Thinking About Color Changes

The changing colors of the season inspire me to write about color. Here is a list of my most recent articles about color from my blog ColorConversations.com:

Blanca, The Color White - I was looking at the color white last week and realized that for me, white had became a symbol of global interconnection. How did a color I see every day suddenly have a new meaning? Here’s what happened. . . . .

Color and Design Concepts - Repetition and Variation (and a Snake) - Good design snakes our attention. Here’s why. Looking at too much of the same thing can turn a good thing into a nothing. That is, nothing you’d notice or want to look at. Too much of the same thing sends our brain to sleep. Maybe not literally, but our attention drifts and we’re on to the next thing. Our human brains are on the alert for differences. That alertness informs us when. . . .

Color Meanings, Color Symbology and Color Psychology - You may not know this, but you were covered in color symbolism, meanings and psychology from the day you saw your first pink or blue baby blanket. Scientists, religions, governments, mystics and artists have always assigned meaning to colors over the centuries of human kind and there’s no way to get away from those meanings. . . . .

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Looking for the Perfect White?

Going into a paint store and asking for their best-selling white will rarely result in the best color of white for your home. Just because a certain color is a paint store employee favorite and easy sell, doesn't mean it's right for you. Take just a little extra time to choose a white and you'll be happier with the results. Here are some tips for choosing the best white wall paint color:

• If you're choosing a white trim paint color, choose the white after you've decided the wall colors in your home. Put sample color swatches of white against the other sample colors.

1. For a crisp look, choose a white that pops out from your wall colors.
   
2. For a subtle and serene look, choose a white that is soft and subtle against the wall color samples.

• Whites are either basically cool or warm (color temperature). Sometimes the paint company will tell you the color temperature on the samples. Benjamin Moore paint company has a fan deck of over 100 "whites" with either a "W" or a "C" near the color number to denote a warm or cool toned base. If it's not obvious, ask the paint store professional to point out the difference.

• Cool whites are bluish, greenish or purplish. Warm whites are yellowish, orangish or reddish. (Sorry about all of these "ish" endings, but I hope you get the idea.) Choose the color temperature you like, but be aware that a North facing or shady room will tend to turn a white to the cooler side and a sunny room will enhance warmth.
  

See examples of my color consulting portfolio and articles on my website.

www.CristinaAcosta.com Call me to schedule a color consulting appointment in Bend, Oregon or a phone appointment if you don't live in Oregon.

Beware of Matchy Matchy

Have you seen the TV ads of homeowners bringing their lamps and teddy bears (or whatever) to the paint counter of a big box retailer? They look so relieved when the friendly paint store employee informs them that, "Yes, we can match this color!"

They may be relieved at the paint counter, but that doesn't always mean they're going to love the paint color on the walls of their home. Though looking for paint colors that exactly match a favorite object may seem like the best solution to finding the proper hue, the wall color may not look as good as you imagined when the paint is on the walls in the 3 dimensional space of your home. This is because your eye perceives a paint color differently depending upon the amount of color, the light conditions and the paint tints and base used to achieve that wall paint color.

Here are a couple tips to guide you when you're looking to experience a favorite color on your walls:

• Take your favorite object to the store, but don't exactly match the color. Choose a color that is either 1 to 3 shades lighter or darker. Now the color of the object and wall will relate, but not try to replicate each other (much easier than the near-miss of trying for a color match). The colors of each will be enhanced.

• Sample 2 to 3 versions of the same color. If you want a purple bedroom, sample a dark, dusky eggplant purple, a deep reddish purple and a lighter blue gray purple. Testing limited variations of the same color will educate you on which direction to go with a color you love.

See examples of my color consulting portfolio and articles on my website.

www.CristinaAcosta.com Call me to schedule a color consulting appointment in Bend, Oregon or a phone appointment if you don't live in Oregon.

Read more of my Choosing Colors blog entries.

2009 Decorating Color Forecast - The Work Behind the Trends

Have you ever wondered why when fashions change with the season you see a lot of the same colors at a clothing store or home decor store and those same colors seem to be everywhere? If you think it's because those colors are suddenly "in-style" by some magical arrangement of molecules, think again. The group think behind the styles in colors comes from, you guessed it -- a group!

The Color Marketing Group is the first big player in the color forecasting world. An international association for color design professionals, the Color Marketing Group creates color forecast information for professionals who design and market color.

The Pantone Color Institute is the leader in color tools. They bills themselves as, ". . .the world-renowned authority on color and provider of color systems and leading technology for the selection and accurate communication of color across a variety of industries. The PANTONE® Name is known worldwide as the standard language for color communication from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer." I first used Pantone color systems when I painted billboards years ago. Design agencies would give me color numbers that cooresponded to a fan deck (or "book") of color swatches that were referred to as PMS (Pantone Matching System) colors.

Both the Color Marketing Group and Pantone Color Institute influence the colors used by manufacturers in industries across the board, including apparel, housewares, interior design, automobiles, and others. Don't think these groups are solely dictating color trends. They run a fine line between researching which colors are currently being used and then predicting which colors will be in use 1-2 even 5 years in the future. The people that think about color for industry application all the time usually have titles like: Color Forecaster, Color Stylist, Director of Color, etc. These people belong to groups that observe color use and social trends in the areas their customers (the manufacturers) sell to so that they can help the manufacturer create products in colors that people will buy.

