Rainbow Warrior

Hella Jongerius, Dutch industrial designer and creator, talks about her recent exhibition at London’s Design Museum, and the way in which we all view the world

- Michele Koh Morollo

A particular shade of blue can determine whether or not we buy a chair for our home, while the wrong kind of pink can mean a perfectly cut shirt still won’t find a place in our wardrobe. The emotional and psychological influence of colour is undoubtedly powerful. But exactly how important is it when it comes to design?

One person who can shed light on the matter is Dutch industrial designer Hella Jongerius, who was awarded the 2017 Sikkens art prize for her contributions to the field of colour. Jongerius has created products for brands such as Droog Design, IKEA, Camper and KLM, but is best known for her textile, furniture and crockery designs. In 2007, she became the art director for colours and surfaces at Swiss furniture company Vitra, where she has spent the last decade developing new shades for the fabrics and finishings in the company’s colour and material library.

This year, Jongerius presented Breathing Colour – an installation-based exhibition at London’s Design Museum. Employing hundreds of dynamic elements – from textiles and porcelain tiles to multi-faceted geometric mobiles that Jongerius calls ‘3D colour wheels’ and ‘colour catchers’, the exhibition explored the way colour interacts with form, materials, light, reflections and shadows, and examined the dynamics of colour in life, art and design.