Our motto here at Interior Archaeology is “Creating Noble Spaces.” Noble in this context doesn’t necessarily mean formal, just that the space reaches its highest capacity when it’s helping its occupant reach theirs. I had the great pleasure to meet another design professional with very similar goals but a very different approach, and this month I sat down with her to talk about her process. Gillian C. Rose is a Color Scientist and creator of the Color Our World™ Collection for Fine Paints of Europe. In her own words, she “trained in the application of color within the built environment and the human response.” She accesses the science behind what we’re drawn to for her clients through her specially-created Color Wordplay. In our interview, she told me, “I designed it to be like a Cosmo quiz, but in reality it’s a neuroscience polarity test.” Listen in!
Paint colors created by Gillian C. Rose from her Color Our World™ Collection for Fine Paints of Europe
Tammy: What is a color scientist?
Gillian: A color scientist is someone who has studied the neuroscience of color: that is, how we physiologically, psychologically, and cognitively respond to color… Color is a vibration, foremost. And it’s an energy… There’s a part of our brain called the hypothalamus. Our hypothalamus will tell us whether we are drawn to the vibration of that color or whether we are repelled by it. It is not cognitive, it is a physiological biological reflex. We all have that.
Nasher Art Museum at Duke University, Durham NC designed by Gillian C. Rose
Tammy: How do you use color to decorate?
Gillian: Decoration is about people... It’s all about creating an environment to support who is going to be in the space… It’s really important to identify who the main people are in the space, what the space is being used for... what time of day are they spending in this home... it’s literally creating support in every way you can.
United Overseas Bank of Singapore designed by Gillian C. Rose
Tammy: What is your favorite color?
Gillian: So my favorite color is emerald green… I’m going to tell you something. I don’t ask people when I do a consult. I don’t want to know their favorite color… I couldn’t sit in an emerald green room. When we are taught to think about color, we’re taught about it as an object. Something that’s smaller than we are. Our environments are larger than we are, so it’s not translatable.
There was so much more in my conversation with Gillian. Click on the Audio Link below where you can listen in on the whole conversation!
Best always in Creating Noble Spaces, Tammy and the Interior Archaeology Team