• Login
    • Join
  • FOLLOW:
  • Subscribe Free
    • Magazine
    • eNewsletter
    Checkout
    • Magazine
    • News
    • Research
    • Markets & Technologies
    • Raw Materials
    • Top Companies
    • Directories
    • Jobs
    • Events
    • Microsites
    • More
  • Magazine
  • News
  • Research
  • Markets & Technologies
  • Raw Materials
  • Top Companies
  • Directories
  • Jobs
  • Events
  • Microsites
  • Current / Back Issues
    Features
    Business Corner
    Editorial
    Digital Edition
    eNewsletter Archive
    Our Team
    Editorial Guidelines
    Subscribe Now
    Advertise Now
    World Reports
    eBook
    Top Features
    Additives Update

    Pigment Supplier Directory

    Interior Architectural Coatings

    Biocides Update

    Powder Coatings Market
    Breaking News
    Online Exclusives
    Distributor News
    Financial News
    Paint & Coatings Manufacturer News
    People In the News
    Price Increases
    Product News
    Video Bites
    Raw Materials & Equipment
    Suppliers News
    Live From Shows
    Top News
    Vink Chemicals Offers parmetol PSG

    Minwax Announces Vintage Blue as 2021 Color of the Year

    Palmer Holland Expands Roles, Positions Of Business Teams

    In Memoriam: CIN’s Honorary Chairman António Serrenho

    OQ Chemicals Announces Sales Control for US Oxo Intermediates
    Top Companies report
    Market Research
    White Papers / Tech Papers
    Technical Papers
    Product Spec Sheets
    World Reports
    Adhesives and Sealants
    Aerospace Coatings
    Architectural Coatings
    Automotive Coatings
    Automotive Refinish
    Business Operation
    Color Trends & Forecast
    Construction Chemicals
    Corrosion Control
    Industrial Coatings
    Laboratory Equipment
    Marine Coatings
    Market Trends & Forecast
    Powder Coatings
    Production Equipment
    Radcure Coatings
    Special Purpose Coatings
    Wood Coatings
    "Green" Coatings

    Q&A with Kim Perry of Glidden Paint by PPG

    Minwax Announces Vintage Blue as 2021 Color of the Year

    LINE-X Launches Dealer Program with International Truck

    PPG Donates Coatings, Sealants to Help Restore Douglas C-54 Skymaster Aircraft

    Mankiewicz Announces Leadership Change in Aviation Division
    Additives
    Binders
    Pigments
    Solvents

    Vink Chemicals Offers parmetol PSG

    OQ Chemicals Announces Sales Control for US Oxo Intermediates

    Active Minerals Announces Shipping Container Surcharge

    Huntsman Finalizes Acquisition of Gabriel Performance Products

    LANXESS Acquires Biocides Specialist INTACE
    Buyers Guide
    Company Capabilities
    Distributor Guide
    Add New Company
    International Buyers Guide Companies
    ROSS Mixers

    Pilot Chemical Company

    Keim Additec Surface USA LLC

    Active Minerals

    Shepherd Color Company, The
    Industry Events
    Webinars
    Live From Show Event
    Top Events
    The Waterborne Symposium (2021)

    Cleveland Coatings Society Zoom Meeting

    Surface Finishing Mexico 2021

    Cleveland Coatings Society Zoom Meeting

    Cleveland Coatings Society Zoom Meeting
    Companies
    White Papers/Tech Papers
    Product Spec Sheets
    Equipment
    Literature/Brochures
    Videos
    International Buyers Guide Companies
    ROSS Mixers

