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Category Archives: interiors
Shaping the future using colour psychology and behavioural design
One of the exciting projects I’m working on at the moment is a collaboration with Boxx Creative and Michelin star chef Oliver Marlow to envisage a 2035 dining experience.
It’s for this year’s Sleep & Eat virtual show and I recently wrote an article for them on the five reasons why colour psychology and behavioural design will shape the future of hospitality.
My article was first featured on their website but I’m sharing it with you here as it gives an insight into how colour and design will be shaping our future not just in the hospitality industry but many other industries as well.
Here are the five ways that colour and design psychology will be impacting our future.
Continue readingEntries now open for Colour and Design Awards 2020
If you’re a UK design student and colour and design is your thing, if it’s your passion and you were all set to show off your work at New Designers this year, then you’ll want to enter the COLOUR IN DESIGN Awards or if you know someone who is a design student let them know about these awards.
Now in its 3rd year these prestigious awards are the passion project of Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director Dulux UK who is a true champion for up and coming design talent.
Marianne created the Colour in Design Awards to recognise and reward outstanding and innovative use of colour in design by new designers at the beginning of their creative careers.
Continue reading2020 Colour Vision: seeing colour in a new light
Every culture and civilization has wondered about it. From the earliest humans to the present day, it has fascinated and perplexed us, amazed and delighted us. We are surrounded by it in the natural world and marvel at the change of seasons for all its glorious wonder. It’s so innately a part of us that often we don’t even consciously realise that it is informing hundreds if not thousands of our daily decisions.
continuing readingChristmas Gift List 2019
Oh how does Christmas seem to come around so quickly. Do you get caught out too?! If you’re still looking for those last minute Christmas gifts then search no further. Here are three Christmas lists* compiled from people I know personally to make finding those gifts easier for you. So if you are looking for unusual gifts for business colleagues, colour lovers and those who are eco-conscious then you’ll love their carefully curated lists which are full of inspiration. And you’ll see I’ve snuck in a forth list at the end…
1. Gifting for Entrepreneurs
Fiona Humberstone of The Brand Stylist has curated the most stylish and beautiful list of gifts for entrepreneurs, each having a link to business as she says she wants “it to feel special, spoiling and utterly thoughtful.” And it certainly does that. Take a look at the gorgeous gift ideas over here.
2. Christmas gifts for colour lovers
Sophie Robinson is back with her Christmas gift guide of her selection of the best gifts for the “die-hard colour loving fanatics” among us. I love that Sophie has in amongst her colourful selection chosen small brands, makers and creatives as well as high street favourites. Check out Sophie’s colourful guide here.
3. The Smug Vegan (and eco friendly) Christmas Gift Guide
Tamsin Fox-Davies’ is the creator of Smug Vegan and in her words “buying Christmas gifts for vegans can be tough if you’re looking for something a bit more unusual or interesting than a tofu selection box” – oh I love her humour. So she’s put together a list of some of the nicest animal-free and animal-friendly gifts that are also eco-friendly that she could find and most are from small independent businesses which I just love. To check out her wonderful curated list of goodies head over here.
4. The Sunday Times Top 10 Design Books 2019
Imagine my utter surprise and delight to find The Little Book of Colour made it onto The Sunday Times Top 10 Design Books for 2019 citing it as “An unputdownable treatise on the science and psychology of colour.” I’ll take that, thank you! What an honour.
If you haven’t got yourself a copy yet and if you’re like me and buy yourself a Christmas present then this is the perfect gift. You can drop a big hint to Santa, I’m sure it’s not too late, or if you know a colour lover then this is a great stocking filler. Head over here to order your copy!
Wishing you a wonderful colourful Christmas celebrating with friends and loved ones and may it be filled with happiness and joy!
Love,
Karenx
* If you’re wondering why I know about these lists it’s because they have all kindly included my book.
100% Design Colour & Wellbeing panel discussion
Wellbeing – the buzzword on everyone’s radar. But what does it really mean to the creative community who are designing the future? Can intelligent use of colour unlock greater potential for the positive health and mental wellbeing of building occupants in a fast-paced always on digital world and if so how?
If this sounds like a topic that you’re interested in and want to understand more about then head over to 100% Design, Olympia London this Thursday 19th September at 12:00 – 12:45 to the auditorium where Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director Dulux will be chairing a lively discussion with panelists Jim Ashley, Lighting designer; Jacqui Smith, Dementia and Care home designer and myself, Karen Haller Applied Colour Psychology Specialist. There will be a Q&A session at the end where you can get your questions answered.
Entry into 100% Design
Entry to 100% Design is free for trade professionals as long as you register in advance. If not then it’s £15 on the door. General public tickets are available for £15 and student tickets are available for £10.
