Building Design, Color Scheme - Essay Example

Design with Colour 1 Assignment 3. In the second assignment, what we discovered was that with partitive mixing and different designing one can arrive at a number of selections, and there are both, positive and negative impact of this. The positive will be that it provides for a number of choices and perceptions can be interpreted and represented, but the negative side is also present in the fact that it can be very confusing and a wide range of ideas that can be portrayed may lead to mayhem. In this third assignment we shall try and come up with two colour schemes, one which uses the colour scheme to create a well organised picture that provides for a limited amount of information and the other where a large variety of information is portrayed through the colour scheme. George A. Miller’s paper ‘The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information’ shall provide the basis on which we shall develop our two colour schemes. Miller believes that the channel capacity of man’s cognition is equivalent to the ratio between five and nine and thus for any one to process any information it has to be either five or nine or on the average of 2.5 that is seven, and taking this thesis into consideration will the colour scheme be developed. Thus, based on the colour scheme that is followed one can manipulate the amount of information that is related and also depending on the colours chosen one can decide on the level of pleasantness and unpleasantness that is conveyed. While deciding upon the colour scheme of a building one has to keep in mind the structuring and the surface that the building has. The building that we are preparing the colour scheme for has a classical structuring, with three floors and there are three arches on each floor. There are present on each floor inside the arches a frame work which also adds to the number of selections. There is present above arches a certain pattern of design that adds to the classic look of the building. These can be highlighted to add character and extend a certain ambience to the building, using the right colour scheme ofcourse. There are three floors and each can be dealt with as a separate entity or all there can be treated as one selection, that is, as a whole. In the first colour scheme we shall treat all the three floors as one selection, while in the second colour scheme each floor shall be treated as a different selection, thus adding to the number of selections and thus, providing for more information. In the first colour scheme we have tried to create a more organized, controlled and structured design that keeps in mind the classical structure of the building and also the surface of the building. When we look at the building we see that it is a little dull and it takes away from the building’s structure instead of enhancing it. Thus, in this colour scheme we shall try to highlight its arches and its design by using a colour scheme that is based more on contrasting and using different colours with different lightness and saturation and brightness percentage. In the colour scheme we shall try and ensure that the colour scheme extends a certain amount of pleasantness to the building. Starting with the basic structure, which is above the arches, and forms the background, we shall make it a little darker, as this would add to the colour scheme and also it would not get dirty easily. It has to be a colour of less percentage of brightness, say a deep red (saturation level 100% and brightness level 30%). The arches form the most attention grabbing part of the building, and these can be highlighted with the help of a colour that is bright and light. The colour that can be used here is either peach or cream. We shall go with cream as it would not only add contrast to the deep red that has been chosen for the background and the section above the arches, but also because it lends pleasantness to one of the main features of the building. The surface and build is such that it would only bring out the colour more and add to the brightness of the structure. For the framework inside the arches, a deep brown with a low brightness percentage can be used as it would be in contrast with the cream and add to the colour scheme so that it develops completely. To add more grace and ensure that the classical build of the building is still retained, one can always highlight the carvings on the background and the section above the arches by painting just the design cream. The round pillars that are present also will be cream. Thus, the structure would be based on contrast and advanced colouring which will make the building bright while still maintaing the structure. Thus, the first colour scheme that is developed where there background is colored dark red which forms the first chunk of information. The round pillars and the arches are cream and constitute the second chunk of information. The inside of the arches which are the framework of the windows forms the third chunk of information while the highlighted design form the fourth chunk of information. The street provides the grey that is the fifth form of information. Thus, the first colour scheme is complete and it fulfills the aim of reaching an organized and coherent façade. Hue Saturation% Brightness% Deep Red 56 100 30 Cream 48 10 100 Dark Brown 205 90 20 In the second scheme that is developed, there was a certain amount of confusion that ensued, as once it was completed there were a number of selections that jumped out and caught one’s attention. There has been used a number of colour combinations and the colour scheme goes beyond the limits of information that one can process at a given time. A number of selections are highlighted, and these lead to the development of number of spatial relations. In this colour scheme, each selection is treated as a separate entity. We shall start from the bottom and work up from there. Starting with the round pillars, they will be uniform in colour throughout the building as it will help in providing a sense of continuity to the building. The colour will be bluish pink, which has a low saturation level and has high level of brightness and adds to the pleasantness of the building. The lower column capitals is colored greenish blue which has a low brightness level(30%), and a medium saturation level( 44%). This helps in contrasting and bringing out the colour of the round pillars. The background at the lower level is colored Bordeaux which has a high saturation level (69%) and a medium brightness level (57%), which helps in bringing out the different sections in the structure. The arches are Blue- green, which has low saturation level (40%), and a medium brightness level (72%). The window section has is mahogany brown which remains true to the classical structure of the building with a high saturation level (86%) and low brightness level (30%). The design on the background is painted black to bring it in contrast to the whole colouring scheme and make it stand out and grab attention of the viewer. On the first floor, the arches have the same colour, so do the window sections, while, the background remains the same but the tone is lightened to add more brightness and bring about contrast to the colour scheme. The saturation level decreases to around 40% and the brightness increases to around 70%. The column capitals are darkened with a low brightness (20%) and increased saturation level (65%). The round columns add to the contrast and add contrast to the picture. The design on the background on this level is painted yellowish pink to ensure that it is not over looked, and to heighten the contrast in the colour scheme. On the top level the background is lightened further, with a high level of brightness ( 88%) and the saturation level again falls ( 20%), the window section remains the same as do the arches as this helps in us in adding continuity to the building and giving the major parts of the building a uniform look. The round pillars also remain the same. The column capitals are further darkened with a decreased brightness level of 10% and saturation level of 80%. This adds contrast to the whole structure while maintaining the actual classical structuring of the building. The design on the background here is painted brownish grey and this adds to the charm of the design there. Ground Level: Hues Saturation % Brightness %. Bluish Pink 51 0 90% Bluish Green 40 44% 30% Bordeaux 34 69% 57% Blue-Green 0 40% 72% Mahogany Brown 0 86% 30% Black 0 0 0 First floor: Hues Saturation % Brightness % Bluish Pink 51 0% 90% Bluish Green 40 65% 20% Bordeaux 34 40% 70 % Blue-Green 0 40% 72% Mahogany Brown 0 86% 30% Yellowish Pink 205 15 80 Top Floor: Hues Saturation % Brightness % Bluish Pink 51 0% 90% Bluish Green 40 80% 10% Bordeaux 34 20% 88% Blue-Green 0 40% 72% Mahogany Brown 0 86% 30% Brownish Grey 0 80% 10% There has been observed that the number of section that catches one’s eyes in the second colour scheme is much larger than what the first colour scheme does. In terms of the number of chunks of information, each background here forms a new chunk of information, and each design on these; and each acts as a separate chunk of information, thus increasing the number of information available. The column capitals also add to the information chunks and they also help in creating drastic contrast in the colouring scheme and add to the chaos. The first colouring scheme is more orderly and there is a semiotic amount of information that is made available on the façade, but in the second colouring scheme different colouring schemes are introduced for the same structure thus adding a lot of extra information to the façade, thus adding to it’s the already existing chaos, perplexity and confusion. These two colouring schemes help us in the realization that only contrasting, and achieving a pleasant façade is not enough while forming a colour scheme and one has to keep to Miller’s theory in order to create a good scheme as the human mind can only process a certain amount of information, and a lot of information leads to confusion. Read More

