The current global economic recession is influencing our use of colour, says colour specialist Stephanie Kraneveld of Dutch multinational chemical company AkzoNobel. She studied colour usage in people’s homes all over the world. The Dutch, for example, turn to the colour white in times of economic malaise.

Ms Kraneveld’s research, based on global paint sales over the years, has uncovered a number of patterns. Not only does our personal taste play a role in our colour choice, economic conditions are also a factor. At the end of the 1960s and early 1970s, the global economy was doing well and people preferred bright and marked colours such as reds and yellows. In the 1980s, the world went through a period of economic decline and many people turned to sober colours with black, white and greys dominating interiors.

White and bright
Ultimately, culture also plays an important role in affecting the way people decorate their homes. Italians do not seem affected by the current recession. In their country, ‘Mediterranean’ colours, like pastel yellow and soft red, remain popular. Western Europeans - on the whole - often opt for white, while many Asians prefer to be surrounded by bright colours.

Ms Kraneveld expects colour to return to Dutch living rooms by next year, as “bright colours represent optimism.” But, according to her research results at least, the economy will have to improve a bit before the Dutch turn their backs on white.

[translation/subtitling/voice: sr/tpf]