Green - the colour of balance

Creative Consulting

When consulting, we invite you to imagine and experience the product. For a moment, become the product and see the world from it's eyes. This is an aspect of empathy. What is the product about and how do you want it to come across to others? If you get inside it you will see it much more clearly. We work from the inside out, not from the outside out.

At Superlounge we use creative brainstorming to resolve design and creative issues. Creative thinking is effective because it comes from a ‘non thinking space’ that is not analytical and judging. For creativity to happen all that we have to do is to ‘get out of the way.’ Creativity is energy. And in order to tap into this energy, the designer, artist, musician, writer has to be an instrument for the inspiration to flow through.

On top of which, it's more fun! it's like taking the mind for a ride and seeing where it leads. Because you are not in 'analytical logical' mode it is surprising what comes out. This is more intuitive thinking and in design this is not only effective, but also fast.

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Superlounge Brand Development

At the beginning of a project there is so much information, so many ideas, it is almost impossible to have a solid direction.

When there is a definite focus however, everything clicks into place. This is called brand development. We look at your product from every possible angle so as to define and decide what it is all about. In order to get to know something, you need to know what it's values are, that is, it's reason for being. This is true of products as much as it is true of people.

Without a clear identity, how can a product / service advertise itself out there? In an everyday context this can be related as: If you know a person well, you also understand them and what they are about. You know what they would do and what they would not do. You understand the essence - the values. The same is true of business because what brand development does is it gives a product / service an identity which reflects the values.

Brand values are aspects of the product that can be related to character traits. According to the product and the target market, so will be the brand values. For example, for Superlounge client Barefootstudio the personality of the brand was defined as 'Barefoot Studio is a vibrant company that works with you to help you find and realise your full potential. We believe that movement should be expressive, free from pain and above all joyful.'

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Superlounge Corporate Design

Corporate design is the entire look from start to finish for a company. The services we provide for this are:

• Brand Values
• Logo
• Business card
• Letter headed paper
• Website

All of which adhere to the one identity and values. The result, a more coherent look and feel for your company.

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What makes design effective?

Design is about visual communication. To communicate effectively, the message needs to be clear and simple. When there are too many messages, the main message becomes diluted and less effective. The onlooker has to fish it out.

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The arts

Let us look at the arts for further clues about design.
In art, the relationship between what is on the canvas and what is not is what makes it visually interesting. This is known as positive and negative space. This means that the space which is not filled with imagery / colour is just as important as the space that is. It is this relationship between the two that will either naturally harmonise or not.

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Music

How about music? One definition is; ‘Music is sound and silence.’ If music were just continuous sound it would not be a pleasurable experience to listen to it, it would just be noise. Again, it is the relationship between the sound and the absence of sound that invite the senses to be tickled,

What makes a melody beautiful? It takes just a handful of notes to make a memorable, enjoyable melody. Imagine Beethoven’s 5th symphony, there are just 4 notes in such a recognisable historical melody.

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The psychology of colour

Colour theory suggests that colours are related to each other within the colour wheel. And so with the understanding of how colours relate to each other the artist / designer is able to give the experience of tension, excitement, harmony, subtlety.

The point is that in colour psychology it does not seem to matter what we think we are looking at; the effect of colours on us is caused by their energy entering our bodies. Colour-blind people are also sensitive to colour psychology.

Colour on the web - or lack of it

When surfing the web there is a predominance of grey and blue intermingled with bright garish colours for contrast. Let us see what colour psychology has to say about this:

BLUE. Intellectual.
Positive: Intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, serenity, duty, logic, coolness, reflection, calm.
Negative: Coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion, unfriendliness.

GREY.
Positive: Psychological neutrality.
Negative: Lack of confidence, dampness, depression, hibernation, lack of energy.

Colour is one of the main aspects of design in general and web design in this case. Much more consideration needs to be taken with colour choices so as to effectively communicate the brand value of the product. As you can see by the abundance of grey and blue on the web - it's saying cold, dull and lifeless. Is that the impression you want to give off with your website?

COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY WEB LINKS

www.colour-affects.co.uk
UK's Leading colour psychology consultancy

BOOK - The beginner's guide to colour Psychology. A fascinating read, looks at interior decoration, fashion, colours to match personality, corporate colour and intelligent colour for design.

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