Thus, in this colour scheme we shall try to highlight its arches and its design by using a colour scheme that is based more on contrasting and using different colours with different lightness and saturation and brightness percentage. In the colour scheme we shall try and ensure that the colour scheme extends a certain amount of pleasantness to the building.

Starting with the basic structure, which is above the arches, and forms the background, we shall make it a little darker, as this would add to the color scheme and also it would not get dirty easily. It has to be a color of less percentage of brightness, say a deep red (saturation level 100% and brightness level 30%). The arches form the most attention-grabbing part of the building, and these can be highlighted with the help of a color that is bright and light. The color that can be used here is either peach or cream. We shall go with cream as it would not only add contrast to the deep red that has been chosen for the background and the section above the arches but also because it lends pleasantness to one of the main features of the building. The surface and build are such that they would only bring out the color more and add to the brightness of the structure. For the framework inside the arches, a deep brown with a low brightness percentage can be used as it would be in contrast with the cream and add to the color scheme so that it develops completely. To add more grace and ensure that the classical build of the building is still retained, one can always highlight the carvings on the background and the section above the arches by painting just the design cream. The round pillars that are present also will be cream. Thus, the structure would be based on contrast and advanced coloring which will make the building bright while still maintaining the structure.

Thus, the first color scheme that is developed where their background is colored dark red which forms the first chunk of information. The round pillars and the arches are cream and constitute the second chunk of information. The inside of the arches which are the framework of the windows forms the third chunk of information while the highlighted design form the fourth chunk of information. The street provides the grey that is the fifth form of information. Thus, the first color scheme is complete and it fulfills the aim of reaching an organized and coherent façade.

In the second scheme that is developed, there was a certain amount of confusion that ensued, as once it was completed there were several selections that jumped out and caught one’s attention. There have been used several color combinations and the color scheme goes beyond the limits of information that one can process at a given time. Several selections are highlighted, and these lead to the development of several spatial relations.

In this color scheme, each selection is treated as a separate entity. We shall start from the bottom and work up from there. Starting with the round pillars, they will be uniform in color throughout the building as it will help in providing a sense of continuity to the building. The color will be bluish pink, which has a low saturation level and has a high level of brightness and adds to the pleasantness of the building. The lower column capitals are colored greenish-blue which has a low brightness level(30%), and a medium saturation level( 44%). This helps in contrasting and bringing out the color of the round pillars.

The background at the lower level is colored Bordeaux which has a high saturation level (69%) and a medium brightness level (57%), which helps in bringing out the different sections in the structure. The arches are Blue-green, which has a low saturation level (40%), and a medium brightness level (72%). The window section has is mahogany brown which remains true to the classical structure of the building with a high saturation level (86%) and low brightness level (30%). The design on the background is painted black to bring it in contrast to the whole coloring scheme and make it stand out and grab the attention of the viewer.

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