Speaking of Colors...

From my experience with personal color consulting and research, I have observed across various sectors—including paints, automotive, and textiles—that when end consumers are presented with color variants in categorized form based on their preference, successful and satisfying results are achieved. In this article, however, I would like to broaden the scope somewhat from my role as an architectural color consultant, and examine the current state of affairs regarding color selection guidance for buyers in large-scale commercial and public projects, as well as what such work could bring to industry players. Beyond paint, I believe we can readily include all types of building, road, and construction materials that offer color options.

Dimensions of Color Effect

Before sharing my observations and recommendations on the subject, it is worth recalling the following about color: First, the selection of a "color tone" that is harmonious with the whole—that is, with the other colors surrounding it—results in an aesthetic appearance. Second, every color and color tone carries an association stemming from its harmony or disharmony with the colors around it and from the contrasts used; this association can be positive or negative. Since I do not consider it necessary to address other dimensions of color in this article, I will note finally that colors possess physiological effects beyond the symbolism and similar psychological effects attributed to color through culture—such as vibrations that can increase heart rate or slow metabolism, and can constrict or dilate the pupils. It is these two qualities of color that actually shape our subject. When we speak of color use in architecture, we cannot start from a single wall paint color or one color alone. For a space to achieve its intended perception, paint color or colors must be combined with building materials and blended with color knowledge. Commercial spaces and structures fall into this category. In certain cases, however, the intended perception alone is insufficient, and colors must serve a purpose. This is precisely where our subject begins.

Trends

Although I am not versed in the history of architecture, I am inclined to read articles that cross my path when the subject revolves around color. I have noticed that behind modern architecture's preference for using materials in their natural colors rather than applying color, there may lie a reluctance—a fear of color use stemming from not knowing how to make color choices and hesitation to make mistakes—and that concealing philosophies and narratives have been developed to hide this reason. The power of global trends to obliterate the local may be reinforced, perhaps, by the reduction in color use. These currents bring with them—perhaps deemed unnecessary—a weakening of professional "advanced color training," or even its exclusion from curricula. Unfortunately, this encouraged colorlessness or imposed color trends spread from fashion to interior design across a very broad field. I came across a perceptive observation: "When professionals who guide people, local administrations, and similar groups do not receive sufficient education, color will either be rejected or chaos will result." Extending this assessment from individuals' home environments to common-use areas, I fully concur with the prediction that along with identity, the traditional culture and social fabric supported by color will also be lost.

Product Color Selection

Specialists, architects, and public-sector procurement officers who are in a position to decide on color selection are struggling to access accurate information on this matter. While countries such as Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and India have specialists at points of purchase who guide even end consumers on this subject, and such services are unknown in Turkey, I believe that seeing this knowledge being compiled and reported in Turkey for much larger projects should be regarded not as utopia but as vision. Just as product specifications matching requirement parameters are recommended when needs are evaluated—for example, when speaking of building materials—so should recommendations be made regarding color. I notice that this quality is being underestimated.

Information Sources in Turkey and Worldwide

Believing that each reader can visualize a similar situation in their own sector, I would like to offer an example. I will draw from the construction of a hospital chain or a renovation project of public hospitals. (Well, we could equally cite a school project or a street or neighborhood renewal.) There are a few steps that the person, team, designer, or department tasked with determining which dominant color will be used in different sections of the project serving different purposes can take. I will attempt to convey this somewhat in caricature:

Attempting to Access Information from the Internet

I observe no problem other than wasted time when specialists experiencing this hunger for information on sectoral web platforms share knowledge they have obtained from articles encountered on the internet—most of which lack scientific foundation—but the likelihood that they are drawing on such anonymous information in their projects concerns me. Articles referencing a color used decades ago on the wall of a prison cell in America, or the color painted in a visiting team's locker room at a sports event in America, or colors used by various countries' secret services for psychological pressure during World War II, can only give an idea that color's psychological power is undeniable and can be preserved in a general knowledge archive. While it cannot be documented that these applications truly served their purpose, applying these isolated sentences as reference points to spaces will not serve the purpose "unless by chance." In the vast majority of Turkish-language pages, color families rather than color tones are discussed, and it must be understood that the secret to a target-locked decision lies in the tone of the color. The difference between lemon yellow, chick yellow, vivid yellow, and mustard yellow—articles adorned with sentences like "yellow has such an effect"—cannot provide the intended result when project coloring is based upon them. Among the documents that will appear before those conducting this research online is one from the T.C. Ministry of National Education Construction Technology Building Condition Color Design course notes. From this source, after a poetic introduction stating "colors are the children of light, and light is the mother of colors," you will find the following information regarding "yellow": "If used in flooring, it causes discomfort (we must then exclude all oak parquet, light earth-toned epoxy floors in this case). If used on walls, it is stimulating (whereas a document we encountered just before stated it was ideal for increasing concentration in schools). And if used on ceilings, it is exciting and illuminating!" Oya Komar Personal and Architectural Color Consultant – Trainer