Google employs people to invent colours – and they think their work improves your wellbeing
- Reference: 1594725311
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/07/14/google_colour_choosers/
- Source link:
The internet giant today [1]detailed the work of Isabelle Olsson, leader of Google’s “Color, Materials and Finish team.”
The missive does make the sensible point that as computers come off the desk and into homes, a splash of colour makes a difference.
Or as Olsson puts it: "We really believe that color, material and finish affect your wellbeing."
She has some other interesting things to say, too, namely:
“Color is the foundation for living. Look at flowers, some of which evolved to look bright to attract bees. There’s something about color that reminds us we are alive.”
“We try to live with the objects and the colors we design. For instance, when we design something for the home, be it a new color or a new shape, we place it on a shelf. Then every day for a week we walk past it, and we start seeing things we didn’t previously see.”
“… in the studio, we have drawers for these things from all over the world organized by materials. We even have one that’s labeled ‘organic,’ and that’s always fun to open because you never know what you’re going to find. Sometimes it’s stones but sometimes I’m like, What’s that smell?”
She also details how Google’s Pixel Buds wireless earphones ended up in a hue called “Quite Mint”.
“We had this vision of this little dot floating in your ear. It’s almost like little candies, so we had bowls of candy in the studio for inspiration,” she opened. Next came the notion that a wearable needs to look good next to different coloured skin, hair and clothes, followed by the following revelation: “We knew we could love a color when we looked at it, but what happens when it goes in the ear?”
Which produced a long list of 100 colours and 25 candidates, before the process used personal whims, as follows:
For a while we had two dark neutrals and I thought, Wait a minute, that seems like a wasted opportunity. That’s how we brought back the green color, Quite Mint, which is my favorite and hadn't made the cut at first.
There’s plenty more of this stuff in the post, including the official names for colours in the new Pixel Buds: “So Orange, Clearly White, Quite Mint and Almost Black.” ®
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[1] https://blog.google/inside-google/working-google/pixel-buds-new-colors-design/
[2] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
You can tell how much money Google has
This level of tripe demands quite the premium.
Re: You can tell how much money Google has
CMF (Colour Materials Finish) is standard in many industries - many 'special editions' of cars are merely a different paint colour and interior trim material. It's basically the stuff that can be changed without retooling.
You'll note that Apple, Sony and Nokia are/were the masters of this. Really though, for Google's home speakers and ear buds I'd start by looking at Nokia's Xpress-on Covers from the 3210 era. I'm also thinking if the iridescent finish on the 6210.
Re: You can tell how much money Google has
Inventing Colours?
I wonder if Google knows how much a set of Pantone Swatches cost? PErhaps they should 'google' it.
we brought back the green color, Quite Mint, which is my favorite
Well, colour me surprised ... :-)
Thankfully beige computers and peripherals, usually yellowed by UV, are largely a thing of the past.
The original Sony Playstation was specified to have a slightly indigo shade of beige, so that the inevitable UV yellowing wouldn't show as much. The same head designer went on to create the Sony VAIO line of desktops and laptops, which leant evenly more into a indigo tinted grey.
I've started referring to a certain type of gentrified soulless pub as Farrow and Ball, as sadly they're replacing real pubs of character. They can be identified by their signage and interior colour schemes.
As for the Farrow and Ball paint company, I refer to that as Hippy Paint. You can have any Hippy Paint colour-matched in Dulux like a normal person, and you should do if you don't want to repaint in two year's time.