Beneath the Surface Blog

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you probably already know that Tangerine Tango is the 2012 Pantone Color of the Year.  Popping up all over Pinterest in paint swatches and as demure sundress colors, Tangerine Tango has been on the visual radar.  Yet with interior designers seeming to embrace it only as an accent color, we yearned to see how the world of the avante garde is putting its twist on this year's hue.

As fashion and architecture can be mutually inspirational, we enjoy this compilation of images as reminders to push the boundaries in all aspects of design.

Above: Craig Lawrenc

Above: Betty Jackson

Above: Chikashi Suzuki for Dune Magazine

Above: Narciso Rodriguez

Above: Alexander McQueen

In these fashion pieces, color, texture, shape and pattern are manipulated in bold moves. Though we continue to see Tangerine Tango being used at a smaller scale as interior accents and in product design, few architectural designers have yet to embrace the full potential of the color without apology.

Is the architectural world too boring? Why haven't we seen any sculptural building facades splattered in Tangerine Tango yet?

Image credits: Elle, DesignerHK, Washington Post, Tumblr, Searching for Style

Fascinating uses of light never cease to capture our attention. Whether light is being used in a cool, new way via budding technology, or simply using its inherent ambient qualities to enhance surroundings in an unexpected way, the possibilities of light are endless. That’s probably why we were so drawn to the work of Barry Underwood. The color and light of his landscape installations are breathtaking. Just one look at these eerie installations and you are immediately entranced by a captivating, dream-like world. Seeing our passion for color and light resonating in his installation, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to speak with Barry on his work. Graciously, he agreed to speak with us and provide further insight into his beautiful creations.

GPI Design: Barry, what inspires you first?

Barry Underwood: Ideas in art inspire me, and working with ideas imbedded in painting, installation, drawing, photography, and cinema. I am also inspired or rather influenced by science and nature and its energy.

GPI Design: Is it a particular landscape that inspires the lighting, or do you get an idea for the lighting itself to which you need to find the perfect landscape that captures your vision?

Barry: The process begins with drawing. I either have an idea first then look for a landscape, or I make artwork in response to a particular landscape. I then sketch out the idea. This gives me time to work through some of the media and logistical issues that may arise during the install. Composing or framing the shot is next. Then the installation process takes place.

GPI Design: On your website, you say that “Light and color alter the perception of space, while defamiliarizing common objects." Why do you think your work integrates so well on landscape and the outdoors? Do you think the same elusive and mystifying effect would translate onto interior environments?

Barry: In the photographs of the installations I am most interested in the ways in which the colored light does not integrate with the landscape. The sculptural light I introduce is very foreign in color palate to the subtle coloration of land, plant, sky and water. The concept is not exclusive to the landscape. I am currently working on a commissioned series of installations within interiors.

GPI Design: Most of your images use vivid colored light that evokes a sense of dreamlike imagination. Why do you think color is so central in creating this dream-like effect? Do you think white light could achieve a similar effect?

Barry: Color is intrinsically tied to our perception and psyche. It has a psychological effect on our bodies. Light (color) is the world in which we move around / through.

GPI Design: How do your techniques enforce the impression of the light as an externally applied, alien-like intervention rather than a revelation of inherent qualities?

Barry: I am not thinking about aliens or Hollywood ideas of aliens. I am thinking about ideas of abstraction, particularly contemporary abstract painting, and the abstract ideas carried out in 60s and 70s land art. Making a mark in the landscape rather than on a canvas. Light is merely a means to record color photographically.

Thank you to Barry Underwood for taking the time to elaborate on his work. Be sure to check out the rest of Barry's portfolio.  If you’re a fellow Clevelander, you can visit his exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland coming up on October 8, 2012.

Image credits: Barry Underwood

We love discovering designs that are not only visually appealing, but also exciting and intriguing to our other critical senses. It makes the entire design more dynamic, interesting, and real when it can be experienced and interpreted from various modes of perception (things you can't experience in a Sketchup or Revit model). So it’s no surprise that when we came across the Aeolus, an installation that combines design, sensory perception, and a little bit of physics, that we simply couldn’t take our eyes (or ears) off of it.

Named for the mythical rulers of the wind in Greek mythology, Aeolus is a giant perforated metal arch with 310 stainless steel tubes of varying proportions affixed to outer portion of the arch. Created by Luke Jerram, multiple senses are impacted as one moves through the Aeolus, making the installation both physically and intellectually stimulating.

From an optical point of view, the perforations and metal tubes act as framing elements to the surrounding landscape. As one changes their position in and around the arch, and as time passes through the course of the day, different scenes and light levels are framed through each viewport. Each opening creates a unique focal point that highlights the fleeting surrounding elements (like clouds in the sky), amplifying their beauty and reinforcing their transitory nature.

