Color Budz

Color Obsession–Ben Moore’s Oriental Iris

Lori Sawaya — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 23:47:57 +0000

I’m obsessing about this color today. It’s from Benjamin Moore’s Classic Colors collection. Spring fever?

Cartoon Color Wheel

Lori Sawaya — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:13:45 +0000

Pigmentology. Love it.

File this under not my infographic but kinda wish it was. It’s fun. Definitely click and go to the website because it’s interactive. Click on the character for a short bio.

Colorgraphically Speaking–Meaning of Grey

Lori Sawaya — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 23:24:37 +0000

Along with the colorgraphically speaking infographic, I have a lot to say about grey today.

Grey is known as the designer’s workhorse. Workhorse because achromatic grey is ironically masterful at playing chameleon. How so, you ask? Grey is its own complement but when juxtaposed to another color, grey goes all chameleon-like and takes on a complementary hue.

In other words, a neutral grey juxtaposed to a strong red will suddenly appear to have a green undertone or color cast. Take the grey out of context, away from the strong red, and the green undertone disappears.

It is critical to be aware of the fact there are two kinds of undertone, inherent and in situ. Alleged undertones detected in a paint chip (inherent) can disappear into thin air once the color is viewed among the contents of a room. (in situ).

Context is everything with regard to color but especially true when it comes to grey; inherent and in situ are particularly poignant. Want a few stories as examples?

Think you’ve found the perfect grey with just a hint of the hue you want? Think again:

The violet undertone you saw in a grey paint chip fades away when you paint-up a sample and place it in context next to your olive-green sofa.
Think you’ve chosen a blue-grey for your son’s room? Not so much blue comes through in context next to the fire engine red feature wall. It just looks grey.
That cool as a cucumber green-grey color chip mysteriously turns dead and ashy juxtaposed to your terracotta-colored Saltillo tile.

Or we can flip it around and make the mission about finding grey paint chips with zero undertone instead of just a hint of hue. Like this scenario:

Confident you finally found a totally neutral grey paint color chip for the screen wall in your new, custom home theatre. . . but your heart sinks when the painter puts up the first coat and it’s pale lilac, not neutral grey.

If you’re looking for perfectly neutral grey paint colors, I know of only one source among the major paint brands. There is a strip of neutral greys in The Master Palette color collection from Akzo-Noble/Glidden. The strip number is 162. Some of the colors are Snowfield, Veil and Dover Grey.

Technically, per the numbers, all the colors on strip number 162 should show neutral, with zero undertone. But I wouldn’t bet on it. Despite what the numbers tell me, I’d insist on painting-up color samples.

Sampling color has always been a pain in the ass. Board or card-like materials designated for use as paint sample boards disappoint. They are often challenging to paint, hard to manage and wind up dog-eared, scuff-edged, basically unpresentable and looking like crap in what feels like nano seconds after the paint dries.

Hang tight because in just a few short weeks, I will introduce you to the perfect process to properly test paint colors. It’s beyond revolutionary. It’s freaking genius (if I do say so myself).

Meantime, enjoy the colorgraphically speaking infographic about the wondrous color grey. It is a VERY important color (or non color) to know and understand.

Great Quote

Lori Sawaya — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 07:42:44 +0000

It’s all about getting it right the first time and not learning bad habits — bad habits that you have to unlearn at a later date — for the purpose of a quick result. — Ian Lloyd

Know that there are no short cuts when it comes to the art and science of supportive color as it pertains to the built environment. Some stuff in life simply requires you to do the work.

Color is one of those things.

Warm and Cool Colors Mini Tutorial

Lori Sawaya — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:04:17 +0000

This is a post I wrote on a decorating forum a few years ago. I get many emails asking about “the rules” of mixing warm and cool. Thought this mini tutorial might help answer some of those questions.

^{RE: Warm and Cool Colors – in need of a Tutorial}

^{posted by: funcolors on 04.04.2009 at 11:38 pm in Home Decorating Forum}

Color temperature is tougher in decorating because you’re working with color in a three-dimensional realm. 99.9% of color information available does not address color from a three-dimensional scope. That presents many opportunities to deconstruct color and think about it more truthfully and accurately.

Someone suggested I start by selecting a “warm” or “cool” palette to help harmonize the rooms.

That’s one way to look at. Another is to use that level of contrast. Color is about relationships and to make believe that only the cool colors can play well with other cool colors and warm with warm is not the truth of how color works. It’s an easier approach, for sure, but it is by no means the only approach. It could be argued that the rule of thumb of cool with cool and warm with warm really isn’t a level of color “harmony” at all — it just matches.

It’s the very same with intensity. Keeping to all one intensity or chromatic value room to room isn’t THE way to do it. It’s just one way to color a house. Juxtaposing a clearer color next to a more muted color can indeed make site lines that are interesting and help define architecture — it’s a way to meet certain expectations.

How does dark, old woodwork factor into the warm/cool thing?

It’s a huge factor. Ya know, I’m always saying that paint does not have to be last, you don’t have to have an inspiration piece and *pulling a color* is just one way to look at a color challenge.

Paint color can never be “first”. Not possible.

This is where your woodwork comes into play. Like I said before, color is about relationships and you can start building color relationships once you have the non-transient elements established in the room. The woodwork, the flooring, cabinetry, bookshelves, etc. From those non-transient factors, you can build a shell that will gracefully house whatever contents you want to throw in there.

Whatever transient elements you choose are going to “go with” the non transient elements of the room — the shell. You’re not going to choose a sofa that pales off once it’s set on your hardwoods. So logically, if you craft the wall color to harmonize with the known non-transient elements, you’re gonna be fine.

It’s not necessary to have everything in place to paint a room. Can if you want, but far too many people put off coloring their environment waiting for that last piece of fluff to be installed. It might be right around the corner — or it might be years off in the future. Waiting on a *thing* that may or may not ever materialize before you bring color into your experience is a waste of architecture and time. You can color for your now.

When it comes to paint color per se, you have to be aware of what “warm” and “cool” really means. In situ undertone and color temperature is revealed when the wall color is juxtaposed to the other colors and elements and exposed to the inherent light in the space. What makes a color “cool” or “warm” is determined when it’s experienced in the three-dimensional space it will reside. Outside of that experience, on its own, whether a color is labeled “warm” or “cool” by some other sets of eyeballs is irrelevant to you and your three-dimensional space.

Labeling a paint color as warm or cool can be useful but it’s not a fact. It’s just a temporary way to organize and categorize paint chips for the preliminary stages of coloring.

But the blue-greens, which I thought would give the rooms a sense of peacefulness, actually seem to do the opposite when placed up against the dark reddish wood. I’m guessing it’s because of the high contrast?

