Disrupting Colour
2023
Client: n/A
Collaborators: n/A
Location: London
This self-directed project provided the opportunity to create our own brief exploring a specialist topic of choice. Placing emphasis on speculative futures and emerging digital techniques & play. I wanted to take this opportunity to explore and experiment without restraints, diverging from my usual pathway of architecture/spatial experiences.
In an age of rapid digital change, our perception or knowledge of information can easily be shifted and manipulated. This drove me to begin researching on human perception vs ‘reality’, investigating how what we often perceive to be ‘real’ is largely limited to human biological factors.
This led me to further investigate the perception and theory of colour & light. Whilst this topic has been largely researched, there has been no definitive theory of how humans optically perceive colour. Therefore, in this investigation into perception & reality through colour, I wanted to create a multi-sensory project that would allow people to experience colour without sight. Leading to my research question of:
“How can the normative perception of colour be disrupted through a multi-sensory experience?”
In an age of rapid digital change, our perception or knowledge of information can easily be shifted and manipulated. This drove me to begin researching on human perception vs ‘reality’, investigating how what we often perceive to be ‘real’ is largely limited to human biological factors.
This led me to further investigate the perception and theory of colour & light. Whilst this topic has been largely researched, there has been no definitive theory of how humans optically perceive colour. Therefore, in this investigation into perception & reality through colour, I wanted to create a multi-sensory project that would allow people to experience colour without sight. Leading to my research question of:
“How can the normative perception of colour be disrupted through a multi-sensory experience?”
Conceptualisation, Aims & Objectives
1. Investigate and learn about human perception, colour theory, colour vision, colour perception and synesthetic design.
2. Creating a multi-sensory, interactive experience that denotes colour without ‘colour’, but rather through our senses. Focusing on sensory perception and how colour can be convey through our senses.
3. Breaking the normative barrier of perception within colour, and subsequently creating conversations around the generalised perception of ‘reality’.
initial mindmap
Design Management
As my first self-directed art direction project, it was critical to create a project timeline and design squiggle as a design framework to help further design thinking and communications throughout the project.
Project timeline
Design Squiggle
Ideation
My ideation process began through digital & analogue experimentations. testing theories and concepts of how colour could be distorted and perceived through our senses. I experimented with digital optical illusions of colour, distorting colour through materiality and laser cutting wavelength of colours to create sculptural pieces.
initial mood board
Digital experimentation
colour distortion experimentation
Paper wavelength experimentation
Realisation & Experimentation
Through the experimentations and research, I knew I wanted to go back to basics, focusing on the objective scientific knowledge of colour. I became intrigued with experimenting with the wavelengths of each colour, creating a multi-sensory outcome. I began by experimenting and translating the data of each colour wavelength into audible frequencies.
Collaborating with creative coding tech, I learnt how to code using Pure Data and Max 8. First determining the most suitable data set of frequencies, then translating each frequency on the software, allowing each colour to be played, and heard. With this being a multi-sensory approach, I wanted to use cymatics to create my final outcome, incorporating haptics. Telling the story of colour without colour.
developed mood board
Colour frequency data set
Coding data set 3 on pure data
after experimenting with coding and getting the frequencies of the data, I then had to experiment with different materialities and mediums to create my final cymatic output. Experimenting with salt, cornstarch slurry, water, metal sheets, glass, and steel to determine the best conductors for sound frequency.
I initially aimed to eliminate colour entirely from the outcome. However, during filming, I experimented with coloured lighting, and found it detracted from the project's concept. Ultimately, I concluded that the absence of colour enhanced the sensory experience, enabling the audience to actively engage and question their perceptions of sound and colour without preconceived notions imposed by colour cues.
Final colour frequency patches created on mAX 8
studio set up for final cymatics
‘red’ cymatic experimentation
‘red’ cymatic experimentation
‘ORANGE’ cymatic experimentation
‘ORANGE’ cymatic experimentation
Final Outcome: Colour Frequency
Listen to each colour frequency below
(Please adjust volume accordingly if using headphones!)
Final Outcome: Disrupting Colour
Final Outcome: ‘Red’ Stills (51 Hz)
Final Outcome: ‘Orange’ Stills (237Hz)
Let’s Collaborate!
I am an art director and interior architect from Hong Kong, based in London. Through a multi-disciplinary approach, I holistically integrate analogue and digital exploration to disrupt and challenge preconceived notions. My work is concept-driven, navigating the intersectionality between architecture, experiential design, and visual communication to curate a multi-sensory platform that delves into the intangible realm of the third space.
Get to know more about me here.
Get to know more about me here.
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