainability (and promoting a circular economy), a powerful combination is formed.

One of the products that stood out for me at CDW were the natural preserved plants and mosses presented and showcased in several of the showrooms, including Orangebox, Greenmood, and Old Sessions House. Some installations were standalone pieces of art, some were used to separate spaces, and some integrated lighting into the concept, yet all were sensual, experiential and induced the most wonderful feeling of connectedness. The majority of the pieces I saw had been preserved to hold their colour, feel, texture, and smell, providing a full sensory experience – I loved the earthy natural smell they delivered. I was mesmerised by them and started hatching plans about where I’d feature this kind of product in my home to further help bring the outdoors in and create a sense of calm and wellbeing.

Colourful conversations 

An avid learner, I enjoyed soaking in the pearls of wisdom the designers, architects and specialists had to share. During CDW they all gave so generously with their time and knowledge inviting people into their showroom spaces. In the coming weeks I’m excited to continue colourful conversations with many of the people I had the pleasure to meet.

To close, I’m going to leave you with a couple of quotes to ponder…

“It’s all about community, connection, and reacting to the world around you. Work hard and be nice to people, pass on kindness. The key to a happy life is to be nice and be kind to people.” Anthony Burrill

“Old ways won’t open new doors!”

If we want something new, we must be prepared to do something new. Here’s to driving change for the benefit of all, paying it forward, being kind, and new beginnings!

Are you are curious to discover more about how you personally relate to colour and the possibilities it brings? Do get in touch. I’d love to talk with you.

Header image and body images taken by me.