One of our recent projects for client Craigard was to improve the circulation space within one of their commercial properties, Imperial House, Southampton. We added a splash of colour and clear signage to help tenants and visitors navigate the building. Although the decorative finishes were in good order, the interior scheme was a bit drab so we added colourful upholstery on the new furniture as well as in the signage throughout. This provided a much needed lift to the interior scheme as well as clear and concise wayfinding.
Colour is a powerful tool for use in directional signage and for creating zones. Colour is easier to recall than words but only when the number of colours is limited. Too many and recall fades and zoning becomes confusing. At Imperial House we zoned each of the four floors with a different colour and picked up on these and the square shape theme in planters, decoration and grouped prints of the local area.
Where branding is important, we may use corporate colours within a scheme to provide a subtle reinforcement of the company identity. In the fit out of Craigard’s new offices at Solent Business Park, Whiteley, we specified their brand burgundy/pink colour for the upholstery to provide some focal points within the scheme, and used their logo to create the manifestation to the glazed partition walls. Values too can be reinforced within the commercial environment as in the touch down space in Prudential, Bournemouth.
Branding in retail is likely to be bolder, reinforcing identity, products and values in imagery and decoration such as with Jacks of London barber shop.
Choosing the best colours to ensure signage stands out is not as straight forward as it seems. When it comes to the legibility of a sign, there are many factors to consider – the environment, natural and artificial light, distance from the reader, and the contrast between the foreground and the background colours of the sign. The Light Reflectance Value (LRV) of colours can be measured and a formula used to determine the best colour combinations. The use of this formula is not always necessary, but a valuable method for checking a colour combination is readable.
If you are looking for some amazing ideas for your interiors signage and the use of colour to create zones, visit our Pinterest page
Colour and Wayfinding …. https://pin.it/icy7dvfr37disr
For details of available commercial space from Craigard – TEL: 01489 880100
For furniture supplied by Peter Green Contract Furnishers – TEL: 023 80 810459