According to your tolerance, it would seem it’s the opposite of peacefulness. To someone else that playing of contrasts would be a spectacular way to set off, highlight, pay homage to the fabulous woodwork. For you, a calmer flavor of color harmony would be best. For someone else the amped up vibration of the blue-green to the reddish wood is fabulousness. So, to say that keeping an even keel of any level of color contrast is the best way to go about coloring environments would be correct in some instances, but not all.

Tranquil Mood Color Palette

Lori Sawaya — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:50:03 +0000

I was remiss in posting last Colorgraphical™ Word Wednesday. So, I owe ya a word. Or two. Or Three. Or four. . . five.

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Colorgraphically Speaking – Meaning of Red

Lori Sawaya — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:11:37 +0000

It can be a fascinating game, noticing how any person with vitality and vigor will have a little splash of red in a costume, in a room, or in a garden… —Edgar Cayce

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Colorgraphically Speaking – Green

Lori Sawaya — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:38:58 +0000

“Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.” — Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Color Names, Relationships and Harmony

Lori Sawaya — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:54:33 +0000

Love this. So freaking cool. I didn’t make it. Maybe some day when I grow up I can make cool stuff like Stephen Von Worley’s design team. Until then, I’ll have to cut and paste from his blog.

I’m posting this because I’ve been beating the drum of color relationships rather hard lately. I believe if you do not first fully understand masstone, root hue, parent hue, overtone (choose however you’d like to label it) you can’t reconcile deeper levels of color relationships and/or contrasts. Understanding fundamental color relationships enables you to recognize and then skillfully harmonize the underlying. In other words, your ability with color grows beyond a common color coordinating mindset. Enhanced understanding grants you the choice to create simply with color —or— more complexly.

Simple color relationships and harmonies become a choice instead of banal default. As a creative, as a designer, whatever kind of designer you may be, that’s a really good feeling position to put yourself in.

The Color Strata states that this visualization shows the primary color names, their lesser-used brethren, and the relationship between them.

Colorgraphical™ Word Wednesday – Awaken

Lori Sawaya — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:39:37 +0000

Featuring colors from Pittsburgh Paints Voice of Color. Hover for HEX code.

134-6 Cranberry Splash
116-5 Honey toast
308-4 Lime Taffy
503-6 Dwarf Spruce

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Paint Prices Per Gallon–Major Brands Infographic

Lori Sawaya — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:44:48 +0000

As an experienced professional architectural color consultant, I can’t imagine using just one brand of paint.

Practically speaking, it is not possible to work with national and international clients and specify just one brand of paint because access varies. Some brands have limited distribution and are strictly regional. And just because a brand may be widely available, that doesn’t mean there’s a store in every neighborhood – your neighborhood.

Then there’s the issue of color. Working with only one color collection is painfully limiting because one brand, one color collection can’t be all things to all projects. Crossing brands to color match is possible but is dependent on skilled paint counter staff and that’s not something you can count on store to store.

I’ve done thousands of online consultations over the years so I know many people have to buy from their local hardware or big box store or commit to a long drive to the nearest professional paint store. A road trip just to buy paint doesn’t always make sense. The factor of budget can also be an issue; sometimes a $25 gallon of paint is the best fit for the project. Not everyone has access to the designer brands promoted ad nauseam.

So, we need options. You need to know what options you have for paint and you need to know prices so you can shop smart.

As per usual here on Color Budz, I’m going to share how I think color. In this case how I think paint and this is the most important thing I want you to take away:

Comparing prices per gallon does not paint an accurate picture.

Comparing price per square foot is better in determining value. Value is what we’re after and that means looking past price per gallon and delving deeper into what you get for your money.

The following infographic compares 24 brands and their respective top tier grades including the uber lux lines like full spectrum. Remember, the uber lux lines can offer more in terms of quality be it ingredients, color, or both so you have to consider that in terms of their intrinsic value. What’s interesting is some of the lux brands, priced per square, aren’t that much more expensive than standard brands.

Morale of the infographic is you may have more options than you thought.

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Colorgraphically Speaking – Orange

Lori Sawaya — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:04:55 +0000

There is no blue without yellow and without orange. —Vincent Van Gogh

Appropriate quote for this colorgraphical infographic don’t you think? It’s also a good quote to share now because I’m working on a couple of posts about Color Theory so stay tuned!

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

LRV – Thanks AEC Daily Color Education Courses

Lori Sawaya — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:00:07 +0000

The paper I wrote about LRV, Light Reflectance Value, is cited as a source in this AEC Daily and Benjamin Moore course called “Color and Light”. Three pages in the course are dedicated to LRV and reference some of my research. Cool.

It’s wonderful they are sharing this information and even more wonderful is they cited me as a source.

Over the years I’ve produced and openly shared a massive amount of content about paint, color and light. Without question, the piece I wrote on LRV is THE most plagiarized. Followed closely by posts on full spectrum paint and color.

When I published the first version of the LRV article, no information about LRV relative to paint and the built environment existed. Not a single pixel of information. This concerned me at the time because if detailed documentation and specific how-to information was non-existent about LRV, paint, color and the built environment, I had to wonder why.

I don’t worry any more because technical directors from major paint companies are among the many who have plagiarized – or let’s say ‘heavily borrowed’ from the content. Being plagiarized sucks but it sort of vetted my work, so I guess there’s a silver lining to everything.

Interestingly enough, when I began researching LRV I started with the paint industry. I figured since LRV was listed in every paint manufacturer’s color fandeck index surely a paint store et al would be able to explain what LRV was and how that data was used.

Nope.

The explanations from paint store staff in particular were pretty funny. One guy told me the LRV number specified what paint base to use to mix colors. Another one said that it had something to do with how much Titanium Dioxide was in each color. Seriously. This was also the beginning of my epiphany that a paint store is very likely the last place on earth to find a bona fide color expert.

I gave up on paint stores and manufacturers and started contacting color scientists. After about a year and an intensive lighting class at The Ohio State University conducted by the IEEE and IESNA I was able to put together a concise picture of the story and purpose of LRV.

Stephen Westland of Leeds University, UK and Mark Fairchild of the Rochester Institute of Technology, NY were particularly helpful in providing pieces to the LRV puzzle. Mark even made an Excel spreadsheet for me that converts LRV to grayscale, a.k.a. CIE Y to CIE L*. Out of all the color books and tools I own, that simple Excel spreadsheet is one of my very favorite things. (may be sad, but it’s true.)

Any way, the point of this post is appreciation. I very much appreciate that AEC Daily is doing the right thing by citing the expert sources they use to compile their content.

I recommend downloading their Color and Light course. It’s good. And I’m not just saying that because I happen to know the exact provenance of the part about LRV.

http://www.aecdaily.com/course.php?node_id=1668222&tabidx=downloadcourse&company=Benjamin+Moore+%26+Co.

