The Importance of Colour in Design

Today marks International Colour Day, a celebration of all things bold, bright and beautiful around the globe. We spoke to award-winning colour designer and director of DNA Design and The Colour Collective, Nadine Donazzan, about why colour is such an important aspect of home design.

Since the 17th century, we’ve known that the ROYGBIV colours (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet) make up the visible spectrum of light – but humans have been using colour symbolically since as early at 90,000 BC.

“Colour is a marriage of scientific evidence-based theories and the creative realm,” says Nadine. “What starts as signals passing along the optic nerve develops into an emotional, social and spiritual phenomenon.”

“I named my company DNA Design because I believe it’s embedded in our DNA – our response to colour happens at a subconscious level. As philosopher Jung said, ‘Colour is the mother tongue of the subconscious.’”

The standard piece of advice when buying property is to think with your head, not your heart – but most buyers will tell you that once all the right ‘logic’ boxes are ticked, it comes down to choosing a home that feels right. Nadine says colour plays an important role here.

“When people search for homes there is the logical aspect – four bedrooms, two parking spots, two bathrooms, and so on. Then there is the creative aspect, which has people saying things like ‘It just feels right’. This all comes down to colour and design creating and evoking the right feeling.”

When it comes to designing a home’s interiors or exteriors, Nadine says designing the colour palette is critical to a successful finished result, but getting it right is no easy feat.

“There are so many aspects of colour that are involved to create a look that’s just right: how colours sit together and influence one another, whether the colours have an iridescent, glossy finish or a matte finish, what is the lighting like. Colour is affected by texture, finish and light.

“Think about colour over the past century and you’ll see how colour palettes have evolved and shifted with cultural, political and social changes and challenges from the 1900s to today. We are so fortunate to be living in a time where colour is available to everyone.”

Join the Colour Collective Sydney to celebrate International Colour Day at 6:00pm-8:30pm, today - Thursday 21 March. Entry is free – register here.