    Pilot Chemical Company

    Siltech Corporation

    Keim Additec Surface USA LLC

    Eagle Specialty Products
    • Magazine
      • Current / Back Issues
      • Features
      • Editorial
      • Business Corner
      • Digital Edition
      • eNewsletter Archive
      • Editorial Guidelines
      • Subscribe Now
      • Advertise Now
    • Breaking News
    • Directories
      • Buyers Guide
      • Distributor Guide
      • Corporate Capabilities
      • Trade Associations
      • Add Your Company
    • Markets & Technologies
      • Adhesives and Sealants
      • Aerospace Coatings
      • Architectural Coatings
      • Automotive Coatings
      • Automotive Refinish
      • Business Operation
      • Color Trends & Forecast
      • Construction Chemicals
      • Corrosion Control
      • Industrial Coatings
      • Laboratory Equipment
      • Marine Coatings
      • Market Trends & Forecast
      • Powder Coatings
      • Production Equipment
      • Radcure Coatings
      • Special Purpose Coatings
      • Wood Coatings
      • "Green" Coatings
    • Raw Materials
      • Additives
      • Binders
      • Pigments
      • Solvents
    • World Reports
      • Africa Report
      • China Report
      • India/Asia Pacific Report
      • Europe Report
      • Latin America Report
      • Market Research
      • Russian Report
    • Top Companies
    • Online Exclusives
    • Slideshows
    • Experts Opinions
    • Blog
    • eBook
    • Infographics
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Whitepapers
    • Jobs
    • Microsites
      • Companies
      • White Papers/Tech Papers
      • Product Spec Sheets
      • Equipment
      • Literature/Brochures
      • Videos
    • Events
      • Industry Events
      • Live From Show Event
      • Webinars
    • About Us
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of Use
    Expert's Opinion

    Making Our Cities More Liveable

    ...

    Per Nimer, Design Manager, AkzoNobel04.09.15
    “Color possesses me. I don’t have to pursue it. It will possess me always, I know it.” Many will associate and sympathise with the position of the Swiss Expressionist artist Paul Klee. For many years, designers, artists, scientists and psycho-analysts have debated the impact color has on our lives. Despite a lack of empirical evidence, it is clear that colors have the power to create a lasting impact on mind, body and emotions. They can make us feel happy or sad. They can make us hungry. They can make us relax. They can affect our energy levels.

    And because color stirs up human emotions, it allows us an opinion; we all know which colors we like and don’t like, and most of us have a favorite one. (For me, it is hot, burnt orange: such a strong, lively and high-impact color that really has something to say about the world.)

    Our eyes are much quicker and stronger in getting information than our ears. And when we look at something, color speaks first (followed by shape) giving it a unique ability to infinitely change the way an object – whether it be a car, a bicycle, a bottle of beer or a building – looks and feels. It’s no wonder brand managers pay such close attention to product coloring, knowing all too well the impact a certain shade of red, blue or green might have on consumer purchasing decisions.

    But what impact might color have on the towns and cities we live, play and work in? Can color be used to make our public spaces more human and socially-engaging?

    An experiment in the town of Sortland in the north of Norway has proved one thing: Color can increase tourism. Keen to encourage more Northern Lights-seeking tourists to stop over and spend money on their way out to the northern peninsula, the town’s public authority and local companies came up with a novel way of drumming up business. They decided to paint their town’s buildings blue.

    It wasn’t an easy task and through my role as design manager at AkzoNobel, I spent time in the town, giving lectures about marketing and color to sceptical business-owners, explaining how the town’s new-found notoriety would boost economic success. We developed two palettes of warm and cold blues and transformed the town’s look and feel.

    Today, Sortland is world famous. People stop to buy t-shirts and beer. It worked.

    Of course, creating places that people want to visit is not all about creating more colorful spaces. Often, it’s about emulating the endless color variations that occur in nature. Think of leaves on a tree, or a rolling river. There is no material in nature that has just one color. The same effect can be applied on our city streets. For example, making use of ten different yellows and beiges – rather than bold, strong colors – can make things look bigger, taller, smaller or shorter, and more fabulous.

    And the same techniques can be used to reduce crime and improve safety. In Stockholm’s architecturally-famous Stortorget Square, we were asked to design a color scheme that would offer a new lease of life to a space commonly littered with drugs and homelessness. We created a palette of white and three shades of grey. Today, it looks well-lit and well-cared for. Crime is down and the drugs are almost gone. Even thugs have a problem with ruining things that are beautiful.