Colorgraphical™ Word Wednesday – RetroMod

Lori Sawaya — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:00:20 +0000

If possible to spin a fresh story on retro, modern and traditional paisley pattern, then this is an idea of what I think it should look like. And, yes, black and brown do indeed *go* together.

Featured colors are from Benjamin Moore:

Black
2137-10 Otter Brown
2024-10 Chartreuse
HC-128 Clearspring Green
2000-30 Red tulip
2139-40 Heather Gray
HC-91 Danville Tan

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Colorgraphically Speaking – Purple

Lori Sawaya — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:11:54 +0000

Man at the dawn of civilization recognized that sunlight was essential to life. Color, being a manifestation of light, held divine meaning. Historical records of color show little interest in the physical nature of color, nor yet in its abstract beauty, but in symbolism that attempted to resolve the strange workings of creation and give it personal and human meaning. —Faber Birren

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Infographic vs. Colorgraphic

Lori Sawaya — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:03:06 +0000

The definition of infographic is it organizes and illustrates complex information and concepts into simplified visual synopsis.

I call the visuals I make colorgraphical or colorgraphs — because I want to and because I can.

There are no set rules to qualify an infographic or for what makes a “good” one. Lengthy, short, whatever is fine. What matters most is the image cogently postulates, contains accurate data and the format used, like a Venn Diagram, is aesthetically interesting and used effectively.

A Venn diagram is “a diagram that uses circles to represent sets, in which the relations between the sets are indicated by the arrangement of the circles”. In other words, the spots where the circles overlap should be filled in with something that directly relates back to the bigger circles. The center is the subject or most important part. The idea is to make the diagram a threaded stream of thought.

This is one of my favorites. It’s a simple idea shared simply. Today, with you.

Click to purchase "The Universe and Forever"

Colorgraphical™ Word Wednesday – Gossamer

Lori Sawaya — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:05:59 +0000

. . . Because sometimes it helps to have color spelled out for you.

Hover for HEX #. Featured colors from Pratt & Lambert:

1148 Princely blue
1210 Winter Solstice
1138 Dove
1147 Fidelity

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Pantone’s Tangerine Tango Pratt & Lambert

Lori Sawaya — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:44:56 +0000

To date I’ve posted infographics showing closest color equivalents to Tangerine Tango in Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams paints.

Pratt and Lambert is up next. Have to say there aren’t many colors in the Pratt & Lambert color collection that are super close to Tangerine Tango. Be that as it may, here are the top three that best resemble Pantone’s 2012 color of the year:

1855 Flame (best)
1006 Banner Red
1861 Poppy

HEX codes included for your convenience.

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Colorgraphically Speaking Psychology of Teal

Lori Sawaya — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:07:04 +0000

It’s Colorgraphically Speaking Sunday! Color speaks to us consciously and subconsciously. It is important for you to know how to use the psychology of color to do things like:

personal and professional image planning to dress for success
choose colors for your brand in order to send the right message
evoke desired mood in your home
create an appropriate and supportive environment for your place of business
and more

Tone is an integral characteristic of color. Tone means adding grey to pure hue to create colors that are, well, toned. Could also say knocked-back, greyed-down, muted or dulled. If you tint hues, then you are adding white to create lighter, pastel colors.

Tint, tone, lightness, darkness – varying characteristics – of color will influence psychological response. That’s why including different characteristics of color in each Colorgraphically Speaking colorgraph is important.

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Colorgraphical–How to Pull Colors from a Rug

Lori Sawaya — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:55:23 +0000

Okay, kittens, I’ll be honest – color is a cerebral sport for me. The following is a snippet from my upcoming book.

For this blog post, I swapped in a rug picture courtesy of my Twitter budz, NW Rugs. Be sure to check out their website and follow them on Twitter.

Use a rug as an inspiration piece or as a color scheme starter is common advice. However, no one ever tells you how to do it. Closest you’ll get is “match the background color of the rug”.

But what if you don’t like that color? What if there isn’t suitable quality of inherent light to support said background color? What if?

This colorgraphical event, How to Pull Colors from a Rug, features a rug with a colorway that would prove challenging for many. It’s challenging because there are A LOT of different colors AND the background is a dark red. Again, what if you don’t want to paint the walls a dark red to match the background of the rug?

Which color can you choose?

I can answer that question with 48 colors. Even better, I’m going to teach YOU how to think color like I do.

(Guaranteed this is an exclusive color strategy found nowhere else.)

Want to share this infographic? Here’s a Grab Button for you. Highlight and copy the code below and paste it on your blog or website. Clicking on the picture will take readers to this post so they can see the entire infographic.

<div align=”center”><a href=”http://www.colorbudz.com/2012/01/colorgraphicalhow-to-pull-colors-from-a-rug/” title=”How to Pull Colors from a Rug”></a></div>

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Colorgraphical™ Grunge Color Palette

Lori Sawaya — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:17:46 +0000

Context is everything. We never experience isolated colors — think about that. We’re always seeing and experiencing multiple colors at one time. It’s the context in which color combinations exist that allows interpretation, produces mood, and atmosphere. The new series here on Color Budz, called Colorgraphical Word Wednesdays, will enable you to experience color in many different contexts.

Colorgraphical Word Wednesdays. . . because sometimes it helps to have color spelled out for you.

Hover for color info. (hover doesn’t work on all hand-held devices.)

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Colorgraphically Speaking – Psychology of Blue

Lori Sawaya — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:49:25 +0000

Generally speaking, color is subjective. Universally speaking, there are applicable axioms of color. Colorgraphically speaking, here are examples of how to leverage the power of color and put the psychology of blue to work for you.

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Colorgraphical™ – Taken by Turquoise

Lori Sawaya — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:07:03 +0000

Featuring Sherwin Williams paint colors

Hover to reveal Sherwin Williams paint color equivalents and HEX codes:

Picture via Pinterest

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Colorgraphical Infographic Navigating Chroma

Lori Sawaya — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:05:17 +0000

Color Bud, Mary, asked a question on the Bold Winter Palette Infographic post.

Q. Lori, when blending warm and cool neutrals do they still need to have the same chroma?

A. Nope.

Click to zoom in

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Pantone’s Tangerine Tango Sherwin Williams

Lori Sawaya — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 06:31:38 +0000

Color equivalents from Benjamin Moore were first in this series.

Today, I’d like you to meet the three top contenders from Sherwin Williams that most closely match Pantone’s 2012 color of the year, Tangerine Tango. They are:

SW1623 Fire Island
SW1616 Valencia
SW6882 Daredevil

HEX codes included for your convenience. Hope you find this information useful. Go forth and color!

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Infographic Kate Middleton Pretty in Plum

Lori Sawaya — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 09:38:47 +0000

Here is a new Colorgraphical™ infographic for you inspired by the colors of Kate Middleton’s formal Christmas attire.