From an auditory perspective, the Aeolus seems to give life to the surrounding wind and landscape. As wind moves through the arch and tubes, vibrations resonate creating a singing-effect similar to a finger moving around the rim of a crystal goblet. Depending on the intensity and direction of the wind, different combinations of tones and pitches are emitted, embodying nature itself in its own unique and ever-changing song. And just how the human ear can decipher the direction or general area from which a noise originates, the same can be done with the Aeolus. The acoustic dynamics inherent in the arch make it possible to track the wind’s direction and it’s usually silent shift, just by following the sound.

This installation makes us wonder what other instruments could be adapted to a giant scale that interacts with Mother Nature. Maybe some kind of giant drum that creates noise when branches blown by the wind rap upon the stretched membrane? Or maybe a string instrument where strings are plucked by weather, like raindrops falling from the sky? What ideas do you have?

Image credits: Luke Jerram

Japanese interior designer Noriyuki Otsuka describes his design for Le Ciel Bleu, a boutique retail space located in Osaka, Japan, as "a white space in brilliant colors".  The GPI team is excited to get in touch with Otsuka to learn more about his unique interpretation and approach to lighting design in this minimal retail environment. 

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gpidesign: In general, what does lighting mean to you as an interior designer？　

Otsuka: Light is not able to show its own existence but when it is reflected off something, then its presence becomes known. As an interior designer, I use this characteristic to design retail spaces.

gpidesign: How significant a role do you think lighting plays in defining a space such as Le Ciel Bleu?

Otsuka: This 278 square meter retail space has absolutely no wall dividers. Extends across the entire store from the windows. As a result, I got the idea to take the position, specs and color into consideration to create a certain impression with people who look into the shop from the windows.

I calculated the color temperature of the light in degrees Kelvin and arranged the lights so that the temperature of the light from the ceiling is 2800 K and the indirect lighting from the pendants in the cylinders (I call these ultra-pendants) and from the shoe area is 3200 K. Also, the neon lights installed inside the shop are 4200 K.

The differences in color temperature create shadows, and the design creates accents within the shop, which has few reflective materials.

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gpidesign: The large pendant in the cylinder cage-like structure largely determines the theme of this space. What is your design inspiration of this pendant?

Otsuka: Light emitting diode (LED) lamps are currently the mainstream light source in the world of lighting design. LEDs have shorter wavelengths and the light that they omit is directional.

They are a wonderful product depending on the use. Nonetheless, the filament lamps invented by Thomas Alva Edison 130 years ago have excellent color rendering properties and are a complete light source with a broader light direction. They are able to make products look beautiful in boutiques that sell primarily garments, and they are an indispensable product. For this design, I created an analog light performance in a delicate cylinder that includes meanings of both tribute and cynicism.

gpidesign: Why did you choose the linear shape over other spotlight options?

Otsuka: This cylinder, which I call the birdcage, is made of the thinnest possible structural elements and the smallest possible amount of materials based on structural calculations.

Also, the form enveloped in a 30 mm by 30 mm steel mesh was designed using minimal color. This delicate birdcage takes in the light from the ultra-pendant designed as a lamp that emits light 360 degrees around from the steel mesh and serves as a symbol of this 278 square meter retail space.

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gpidesign: What factors do you need to take into consideration to ensure sufficient light source in such a commercial space? And how do you cope with them?

Otsuka: The retail shop is located in a shopping mall with an attached pedestrian deck on the exterior. The lighting in the mall walkway is from 5000 K discharge lamps. The ambient light coming in from the windows has the effect of making the color temperature too white. In addition, sunlight (6500 K) that comes into shops from the pedestrian deck during the day gives the color temperature a blue cast. For a commercial space that is influenced by various color temperatures, I created a curtain that cannot be seen with the eye in the window area inside the store by raising the brightness by three times. By calculating the color temperature relationships between the objects, materials, and light in the space on the inside of the curtain, I create a kekkai in the Japanese spatial aesthetic and establish a kuukan where everyone looks beautiful.

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A sincere thanks to Noriyuki Otsuka for sharing his insight.  His design philosophy "nothing is everything  / mixtures of transparency" forces a strict attention to detail and subtle manipulation of holistic environments.  We admire the elegant boldness of Otsuka's philosophy and his work.

Image Credit: Noriyuki Otsuka 

Interior designers who earned their stripes by purging and organizing the fabric sections of material libraries can relate to this one! Or would hanging these images on your wall drive you crazy? Inspired by the layering and weaving patterns inherent in textiles, this graphic art series Sample Sample begs for interpretation. To create the 2D images, the elusive Zeitguised studio expertly conducts color, texture, form, and shadow in their representations of woven textiles.

Portrayal of Argyle

Each block of color is given its own space, and that space seems to undulate in and out, forming peaks and valleys that appear to have been photographed from an object in real life.

Portrayal of Plaid

Portrayal of Tartan

What makes these images so compelling to us is that they defy scale; the interpretations can range from the weave of carpet, scaly snake skin, stacks of legos, or the massing of an urban space. How do you see it?

Image credits: Zeitguised