    A similar project is going on at the Swedish capital’s Science City, where Sony and Ericsson have their regional headquarters, to improve a seemingly unsafe underground transport terminal. The added issue here is one of navigation: people struggle to find their way around. Color is offering a solution as not only a provider of better light (and therefore, safety), but also in a functional capacity, helping to give direction and sense of place for bewildered visitors.

    Take a city like Glasgow, the Scottish host of last year’s Commonwealth Games. With the highest homicide rate in Western Europe, an average life expectancy for males of just 54 (not helped by drug-related deaths jumping 95 percent since 1997) and the highest suicide rate in the UK, many of its residents are mired in poverty, unemployment and a lack of educational opportunities. Meanwhile, as Glasgow’s Evening Times recently reported, there has been an “unprecedented” surge in abusive and threatening behaviour, offensive graffiti, Nazi salutes and foul language aimed at the city’s Jewish community in the last six months, prompting fears of a new wave of religious hate-crime.

    How might color be used to help alleviate some of these problems, many of which are most prevalent within inner city environments?

    Our cities continue to grow. By 2050, 70 percent of the nine billion people living on the planet will live in our urban environments. To help meet this demand, AkzoNobel’s Human Cities initiative is designed to help find ways of making our cities more inspiring, energizing and vibrant. Color is one of six important strands to the program, as we look to harness the transformative power of color to bring public spaces to life while ensuring they stay true to their origins.

    Having spent my life with color – a life that began with summer vacations working in my grandfather’s paint shop – I’m still amazed by its power to alter the senses and influence our feelings. Why do we love to walk the Champs-Élysées in Paris? Why do we adore traversing the cobblestones of Florence? Or wandering the harbour in Portofino? Yes, the architecture, the city layout, the food, the art and the smells play a role. But it is the color that makes us keep coming back.
    Related Searches
    • Architectural Coatings
    • akzonobel
    • Color Trends & Forecast
    Related Knowledge Center
    • Architectural Coatings
    • Color Trends & Forecast

    Related Expert's Opinion

    • Color Trends & Forecast

      Dunn-Edwards Color Expert Explores Trends for 2016

      ...
      02.08.16

    • Architectural Coatings | Green Coatings | Market Trends & Forecast

      Technology Will Make Our Cities Smarter, But Without the Human Touch We Won’t Want to Live in Them

      Today’s cities will need to accommodate spiralling numbers of people, servicing their needs and stimulating trade and investment to create jobs, all within the constraints imposed by mega-challenges, such as climate change.
      Johan Widheden, Senior Sustainability Expert, AkzoNobel 04.14.15

    • Additives | Architectural Coatings | Binders | Pigments | Solvents | Wood Coatings

      Experts Weigh in on Additives Market and Water-Based Coatings

      ...
      Bridget Klebaur, Associate Editor 01.15.14


    • Color Trends & Forecast | Industrial Coatings | Wood Coatings

      Meet the Color Experts at Sherwin-Williams

      ...
      11.13.13

    • Color Trends & Forecast

      Kelly-Moore Offers Colors for the Fall

      ...
      10.16.13

    • Architectural Coatings | Business Operation | Market Trends & Forecast
      Talking Resins Trends with Celanese Emulsion Polymers

      Talking Resins Trends with Celanese Emulsion Polymers

      Phil McDivitt, general manager, Celanese Emulsion Polymers, talks about the resins market and Celanese’s role in it.
      07.26.11


    Trending
    • BASF Begins Implementing Ralignment Of Global Business Services Unit
    • AkzoNobel Attains Top Employer Status
    • Minwax Announces Vintage Blue As 2021 Color Of The Year
    • PPG Donates Coatings, Sealants To Help Restore Douglas C-54 Skymaster Aircraft
    • New Strategy Sets Hempel On Path To Leadership Positions
    Breaking News
    • Vink Chemicals Offers parmetol PSG
    • Minwax Announces Vintage Blue as 2021 Color of the Year
    • Palmer Holland Expands Roles, Positions Of Business Teams
    • In Memoriam: CIN’s Honorary Chairman António Serrenho
    • OQ Chemicals Announces Sales Control for US Oxo Intermediates
    View Breaking News >
    CURRENT ISSUE