Coincidentally, the Color Marketing Group (CMG) named Boyz-n-Berry their 2012 Color of the Year so I included tips about how to incorporate this color trend of purple and plum interior and/or exterior.

I chose to feature colors from The Voice of Color palette by Pittsburgh Paints. For handy reference I also included close substitutions in Pantone TPX. Since monitors vary and colors online are approximate, a list of the color numbers and names is below. The Voice of Colors showcased are:

436-7 Red Red Wine
436-6 Cabernet
536-4 Rose Stain
536-7 Gooseberry
539-5 Gothic Amethyst
539-4 High Society

<div align=”center”><a href=”http://www.colorbudz.com/2011/12/infographic-kate-middleton-pretty-in-plum/” title=”Colorgraphical Pretty in Plum”></a></div>

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

Bold Winter Color Palette Infographic

Lori Sawaya — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 08:48:00 +0000

A gift to my readers new and old, the first in a series of many colorgraphical infographics to come. Featuring colors from Dunn-Edwards’s Perfect Palette® and showcasing colors to go with Pantone’s color of the year, Tangerine Tango. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas to all – Christians and Pagans alike and Happy Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, and Kwanzaa as well.

<div align=”center”><a href=”http://www.colorbudz.com/2011/12/bold-winter-color-palette-infographic/” title=”Colorgraphical Bold Winter”></a></div>

Colorographical by Lori Sawaya, Colorographer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.colorbudz.com.

New Blog Design & Remembering First Blog

Lori Sawaya — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:11:53 +0000

End of the year is a good time for reflection. My first blog was called “Color Noodle” launched December, 2008. April 2010 I switched blogging platforms to WordPress and decided to change to a new design and name, Color Budz. Have a hankerin’ to change things up again.

Perhaps this latest design revision will inspire me to post more in 2012. For sure I’m loving all things “colorgraphical” and am planning more infographics about color and design. Also, more of my signature pixelated color mapping that turns inspiration into paint color reality for you.

As I get ready to move on to a new look, thought I would repost one of my first blog posts from “Color Noodle”. Post below was moved to Color Budz but originally posted on January 22, 2009 on colornoodle.com (url now cancelled) and featured a pixelated color map. Why I chose peanut butter slices as subject matter for color inspiration escapes me – maybe it was all those warm camel colors that were popular circa 2009.

Who knows. I do know after I posted color maps on a few forums and later on Color Noodle, the idea caught on; thrilled to have inspired so many to use a similar technique and I will definitely be creating more in the future to support the new direction for Color Budz.

Without further ado, here’s the post about peanut butter slices. Happy Holidays!

Peanut Butter Slices

January 22, 2009

When peeled baby carrots hit the supermarkets, I thought they were the best thing since sliced bread. Peeling carrots is no fun and takes too long so the baby carrots are a reasonable convenience food in my book. But the PB slices might be crossing a line. I have lots to do but I’m not so busy that I can’t dip a knife in a jar of PB and smear some across a slice o’bread! Is this what we’ve been reduced to, peanut butter slices? I’m sorry but this type of processing and packaging should be exclusive to cheese and cheese only.

Can you imagine in the dim morning light packing lunches and mixing up PB Slices and American Cheese Singles? (((shudder))) A ham and PB sandwich does not sound appetizing to me at all. However, something did catch my eye when I saw this new PB innovation….

… THE COLORS! Fabulous paint color inspiration! The PB slices could almost pass for paint chips. On behalf of paint store staff everywhere, allow me to list some of my favorite “peanut” inspired paint colors so you can leave your PB slices at home:

Swatch	Color Name	Color Number	HEX Code	Paint Brand
1	Peanut Butter	2159-20	CB8F3F	Ben Moore
2	Peanut Brittle	84B	B38A60	ACE
3	Peanut Shell	2162-40	BD9870	Ben Moore
4	Peanut Shell	8262W	DABC9F	California Paints
5	Peanut Shell	2055	D8BD93	Pratt & Lambert
6	Peanut Shell	84D	DCBC97	ACE

You can buy the colors at My Perfect Color

Pantone Tangerine Tango–Benjamin Moore

Lori Sawaya — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:22:54 +0000

Thanks for all the great feedback on the previously published Pantone Colors of the Year infographic. Received several requests to convert Tangerine Tango to popular paint brands. We’ll start with color matches in Benjamin Moore, first in the series. More color matches to Pantone’s Tangerine Tango in more brands to come.

Pantone Color of the Year 2012 – 2000

Lori Sawaya — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:48:29 +0000

Time to get colorgraphical. Pantone’s Color of the Year 2012 Tangerine Tango is quite the buzz. Here’s an infographic of Pantone Colors of the Year going all the way back to the very first Color of the Year announced in 2000.

Included RGB values (TPX) and HEX codes for your convenience. Feel free to share, just remember the information in the brown box at the bottom must remain attached.

If you want the LATEST, MOST UP-TO-DATE COLOR DIRECTION INFORMATION, click the Color Outlook logo below to sign up for my quarterly trend report.
You get my quarterly color insight as well as insight from five other color experts about what’s current in color NOW.

Enjoy!

Colorgraphical™ – New Direction for Color Budz

Lori Sawaya — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 07:27:28 +0000

I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus from posting. It’s time for a new beginnings. In order to provide a “full palette of color guidance™“, it helps to have a defined philosophy and point of view on color and design.

Won’t find the following terms in a dictionary but that doesn’t matter. What matters is how I’ve coined and defined them and how they will become meaningful -and hopefully useful- to you.

Color•ography – My color approach goes beyond choosing pretty paint colors. Colorography™ is about dissecting color characteristics, deconstructing palettes and using color to create supportive envronments and customized atmospheres.

Auto•color•ography – similar to autobiography. But autocolorography™ is *funner* because of color. It’s about what you need and how to write your own autocolorography.

Geo•color•ography – similar to geography. Geocolorography™ is the art of partnering the perfect pitch of paint color nuance with inherent quality of natural sunlight.

A new Color Budz coming soon.

A Feng Shui Color Perspective – Guest Post

Lori Sawaya — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:35:51 +0000

Have a lovely Guest Post for you today from Arcadian Lighting.

The colors we use in our interior spaces can energize, calm or renew us. Painting your room in red will create a very different mood or feeling than painting the same space in blue. Careful consideration should be given to colors used in our homes when trying to achieve a certain feeling. Color can change the energy to suit the room’s purpose.

We’ve selected interior colors to both energize and renew based on the principles of Feng Shui. While you may not be familiar with the elements associated with the colors on the color wheel, you can easily see that warm, bright colors energize; while cool, soft colors renew our energy. Also give special attention to lighting fixtures as they can play a part in the mood of a room.

