The materiality of colour in design education: functional codes and cultural context

Abstract

Colour competence is often seen as a basic knowledge introduced in the early stage of product design education. A knowledge gap was identified that required more advanced learning outcomes for colour in curriculums of product design education at master levels. How can colour knowledge in product design contribute to corporate social responsibility? This was explored through a case study approach. The first case study was a master student’s development of various bottle-green glass lamps in collaboration with the glass industry. The second case was the development of shades of blue in a ceramic colour surface used in public art in a chapel of rest. The third case was the use of signal yellow colour to demonstrate interface areas in an offshore context in the oil industry. The implementation of all solutions concerned both technical challenges and people’s emotional experiences of what was meaningful in each context. The learning outcomes of the study were an expanded understanding of how colour can be substantial in certain contexts. The first was that knowledge about technical premises in materials was needed to design colour surfaces. The second was that ethnographic competence was needed to analyse possible emotional experiences of colour in various cultures. The third was that competence in product semantics is needed to implement a coherent use of colour as indexical signs in health, environment, and safety