Coco Chantelle: February 2011

By David Lock my partner.

Coming out of one of the harshest recessionsIn history, we start to see bright colours emerging.It's almost as if this is a sign of uplifted spirits and a certain optimism. I believe home interiors will be mostly toned down,with regards to colour, with bright colours being used as accent colours.Our living spaces will be filled with tone and texture creating a tactile living environment.My firm belief however is that we start to see bright colours emerging in architecture as well as public spaces and institutions such as schools and universities.I find the public areas and institutions in South Africa asvreally drab and depressing in certain cases and look forward to some real boldness down the line.

So who says a carpark has to be dull! Wake up corporates! Get your employees In the right frame of mind before they even enter the offices. This is often the very first impression of your company.Consumers are becoming far more critical and informed and will judge a company through far more aspects than their portrayal in their marketing campaigns.

ANOTHER THOUGHT - Why not use public underground(or multi level for that matter)parking spaces for your next ad campaign? You may Even be able to negotiate something that costs less than the conventional with twice the impact.

Colour should not be restricted to the interiors only of these kind of spaces but also used to uplift the exteriors. This can be done via various methodes, glass and acrylic claddings as well as the clever use of LED lighting. There are Eco-Friendly products on the market serving this purpose.

Learning institutions are another area that could drastically be upgraded, I firmly believe that adding colour to these spaces would drastically improve the learning process.

Its been proven that colour plays a major role in the psyche of people, we need to urgently address this, especially here in South Africa, I will be hunting for some great local inspiration where this has been successfully achieved. If you have further suggestions please let me know.Hospitals and clinics need to be adressed, whether goverment or fancy private hospitals that had huge budgets for the developments. Time to be innovative in this sector. It is amazing what a bit of clever paint application can do.

SOME MORE COLOUR INSPIRATION