Fire Element

The Fire Element colors support passion and high energy. These include reds, oranges, pinks, purples and bright yellows.

Design Shuffle (via)

Red accents in the throw, accent chair, and pillow give energy to the space. The orange pendant lights on each side complements the overall design of the bedroom.

Ken Lauher (via)

This all pink bedroom is humming with energy but not in a jarring way. The soft glow from the table lamps also give an energizing glow.

Design 2 Share (via)

Yellow walls give this home office a burst of energy needed to focus on business.

Water Element

Water Element colors include a spectrum of blues and black that support fresh energy, tranquility and calming energy to renew.

Harmony Interiors (via)

This soft sea blue on the walls is quite calming, while the earth tones (Wood Elements) ground the space. The wall sconces next to the bed adds a soft glow to the relaxing and peaceful space.

Elle Decor (via)

Love the soothing color combination of blues, green, purple and brown. Wood Element colors include browns and greens that nourish but also provide energy for vitality and growth.

DecorPad (via)

The soft lichen green of the walls is a soothing, calm color.

Shelley Rodner (via)

Even when a room is decorated in busy patterns, soft blues paired with white and tan create a soothing environment.

Design Editor (via)

Clearly this is an energetic space with a lot of different colors – pinks, red, yellow and green. It would feel very different if the colors were swapped for darker hues of browns and greens. The colors definitely mesh well together and made the space looks fun without being too whimsical.

Content provided by Arcadian Lighting, a site that specializes in top quality light fixtures at extremely affordable prices. Come visit us today!

Finished Roof Sealant Project–Energy Savings!

Lori Sawaya — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 23:40:55 +0000

It’s been a couple week since we finished applying a fresh coat of roof sealant. Prior coating was a medium gray. New one, as you can see, is a bright white.

We’re speculating we will recoup the cost of the project by the end of the summer due to using less electricity to cool the house. We noticed a difference immediately and can’t wait to see how it affects utility bills.

This is a good example of how LRV, Light Reflectance Value, plays a part in the energy savings equation. In very basic, stripped down terms lighter colors reflect more energy from the sun than darker colors. The original roof sealant was a medium gray with an estimated LRV of 40-45. The new, bright white coating has a LRV of 90. Here’s a LRV scale for reference:

We’re using Black Jack Ultra from Gardners and they claim it ”helps save $ by lowering cooling costs up to 30%”. Whether the actual product does anything to lower cooling costs, I dunno. But I do believe the lighter color is a definite improvement.

Although there is more to the story of heat and energy accume than LRV, this oldie but goodie article of mine explains the LRV part – http://www.colorbudz.com/2010/07/lrv-light-reflectance-value-of-paint-colors/

IACC-NA Video – How to Update Your Profile

Lori Sawaya — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:44:38 +0000

Here is a quick video to show you how to login to the IACC-NA website and access your profile. A basic profile has been created for every current member. Your Username is your first initial and last name. Here’s mine for an example: LSawaya.

If after the video you have any questions, just let me know.

Roof Sealant and My Backyard is a Mess!

Lori Sawaya — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 22:44:00 +0000

This is what we’re doing this weekend. It’s hot up on the roof. Thankfully, we have a few clouds here and there which helps. Normally do not have a single cloud in the sky. Got lucky this weekend.

Here’s Jake rolling on the first coat of roof sealant. We’re using Black Jack Ultra from Gardners. Link to product: http://www.gardner-gibson.com/linedetails.aspx?id=87

We have a mix of tile and flat roof on our house. So, about 3,000 square feet of flat roof to roll. Looks like it’s going to take ten 5 gallon buckets to complete two coats. Here’s my hubby rolling up the sides of our roof line which are about 2 feet tall.

Some spots are really hard to get to – good thing we have a little guy to send in as our “special forces paint team”. Considering my profession, you bet both my boys know how to sling a brush! The round thing there on the right is a turret.

Here you can see the turret better as well as our special forces team paint leader getting in there to apply the second coat. Clouds are clearing a bit. That’s the Franklin Mountain Range in the background.

Front view of the house – this was Christmastime. Obviously.

Here’s what the first coat looks like.

Empty buckets are starting to accumulate all over the yard.

Kind of funny. The empty caulk container graveyard.

The backyard is a mess – showing signs of a major project underway!

The house is a ranch, one-story. Sure does make things easier.

The dog is grateful he does not have opposable thumbs and is unable to hold a paint brush. He is, however, quite adept at swimming. So, that’s where he’s headed.

Started the project patching cracks and leveling out low areas. In the background you can see some of the backyard and view. Mountain range on the far left is in Juarez, Mexico. On the right is the valley of El Paso, Texas and New Mexico is in the distance.

This is the view from the front of the house – Franklin Mountains in El Paso.

More from the front and the empty lot across the street from us. We think it’s sold and I’m expecting construction on a new house to start soon.

Have a few more 5’s to go. It will be great to get this project wrapped up and checked off the to-do list! Next big project is painting the exterior. Planning to do that this fall. I have some time to think about the color scheme.

How did you spend your 4th of July weekend?

You Might Have Synesthesia

Lori Sawaya — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 23:42:10 +0000

Yes? Then you are among an estimated 2% of the population. If you aren’t sure, here’s a test that supposedly helps determine if you have the condition or not.

Synesthesia is described as a mixing of the senses or as seeing colors where they otherwise would not be.

Click To Go To Test

I’ve included some pictures and links to go along with the podcast. It goes a little longer than is typical for us – 40 minutes. We had a lot to talk about.

Enjoy!

Disney's Fantasia

Black and Purple Petunias by Georgia Okeeffe

Piet Mondrian 1872 – 1944
Period/Movement: De Stijl Movement

Set Design for DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN by David Hockney

Kilford The Music Painter

Juicy, tropical brand identity for Hang 5

Click To Go To Liz Brown's Colorific Blog

Update 4/21/2011

Color Bud Debra Disman emailed links to her blog posts about synesthesia. I wanted to tag the links on to the end of this post (even tho it’s not mentioned in the podcast) because it has some fab additional info. Thanks, Debra. Here are the links to more info about synesthesia on her blog, Artissima:

Artissima on Synesthesia Part 1

Artissima on Synesthesia Part 2

Expertise Trumps Experience

Lori Sawaya — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 02:00:46 +0000

Stumbled on this blog post today over at Productive Flourishing

LOVED this message

Normally I’d just Tweet the link or FaceBook Share

Wish I wrote it

I didn’t

Ali Luke did

I read it and I think you should too

So I’m sharing Ali’s blog post (and the picture) via a blog post on my blog

This may be poor blog etiquette

Not sure I care

Worth the risk ‘cuz Ali’s post is good

LOVED this part in particular:

But what counts after that is what you do with your experience. Can you apply what you’ve learned to new situations, in a rapidly changing world? Will you be able to find the perfect solution for this client – rather than doling out a piece of generic advice?