Of course -- there is always an appetite for something that bucks the trend, so every color movement has it's corollary opposite. An example is the Eco color palettes vs. the Black-and-White color trend.

Keeping up on these trends is a full time job and often results in articles targeted for specific industries. The Paint & Decorating Retailer, an industry periodical published by the Paint & Decorating Retailers Association, explores product trends for the Paints and Coatings industry. They are a great resource for color trends in the paint market.

Trends in color are a result of the cultural/societal trends. Regardless of those trends, the colors you love and are drawn towards may merge with or oppose current color trends. So, pick and choose what you enjoy from the color trends and add in those colors that are close to your heart regardless of fashion. You'll be happier with your choices.

If you're looking to add color to your home, take a look at my Project Portfolio page for ideas. If you want some help to push the colors you love into a workable color palette, contact me and request my Free PDF E-Booklet detailing my color consulting service. (Put the words "Free PDF E-Booklet" in the comments box and I'll send you a link.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

See examples of my color consulting portfolio and articles on my website.

www.CristinaAcosta.com Call me to schedule a color consulting appointment in Bend, Oregon or a phone appointment if you don't live in Oregon.

Read more of my Choosing Colors blog entries.

Ask Cristina: Roofing Colors

Dear Cristina,

Please give me some advice. I am building a one-level secondary school in an Amerindian village in the interior of Guyana. I've finally received the money to put the roof on this 70'x 40' concrete building and I need color ideas. I am planning to purchase royal blue metal roofing material. What color should I paint the school to coordinate with the roof. I am also planning to build two small dormitories, two staff houses and a kitchen/cafeteria. Do these buildings need the same color roof? I would really appreciate it if you could give me some suggestions.
Siparuta Mission Academy

I checked your website Siparuta Mission Academy and noticed that the school is in a tropical jungle near a river. According to your website: "Siparuta Mission Academy was opened September 10, 2007 with 43 students in the Amerindian village of Siparuta, Guyana, South America. The school was an answer to the prayers of Amerindians who longed for a secondary school for their children." I checked Wikipedia about the country of Guyana, and got an idea of the weather.

I can understand why you are attracted to the royal blue color for the metal roofing. The landscape of the area is so unrelentingly green that a strong cool blue is a welcome accent. It also is the color of the school uniforms. As much as I love the cobalt color, I'm concerned that in a tropical setting the darker blue of the metal roofing will create too much heat in the rooms it shelters because the darker color absorbs more UV energy.

A local metal roofing company salesperson I called said that yes, darker colors on roofs do absorb more heat and that if you are in a climate where cooling is more of a challenge than heating, a lighter colored metal roof would be better.

So....here's my advice: If heat is a problem, choose a light color like light blue or yellow or even an orange (if the village people would enjoy it). Stay away from green -- there is more than enough of that color already. If heat isn't a problem (or is a small problem), go with the cobalt metal roof color, it's gorgeous.

I looked at the aerial view (or hillside view) of the village on your website and I think that making the metal roofs the same color would unify the compound. If that is not enough variety for your community members, at the least, make the buildings of a similar type have the same color roof. (i.e. "public" bldgs. vs. dormitories, etc.) I helped my local Habitat for Humanity with a hamlet of 10 homes and recommended that with the variety of home exterior wall colors, all of the roofs be the same color. It was very visually successful.

For a general color palette I would include the cobalt on doors or any other trim area if you don't use it on the metal roof. Looking at the photos of your village area I don't see much paint (yet), mostly natural wood and concrete colors. You are surrounded with so much green in the landscape that cobalt, deep yellow, deep purple, red, bright pink, and orange are good accent colors. Take your cues from the population you are working with as I'm sure they have preferences.

The wall colors can be more fun. Sometimes in tropical climates people prefer white or very soft yellow/white walls so that insects are visible. White of course can get dirty easily. A compromise is to use mid-value or darker colors on the bottom part of the buildings -- like a band of color that rises about 3 to 5 feet from the ground, then white or other light color above that. On the outside, a mid-value to darker color part way up the wall will look better when rain splatters mud on the sides of the building.

I urge you to have fun with the color scheme and include members of the village in the process. A vibrant, happy and welcoming looking compound is the first step to welcoming visitors, encouraging newcomers and giving your local population a sense of ownership and community.

Another idea is to incorporate Shade Sails into your compound. Shade Sails come in many colors and even the dark colors (the navy blue is close to the color you like) hold up well in the tropical sun. They are easy (with a crew) to install and you can get immediate shelter that is modern, colorful, stylish and very affordable. Read my blog posting about Shade Sails.

Send photos, I'd love to post the results and hear about the project.

Best Wishes, Cristina
See my color design portfolio on my website.

See examples of my color consulting portfolio and articles on my website.

www.CristinaAcosta.com Call me to schedule a color consulting appointment in Bend, Oregon or a phone appointment if you don't live in Oregon.

Read more of my Choosing Colors blog entries.