Why Is the World Losing Color?
2 days ago
- #design-philosophy
- #cultural-shifts
- #color-trends
- Color is disappearing from our world, with black, white, and silver dominating cars, films, and branding.
- Studies show consumer goods and graphic design have been neutralized over centuries, favoring grayscale.
- Cinema and streaming platforms also adopt muted color grades, making vibrant films like Wes Anderson's seem unorthodox.
- Industrial and branding practicalities (e.g., reproducibility, scalability) contribute to this trend but don't fully explain it.
- Western philosophy historically devalued color, associating it with deception and chaos, while praising form and rationality.
- Modernist movements and mass-market appeal further pushed minimalism, leading to sterile, uniform designs in architecture and music.
- Baroque art serves as a counterexample, showing how color and structure can coexist to inspire and elevate.
- The cultural shift towards muted colors may reflect broader societal trends like economic strain or post-COVID depression.
- There's a call to reintroduce vibrancy, challenging the notion that color undermines seriousness or order.