100% Design is on 18 – 21 September 2019
Date: 19 September at 12:00 – 12:45
Location: Olympia, London
Looking forward to seeing you there,
Karen
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Launching The Little Book of Colour!
Today is the day! My book The Little Book of Colour – How to use the Psychology of Colour to Transform Your Life is out there in the world.
It’s been almost two years since Penguin first approached me, but looking back now I can see this book has been a lifetime in the making.
Starting a Colour Revolution
Even though I’ve been working, teaching and talking about colour for over 10 years now, I’m still fascinated by its ability to influence how we think, how we feel and the choices that we make. And it’s definitely what surprises people the most when I share about colour – that this simple thing has the power to do all that, in an instant!
And that’s why I wrote The Little Book of Colour, so that you could hold in your hands a guidebook for how you can use the power of colour psychology to transform your life.
With this book my vision is to help you and the world fall back in love with colour again. I want you to know you can’t get it wrong and that colour is there for you to play with and enjoy.
With this book my mission is to show how you can use colour to express who you are and how you are feeling so you can experience a greater sense of authentic self and wellbeing.
With this book my wish for you is to celebrate the joy, fun and happiness that colour brings into every moment of our lives and use it to have more fun and feel more alive.
Time to celebrate!
Tonight is the launch party hosted by the wonderful Minotti London at their London W1 showroom where 100 guests, ranging from clients, colleagues, friends and colour lovers (coming from across the UK and abroad) to celebrate with me. I’m really looking forward to having Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director for Dulux holding an “in conversation…” style discussion with me which is sure to be inspiring and insightful and given that we are great friends also lots of fun and laughter. And of course there’ll be bubbles, canapés and colourful experiences – they are in for a treat!
Want your own copy of The Little Book of Colour?
If you would like to buy your very own copy of my book then head over to thelittlebookofcolour.com website – which also launched today. Yes it’s a big day for launches.
That’s it for now… I’m off to get ready!
Wishing you a colourful day!
Karenx
My first book – The Little Book of Colour available to preorder!
You know when you need to keep something a secret yet bursting to let everyone know? This is what I’ve had to do for just over a year, but I can now finally share with you that I’ve busy writing my first book!
I’m really excited to announce that after a decade of working in the business of colour and finding anyway I could share the power of colour psychology to transform lives, it’s my absolute delight to be working with Penguin Life to be able to bring this message in the form of this book out into the world.
My book, The Little Book of Colour – How to Use the Psychology of Colour to Transform your life which will be published in August, distills so much of what I have learnt, consulted in and taught.
Banish that ‘Winter Blues’ feeling through colour and light
Sponsored by Philips Hue
Are you someone who suffers from the ‘Winter blues’? You know, that post-Christmas, back to work, missing the sunshine, and feeling generally flat kind of blues. Well, it seems you’re not alone.
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Colour, design and creating positive mental health
A few months ago, I received a newsletter from 100% Design which is one of the biggest interior trade shows in the UK, where they released their forecast of the upcoming trends in design, and right up the top at number 2 was mental health. And as today, 10th October, is World Mental Health day, it’s the perfect day to look at where we are heading with mental health and design.
Why colour has the power to bring us joy
Have you ever associated colour with joy? Have you ever noticed that certain shapes, patterns, design styles make you feel happier than others?
This is the subject of a really fantastic Ted2018 talk by a woman named Ingrid Fetell Lee’s Where joy hides and how to find it (if you haven’t seen the video you’ll be able to view it at the end of this article).
Ingrid shares her journey of discovery into what joy is and where it lives – “How do things make us feel joy? How do tangible things make us feel intangible joy?”
Introducing… the Wellbeing Colour Wheel Tool and Framework
Last week I spent three days at Clerkenwell Design Week. Now into its 9th year, it’s definitely one of the highlights on the global design calendar.
It’s also one of my favourites as it has a real festival feel to it and for me this year was even more exciting because I officially launched my new Wellbeing Colour Wheel in collaboration with the prestigious 100-year-old flooring brand, Altro, where I selected colours from their current product range based around the concept of Creating mindful interiors for wellbeing spaces – going beyond the grey.
how colourful plants can help reduce workplace stress
Growing up our house was full of plants which is no surprise given my mother is Dutch… Boy, do they love their indoor plants. I definitely picked up my mother’s love of plants as every house I’ve lived in, no matter where in the world I was based one of the first things I did was go down to the local markets and buy as many plants as I could carry to bring life and bursts of colour into my home.
And back when I worked in an office (in my corporate days) I would often find myself bringing in a colourful pot plant or two to lift my spirits and bring in some joy.
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