Can you?

Welcome Surroundings Readers

Lori Sawaya — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 14:37:17 +0000

How cool is it that Linda included a link to Color Budz in the latest issue! The link is on page ten.

Linda and the SRT (Skirted Roundtable) were totally the singular inspiration for our podcasts on color. Pioneers. Trendsetters. Mentors. Trailblazers.

I continue to follow their podcasts and am amazed at not only how their podcasts have evolved and become more substantive, but also how each of them, Megan from Beach Bungalow 8, Linda from ::Surroundings:: and Joni from Cote de Texas have grown too.

Multi-talented, seasoned professionals – add that to the list too.

The tribe here at Color Budz is going to LOVE the latest issue. Seriously, you all know I’m picky about the quality of color information. Linda did a fabulous job compiling links and info from various corners of color, design and paint worlds.

Be sure to subscribe to Linda’s online magazine – you won’t want to miss a single issue.

Open publication – Free publishing – More color

What is Pitch Black?

Lori Sawaya — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 14:47:08 +0000

Lost power –again– last night at 2:30 am. Was off for an hour. Have to go around and reset everything.

Think I’ve mentioned before that I live on a mountain in the Chihuahuan Desert. It’s not like I live in the middle of nowhere, but kinda do. Pointing out where El Paso, Texas is located couldn’t be easier – it’s the farthest west corner of Texas. Mexico and New Mexico are minutes away.

Franklin Mountain Trails in the Desert

The Franklin Mountain State Park is literally across the street – this is what it looks like. We have lots of bike enthusiasts park in our neighborhood so they can hop on one of the trails.

Mexican Poppies Bloom in March

El Paso is basically divided by the mountains – east and west sides. “My” side of the mountain, the west side, is the newer part of the city. We lose electricity and cable service on a regular basis. The wind can be fierce and that’ll do it. And I think new construction is the culprit sometimes too. Odd how you get used to being completely cut off. We know we’ll get plugged back in eventually. In these parts, the emphasis is on eventually. Odd how you get used to the complacency as well. Guess it’s because won’t do you any good to get upset anyway. You cannot push hurry on folks in El Paso.

McDonald Observatory in El Paso, Texas

All things considered, the desert and the mountain have taught me what pitch black really means. I’m convinced we have more stars and the moon shines brighter than anywhere. I wasn’t all that shocked to learn El Paso is often recognized as one of the best stargazing spots in the world.

When it goes pitch black around here, it’s amazing. Totally mesmerizing. Like watching snow fall or raindrops drop. Maybe that’s why no one really gets too bent out of shape when the lights go out?

Color Q & A – Help Choose a Color Consultant

Lori Sawaya — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 06:18:02 +0000

Q. “Hi Lori, you seem to know a lot of other color consultants. There are two designers in my immediate area who offer color consulting services and I have talked with both of them. How do I choose which one to hire?”

Email went on to say she got the impression one designer was more “casual” and said “it was just paint” numerous times and kept insisting “there’s no reason to be afraid of paint.”

The other designer seemed more “structured” and wanted to schedule two appointments right away – one initial consultation and then a follow up to discuss specific fabric and color samples.

It’s handy when a designer/consultant/decorator says, “it’s just paint” because then you know they’re absolutely clueless when it comes to all things paint and color. Truly simplifies the decision making process.

Because it’s not just paint and repainting is not easy. An experienced color consultant knows better – knows people do not have time, money, or energy to waste and immediate repaints are not only inconvenient but also exhausting. “It’s just paint” is just the wrong thing to say, the wrong attitude, the wrong everything.

A. Don’t hire the one who said “it’s just paint”.

Info About the IACC-NA – The Impact of Color

Lori Sawaya — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:55:09 +0000

IACC-NA – you may have come across these letters before especially if you’ve been cruising around the www searching for color information. IACC-NA is an acronym for the International Association of Color Consultants of North America. You can flip thru the attached online brochure and learn more about this premier color organization of which I am a member.

The Impact of Color brochure contains highlights about the IACC-NA organization and its core philosophies regarding color and the built environment.

It’s a short and colorful overview – enjoy!

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Self Publishing with YUDU

The Color Yellow – ColorPodz 19

Lori Sawaya — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 05:39:39 +0000

Yellow does not make babies cry. Fellow Color Consultant, Beth Burns, tracked down this article quoting Carlton Wagner, Color Psychologist. It’s evidence that this myth is based on Mr. Wagner’s personal opinion of the color rather than actual fact or scientific studies.

Source

He also said the brand Giorgio perfume was making a huge mistake by choosing yellow for its packaging. I don’t know about you, but this yellow and white striped box is an ‘80’s icon for me. I personally owned several bottles of the stuff and never considered “declassifying” or “inexpensive” when purchasing.

Yellow is a messenger that gets your attention. Here’s an example of classic OSHA standards caution tape.

More Info:

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements are often non-specific with regard to size, color and wording of markings. To provide uniformity among organizations and industry, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has designed color schemes and sizes for marking hazards. (See EZ Facts Document No. 201.) The color code identifies the type of hazard, which helps the employee identify the level of severity. It is meant to reduce the possibility of injuries. OSHA outlines the color code for marking physical hazards in 29 CFR 1910.144. In areas where OSHA does not cite specific requirements, the ANSI standard is followed. The following chart represents the color codes of both ANSI (Z535.1-1998) and OSHA.

Does the yellow box make Cheerios more cheery?

Rachel and I both recommend this book if you’re interested in one author’s adventure tracing color across the world.

Monticello™ Yellow by Ralph Lauren.

Using light-reflecting pigments to recreate the luster of the original paint, Ralph Lauren’s newest shade lends depth and an inviting warmth to any décor.

More about yellow. Click on picture to read Rachel’s prior blog post about yellow when she was a guest blogger on Decor8.

School bus yellow is a color which was especially formulated for use on school buses in North America in 1939. In April of that year, Dr. Frank W. Cyr, a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York organized a conference that established national school-bus construction standards for the U.S., including the standard color of yellow. The color is now officially known in Canada and the U.S. as National School Bus Glossy Yellow and was originally called National School Bus Chrome. The pigment used for this color was, for a long time, the lead-containing chrome yellow. The color was adopted by the National Bureau of Standards (Now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) as Federal Standard No. 595a, Color 13432. Source

Click on picture to read a recent and comprehensive article about the story behind yellow fire trucks. On the podcast we agree that fire trucks are simply supposed to be red. Period. And this quote sums up exactly why we feel that way:

What’s most important is the ability for drivers to recognize a vehicle for what it is rather than its colour, says report.

