Since 2004, Imogen Tunnicliffe has been in integral part of the Città design team, working with colour and texture to create distinctive, warm designs. “I’m always looking at the relationship between one thing and another,” she says, “the colour, texture, and how they interact.”
How do you approach colour in your designs?
Colour is probably the part of designing and making art that I love the most. There is nothing more rewarding or satisfying than a great combination of colours. When the colour, form and texture all come together in the way you imagined, it’s very gratifying. Equally, it can be extremely frustrating when your vision doesn’t materialise.
Depending on the design, colour can either be the starting point or inspiration. A group of colours might feel nostalgic for a particular era, for example, and that can inform the way I approach the pattern or form. Sometimes I’ll think, “How can I work these beautiful colours into a design?” In that way, colour can often kickstart the design process.
I find it very difficult to start designing anything without thinking about colour from the very beginning. To me, colour can’t be separated from the process. It is fundamental to the design — they are inextricably linked.
You’ve spoken about looking to the world around for your inspiration. How does this translate into your designs?
It’s hard not to be inspired by nature in New Zealand; it feels so visually immediate for most of us. I walk a lot and I’m also a gardener, so I’m always noticing or taking photos of beautiful colour combinations, or jotting down unusual groupings I see.
For me, it’s not just the natural world, but also representations of it by New Zealand artists. I grew up in a household where we were surrounded by art, and both my parents were particularly interested in New Zealand landscape painting. I feel that has become ingrained in me, and when I look out at a landscape, I almost see it as an artwork.
I’m also really inspired by architecture — all shapes and sizes, styles and eras are a source of inspiration, as are the objects, patterns and textures within my home.
How do you build a harmonious palette?
I love working with unexpected colour groupings. Often, I’ll start with a more expected or harmonious colour grouping, and then deliberately disrupt it, adding something in that might initially seem “wrong”. But because of the tonal depth, the way two colours change when they sit next to each other, or simply for some reason you can’t quite explain, it just works. It can take the whole look and feel to another level.
A good example of interplaying colour would be the Cabin Wool Blanket. It was a real balance between exploring colour and celebrating colour, without tipping over into a cacophony of too many things happening at once. I love the result — it’s one of my favourite designs in the Città collection.
What role does colour play beyond aesthetics?
Colour can communicate really powerfully. It has the ability to elicit real emotion, and our personal experiences can change the way we react to colours. There might be a colour that reminds you of your old school uniform, for example, and you can’t disassociate it from that period of your life.
I always think of the Rothko Room at the Tate Modern. The colour is overwhelming, and everyone responds to it slightly differently. It provides a space for your imagination to go wherever it wants, and for each person, that experience is a little different.
I love it when colour brings people real joy. You can see it in their faces when you put something together that works or surprises them. And it doesn’t always have to be bright, either; some of these combinations people react to are often quite subtle, earthy or pale.
Città
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