    January 2021

    • Additives Update
    • Pigment Supplier Directory
    • Interior Architectural Coatings
    • View More >

    Cookies help us to provide you with an excellent service. By using our website, you declare yourself in agreement with our use of cookies.
    You can obtain detailed information about the use of cookies on our website by clicking on "More information”.

    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms And Conditions
    • Contact Us

    follow us

    Subscribe
    Nutraceuticals World

    Latest Breaking News From Nutraceuticals World

    Omega-3s Evidenced to Reduce Low-Grade Inflammation in Elderly Men
    MIND and Mediterranean Diets Linked to Later Onset of Parkinson’s Disease
    Kerry Launches Web-Based Tool for Plant-Based Formulation Challenges
    Coatings World

    Latest Breaking News From Coatings World

    Keyland Polymer UV Powder, LLC Launches UVMax Defender
    Scott McLaughlin to Race in PPG Colors During Rookie INDYCAR Season
    Vink Chemicals Offers parmetol PSG
    Medical Product Outsourcing

    Latest Breaking News From Medical Product Outsourcing

    Butterfly Network Appoints New Leader
    BD Names Chairman of Board
    Interplex Acquires OCP Group
    Contract Pharma

    Latest Breaking News From Contract Pharma

    Novartis Invests in Credence MedSystems
    Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma, Humanigen Expand Manufacturing Agreement
    Almac Expands Global Biologics Testing Solutions
    Beauty Packaging

    Latest Breaking News From Beauty Packaging

    Bésame Cosmetics Collaborates with Disney on Mary Poppins Collection
    The Estée Lauder Companies Announces Game-Changing Sustainability Goals for Travel Retail
    Aura Introduces Customizable Hair Care
    Happi

    Latest Breaking News From Happi

    L'Occitane US Files for Bankruptcy
    Nice-Pak Receives EPA Approval for Disinfectant Wipes
    Ecover Recalls Detergent in UK
    Ink World

    Latest Breaking News From Ink World

    Epson Partner Creates Label Applicators for Pharmaceutical Products
    Smurfit Kappa Sets New Sustainability Targets with Better Planet 2050
    Paragon Expands Direct Mail Capabilities with Ricoh Pro VC70000
    Label & Narrow Web

    Latest Breaking News From Label & Narrow Web

    Great Lakes Label debuts new website
    Epson partner creates label applicators for pharmaceutical products
    ACTEGA removes chemicals from laminating adhesives
    Nonwovens Industry

    Latest Breaking News From Nonwovens Industry

    American Made Production Equipment for Mask Manufacturers
    Kimberly-Clark Releases Q4, Full Year Results
    Freudenberg to Establish Apparel Interlining Competence Centers
    Orthopedic Design & Technology

    Latest Breaking News From Orthopedic Design & Technology

    Spinal Elements' Lucent XP-Curved Expandable TLIF Gains FDA Nod
    FDA OKs OrthoSpin's 2nd Gen Robotic, Digital External Fixation System
    Nextremity Solutions Enters Supply Agreement with Fort Wayne Metals
    Printed Electronics Now

    Latest Breaking News From Printed Electronics Now

    North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts December 2020 Billings
    First Solar Signs Definitive Agreement to Sell US Development Platform to Leeward
    PRINTING United Alliance Announces TAGA Presents Virtual Event

    Copyright © 2021 Rodman Media. All rights reserved. Use of this constitutes acceptance of our privacy policy The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Rodman Media.

    AD BLOCKER DETECTED

    Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
    Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.


    FREE SUBSCRIPTION Already a subscriber? Login