We set up a special email in addition to the “Leave a Comment” feature located below.

If you send us a question, we will answer it in a podcast!

So, what are you waiting for?

Email us: chat@colorpodz.com

Color Trend 2011 – 2000 from Pantone

Lori Sawaya — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:31:38 +0000

UPDATE: 2012 Pantone Color of the year is Tangerine Tango. Click to see new infographic of all Colors of the year 2000 – 2012

Thought you might like to see Pantone’s “Color of the Year” 2000 – 2011 all in one place. It was fun putting them all together and it’s definitely a colorful final image.

Looking at all of these colors together is a bit like flipping through a photo album. Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when Chili Pepper was named Color of the Year? (ok, maybe that’s a bit much) But — color is definitely part of our memories and color associations form and can often stay with us forever. What about you, does this chronological list of colors bring back a memory or two?

Enjoy!

In a previous post I said our next podcast about the color yellow would be up bright and early on Monday. I wanted to post this first – podcast is on the way tho I promise.

And the 2011 Color of the Year is Prison Pink

Lori Sawaya — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 14:45:43 +0000

Never done back to back posts but this is interesting and want to know what you think. So this is Pantone’s Honeysuckle – loosely, unscientifically, total screen grab RGB values of 229 98 132 per Photoshop.

This is Ben Moore’s 1328 Deco Rose – which is said to be a close match to the original Baker Miller Pink or “Prison Pink”. Again, loosely, unscientifically RGB value 221 102 121

And here’s the swatch of Deco Rose on top of the Honeysuckle screen grab.

This is as unscientific and meaningless as last post’s poll, by the way. But curious none the less.

Color Trends – What do You think?

Lori Sawaya — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 11:54:06 +0000

Do you like to follow the buzz with every new “Color of the Year” or no? Color trends don’t influence me personally when it comes to color design. They are fun though — and so are polls.

The color trend hoopla is a hoot. Luckily, if you like that kind of thing (and I do) there are several sources making “Color of the Whatever” announcements so you can choose whichever one you like best.

I did.

I picked navy blue because that’s the one that spoke to me.

1. www.cottagechicstore.com 2. www.cottagechicstore.com 3. Johnathan Adler Greek Key Pillow 4. Nate Burkus for HSN 5. Room & Board

I’m anticipating navy blue coming in handy to switch-up existing home décor color palettes. Plus, I just plain like it. However, my list of favorite colors does not influence how I design with color any more than trends. I may like blue but I don’t expect my clients to think it’s all that and a bag of chips.

It’s not appropriate to impose my color preferences on clients – that’s not how color consulting works. —me

And that brings me to sharing what I do if a client says they want to use a new trend color. We simply make it happen. If that’s what they want, then that’s what they want. I checked the “neutral” box on the poll.

What’s key, however, is I make sure it really is what they want and that it’s a good fit for the project. As long as we determine the trend color will meet design goals as well as expectations and personal tolerances, then it really doesn’t matter if the color was named color of the year, the month, the day, the minute, or nanosecond.

If it works, it works.

P.S. Regarding the latest addition to the color trend roster, Honeysuckle, has anyone else noticed it looks remarkably like Baker Miller Pink a.k.a. “Prison Pink”? Rumor has it that the original Baker Miller Pink is very similar to Ben Moore’s #1328 Deco Rose. This quote is interesting:

“In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going – perfect to ward off the blues,” explains Leatrice Eiseman.

And get the adrenaline going? Really? Hmmmm. Can’t wait for some of my color budz to get a hold of that one.

If you’re talking the influence and effects of color, I thought pink was suppose to be calming which is what the whole theory of prison pink is based upon. So, is it captivating and stimulating or calming? Or, do we get to change-up the physiopsychological aspects of color whenever it suits a trend?

Color Trend 2010–2011 – Navy Blue

Lori Sawaya — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:35:07 +0000

No, you are not lost. This is Color Budz blog and, yes, this is Lori/funcolors talking about a color trend.

I struggled writing these first few paragraphs. Wanted to ease into talking about a color trend gracefully. Really thought about how I could spin it so my writing about trends in any context other than “I don’t do trends” did not look out of the ordinary. But who am I trying to kid? You and I both know the only reason I’m posting about a color trend is because it appears as if I may have been right — right about navy blue. My reasoning for navy’s resurgence might not be typical, but here we are anyway.

It was in this Colour Expert Interview for Colour Me Happy that I mentioned navy blue as a classic, timeless color.

Talked about it again on the Color Budz podcast about the color green that posted on May 25, 2010. Here’s what I said:

I think navy blue will probably be very popular very soon as the thread that strings together all of the greens of the last several years.

Navy blue is classic. It’s the obvious thread in my opinion because of that range of greens we we’re talking about. What’s the common denominator that’s going to make all of that (the mix of greens) work? Because I’m always thinking about the colors that people have in their house NOW that we can’t totally trash and start over and what’s the one color that’s going to be the solution for me. . . and all of the greens with the turquoise of late. . . yeah, it’s navy blue. . .

Link to the whole podcast: The Color Green Podcast. It’s at about the 1:25 mark, at the end, where we start discussing navy blue.

Fast forward six months and navy blue is named “Color of the Month” for December 2010 according HGTV’s blog “Design Happens”. December’s “Color of the Month” differs from the others because their editors first noticed the comeback of navy blue at Barclay Butera‘s booth at High Point (see quotes below):

After booths of colorless greige and gray-washed teak, we came to a screeching halt in front of a massive Chesterfield. (this is a different Chesterfield)

“Great googly-moogly,” said one of our decorating editors. “Is that NAVY?”

Why yes; yes, it was. Since then, we’ve been waiting for it to rise out of the showrooms and into stores and lo, this month, it appeared en masse.

Pictured above is Ralph Lauren’s paint color called “Club Navy”. Other navy blue paint colors that hit the mark are from Pittsburgh Paints Accent Colors, “Dragon Fly” or “Admiral Blue”, From Ellen Kennon a deep navy called “Dean’s Dream” – it’s the chip in the middle of pic below:

I’m glad to see navy blue in the limelight – and I’ll admit that trends are kind of fun. But no matter what, navy blue will still be my call as THE true blue classic color.

What color do you feel is classic and timeless?

Applied Color Psychology

Lori Sawaya — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 02:35:44 +0000

Red is exciting, orange is energetic, yellow is happy, green is peaceful, blue is calming, purple is mysterious – so there ya have it. We have colors with a side of words. One order of color psychology fast and easy. Just like lunch from a drive-thru.

Many online resources (color drive-thrus if you will) handily provide lists of words to go with colors and colors to go with words. And there are just as many color scheming sites you can use to fill in squares and rectangles with color to build your own creative palettes.

All fun, all great. But. . .

