Interview Insights - Justine Fox
There’s so much potential for story telling and customer engagement in how we use colour and present the purpose of colour in our design work. The science is still immerging but it’s got powerful potential. It’s hugely influential in all our interactions – our cities, social spaces, offices, homes – and we perhaps don’t give it as much thought as we could.
We chatted to Justine Fox about her work and the importance of colour.
IT’S IMPORTANT NOT TO FOCUS ON COLOUR AS A TREND.
Colour and people are connected.
It’s fascinating how colours and societal events interact; cultural shifts and mega-trends have profound effects on colour which in turn influence how we can feel about spaces.
As an emerging science we need to look at what we can do with colour beyond the decorative, we can use it to make our spaces more equitable and accessible. Studies are increasingly demonstrating that urban environments and behaviours can be influenced through colour.
My work is now focusing on this – exploring how we can use colour to improve the way we interact with the environment and each other.
COLOUR WORK HAS A DEEPER VALUE
The narrative has always been about what’s beautiful. Since the dawn of chemical dying we’ve become used to consistency and purity of colour. The importance now is to understand the more natural and organic colour opportunities – that’s a changing relationship.
The skill is in creating harmonious relationships between colour and your surroundings. We can focus on creating a holistic nuanced palette as opposed to colours in isolation when developing schemes.
For example it’s classic to quote that Red may be deemed ‘aggressive’ but there will be a tone that’s deeply relaxing too. Recognising this energy in colour is so valuable.
COLOUR CAN HELP YOU FIND YOUR PEOPLE
Using colour will help augment a customer experience and company culture so its important to understand function first. Colour from branding to interiors builds trust with your consumer, unifying that experience.
With the science confirming a broad agreement on the global way we ‘read’ and ‘experience’ colour it’s impact on human emotions as part of a brand journey is key.
Keeping the colour language consistent therefore within the brand experience will strengthen investment and trust of those using the space and translate into business accountables such as re-visiting.