Readymag Design Almanac: Color

Often people take for granted their perceptions of color and their favorite colors. Most of our clients start out by voicing the stereotypical color preferences expected by society (“a real man wants to live in a black-brown loft,” for one).

So our first task is to bring to light the client’s real preferences. This job takes much, sometimes tedious, persistence: with my partner Anna Smirnova we hold a series of interviews, aiming to learn about the most beautiful and satisfying places that the client has experienced, his favorite movies, his most vivid experiences. We analyze this information to come up with a large number of sample color combinations, perhaps collages of fabrics and room-finishing materials based on his favorite movies. Step by step, we get acquainted with the client and come to understand the mosaic of his or her color portrait. It may be that one client loves woods and parks, large masses of soft shades of green with bits of red, while another may be an enthusiast of classic art who responds to sophisticated, carefully combined color harmonies.

A client once asked us to do the interior of an apartment he had rented. He told us about his deep interest in Eastern religions and philosophy and asked for a restrained, monochromatic interior. After talking with him, we learned that he had lived for many years in France and that he loves delicate, counterintuitive color combinations — lemon-yellow with grey, pink with pale soft blue — not every man is eager to admit such preferences.

The client moved into the flat we had decorated for him and, six months later, bought it. Not long after he married and became a father. I can’t say that all that happened was thanks to our work with color, but an interior based on the real color preferences of the owner is undoubtedly very helpful in nurturing personal harmony.

Colors are like musical notes — there are only three basic colors, but the number of combinations is infinite. I’m not a snob, but I believe that if you want to understand color (as a professional), you need to take classes in painting for a couple of years, no matter your level. Books, articles and experts can never reveal the significance of colors. This understanding is sensational rather than rational; it comes by way of inner experience.

In working with clients, I usually use either vividly bright pure colors or delicate combinations of pastels. This certainly falls within the range of modern Russian interior style, which is still developing but already has some typical features: Russians are conservative but love color and light. Modern Russian interior style incorporates a sophisticated range of natural or close to natural colors in combination with elements made of natural materials. All-white interiors don’t look to advantage in Russia. Such are best in bright regions where the sea is near and nature produces intense colors. Russia is not that sort of place. When everything outside is colored in infinite shades of grey, white interiors inevitably go grey as well.

Julian Suetin

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Julian Suetin is an interior designer and creative director at BBDO Contrapunto (Russia). A graduate of the Stroganov Art Academy, Julian Suetin has worked as an art director for some of the world’s largest advertising agencies (Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, Grey Global) and has won more than 20 international awards over the past 15 years. During all this time, he has practiced interior design as a sideline. In 2010, together with partner Anna Smirnova, he opened Vesna-Leto, an interior design business, and began working with private clients.

Every region has its geographic peculiarities, and these are reflected in the mentality of the people who live there. In turn, that mentality affects the national style and national color preferences. Japanese love interesting and assertive combinations of acid colors (as in Asian movies) for their interiors; Americans love harsh color combinations (i.e., black, white and fuchsia),

and Belgians and most other Northern European peoples love sophisticated, often barely distinguishable shades of grey mixed with pale blue, beige or violet.