What are you supposed to *DO* with it; the words, the colors. Where are they suppose to go and what do they do when they get there – alone or in combinations?

Information about color psychology isn’t hard to come by, it’s what to do with it and how to effectively apply it that’s challenging.

Like I said in this post, when you’re a designer there comes a point where what you do becomes reflex. Choosing the right colors for the brand Hang 5 just happened. I knew what I wanted. Didn’t think twice.

Although I am confident with the final palette, it’s still nice to see my fellow color budz comment using the same adjectives I reached for when making color decisions for Hang 5’s brand. (who wants to meet up for Mojitos with me and Liz Brown?)

So, how did my color budz and I get to the point where the right words and associations to go with those particular colors fell effortlessly out of our heads? I’d say it’s a mix of common sense, natural color instinct, and a lot of experience working with color across many disciplines.

If you aren’t super experienced with color or confident in your ability to apply color psychology, there’s a fabulous resource you should know about: “Color Image Scale” by Shigenobu Kobayashi. He is regarded as Japan’s leading color psychologist.

SHIGENOBU KOBAYASHI graduated from Hiroshima College of Technology and received his master’s degree from Waseda University for his work in the field of color psychology. In 1966, he founded the Nippon Color & Design Research Institute (NCD) and has since become a leader in the field of color psychology. Kobayashi is the author of over 30 books on color in the Japanese language, with total sales in excess of 400,000 copies. Kobayashi is also an active participant of the International Color Association (AIC) and a lecturer at the graduate school of the Musashi Institute of Technology.

The author is Japanese and one might think – due to cultural differences – there would be conflicts when it comes to interpreting color meanings and symbolism for use in the U.S. I’d have to say there are no major conflicts. In fact, this book illustrates just how universally the language of color can apply.

The book is bursting with colors, easy-to-read charts, and useful diagrams.

RGB values or HEX codes, etc. are not included. The colors printed are for general reference only but they are more than sufficient quality to make this book a great color tool.

Copies available as of today are pricey – about $77. This is not a casual-use type reference book. However, it’s worth every penny if you decide it’s a good fit for you.

Color Q & A–Paint Color Undertones

Lori Sawaya — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:04:29 +0000

I’ve gotten lots of emails about undertone, overtone, masstone. I’ve answered similar questions on the forums. This one is good to start off the discussion of undertones here on Color Budz.

Q. Can you look at the paint color formula before you have a custom paint color mixed and somehow know what the undertone will be?

A. No. Parts is parts. Colorants combined to make a paint color mean nothing individually. The factor of the can of base paint and its characteristics complicates things further making the idea of reading some kind of undertone code in the formula even more far-fetched.

It’s like a new recipe. Experienced cooks can make a dish that is new to them and have a darn good idea what it’s going to taste like. Their experience has built a knowledge base that allows them to predict what will happen when they combine ingredients. But, can they truly know what it tastes like until the dish is completed and they can take a bite? No. They can only make their best guess about how it’s going to come out.

Repetitively working with the same ingredients — or in this case colorants and paint bases — builds experience. It is experience mixing colors using familiar components that accounts for a limited ability to predict what will happen when you mix colorants. Even with a solid grasp of basic color theory and experience mixing colors, you don’t know for sure what you’re going to get — masstone or undertone — until you mix the new color, let it dry, and look at it.

Even then, I would caution about putting too much emphasis or focus on a paint color’s inherent undertone because it can be an exercise in futility when you consider the bigger picture. The undertone you think you see inherent to the paint chip or dried sample in the store probably isn’t going to hold true or mean anything once you get it home.

When it comes to architectural color specifically, there are two kinds of undertones, in situ and inherent. You can waste a lot of time hyper-focusing on a paint sample’s perceived inherent undertone because once in situ – in actual context of the space – the color game changes. It changes for many reasons like artificial and natural light sources and the affects that happen when the new color is juxtaposed to existing contents in the space.

Undertone means an “underlying quality or element.” What I see happening a lot these days is we aren’t really speaking to paint color undertones. Often what is referenced as undertone is a significant aspect of the actual color or masstone. Perhaps seeing or understanding undertones isn’t the problem – and you certainly shouldn’t worry about it at the formula stage. Rather, I would argue that the real issue is seeing and understanding color three-dimensionally and wholistically. Arguably, more technically correct.

Color Theorist Johannes Itten – ColorPodz 18

Lori Sawaya — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 09:00:10 +0000

Color is life; for a world without color appears to us as dead. Colors are primordial ideas, the children of light. —Johannes Itten

Johannes Itten {Swiss Designer, 1888-1967}

Pronunciation Johannes Itten

Through the exploration of color relationships, Itten was one of the first people to organize contrasts and identify them as harmonious color strategies. Itten’s Seven Color Contrasts:

Contrast of Saturation
Contrast of Light and Dark (value)
Contrast of Extension
Contrast of Complements
Simultaneous Contrast
Contrast of Hue
Contrast of Warm and Cool

Itten’s Color Star representing 7 Light Stages and 12 Tones, 1921

Each hue is tinted in two steps toward white and shaded two steps toward black.

Itten’s Color Star from a sphere perspective

Itten Farbkreis {Color Circle} 1961

The concept of color harmony by the color wheel is an objective conclusion arrived at by intellectual activity. The response to color, on the other hand, is emotional; thus there is no guarantee that what is produced in a purely intellectual manner will be pleasing to the emotions. Man responds to form with his intellect and to color with his emotions; he can be said to survive by form and to live by color. —Deborah T. Sharpe

Kelly’s “favorite” Itten contrast – Simultaneous Contrast. Both squares of gray are identical. If the surrounding color is lighter {the yellow}, the gray square appears darker. If the surrounding color is darker {the blue}, the gray square appears lighter.

Itten assigned colors to basic shapes. Echoes of synesthesia?

Transverse Line, 1923 by

Artist and proclaimed synesthete Wassily Kandinsky {1866-1944}

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Color Theory – ColorPodz 17

Lori Sawaya — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 10:22:59 +0000

I mentioned in this post that I depend on color theory the way my seventh grade art teacher taught me to use it — as guidance and inspiration. In this podcast we discuss the origins of Color Theory and ask the question, “Why do we feel such a need to order and understand color?”

Aron Sigfrid Forsius. Forsius’ oldest color system and translation. Date ref. 1611:

Isaac Newton. Newton’s “Hue Circle” , the first color wheel, and Dorian Scale from “Opticks”. Date ref. 1704:

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronunciation). Goethe’s Color Wheel. Date ref. 1810:

Albert Munsell and Munsell’s Color Tree. Date ref. 1915:

Natural Color System. Click on diagram for a full explanation of the NCS:

NCS Color System Explained

Color Mixing Color Wheel:

Interior Designer’s Color Wheel:

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