FEATURE
LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
Always at the forefront of innovation, Milliken is using technological advances to launch an extended colour palette, while also investigating the positive influence of colour on our mood and thoughts. Tomorrow’s Flooring finds out more.
Grey was big news in 2014 but as we move into a new year there’s a clear shift in focus towards brilliant colour. After all, grey can sometimes give the impression of dampness, depression and lack of energy, while bright hues are said to stimulate positivity and creativity.
A significant advance by Milliken in its colour technology has enabled its in-house design team to develop their widest offering of colours to date. After a period of experimentation with the new colour combinations and possibilities Milliken designers have produced contemporary and vibrant results, the ‘brights’ are vivid, giving very strong and striking bursts which have instantly updated and re-energised the collection. New oranges, purples and pinks have been added to the collections. The design team were also able to create more subtle gradations of colour, giving added warmth and depth to the pastel tinted neutrals.
Milliken has commissioned research from Professor Byron Mikellides of Oxford Brookes University to better understand what this might mean for architects and designers, to gain insight into the context of colour use (or lack of it) in our buildings and to explore the use and meaning of colour in architecture and design. As Professor of Architecture at Oxford Brookes for the last 40 years, teaching architectural psychology, Byron Mikellides has made it his life's mission to help and
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encourage architects to use and experiment with colour. In collaboration with Tom Porter, who worked with Milliken in the 1990s, he wrote the ground-breaking and influential book “Colour for Architecture Today.”
Professor Mikellides explains the wider context of Milliken's colour revolution: “Recently, there has been an explosion of technological possibilities brought about by a plethora of colouring and lighting techniques. These include fabric engineering, the engineering of the very clothes that we dress our buildings in. In the same way Milliken’s proprietary technologies in specialty fabrics and carpet add a new technological dimension in the design tools offered to the architect and interior designer. Over the past few years, much has changed in cutting edge technologies with materials continuously emerging and allowing the practitioner in both interior and exterior architecture to be more creative and to experiment in colour and light more than has ever been the case before. Based on the greater understanding of the perceptual and psycho-physiological effects of colour we can pave the way for a more colourful, exciting and sustainable environment. Milliken's timely contribution in this new era based on their proprietary technology, is the launching of a vastly richer and colourful new range of colours."
In the Fixation collection rows of vivid colour run parallel to one another, stripes of varying widths introduce rhythm and energy to the classic precision of a traditional pinstripe. A palette of deeply saturated vivid ‘brights’ is balanced with a palette of pastel tinted neutrals and rich earth tones to offer a collection that is dynamic, optimistic, fascinating and fresh.
The Laylines Collection offers interest and fluidity, whilst a vast array of contrasting and complementary hues provides a plethora of options. Breath- taking and high energy brights are counter balanced by beautifully blended and rich neutrals.
Alison Kitchingman, Director of Marketing & Design at Milliken explained: “We’re thrilled to be able to offer such a dramatically expanded palette and it seems timely as we certainly noticed an increased demand for more colourful interiors throughout 2014. It’s interesting that during times of recession there is a preponderance of grey, whereas in a more positive financial climate we all seem to open our hearts and minds to colour. It’s a subject we plan to explore further as part of Milliken’s research into the use and meaning of colour in architecture.”
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