Choosing Colours by Kevin McCloud

This book is probably one of the most authoritative and more importantly, useable books on colour ever published. In fact, it is so good that it speaks for itself and thus reviewing it with a multitude of words seems redundant. Kevin McCloud has written Choosing Colours for anyone who is interested in colour. It can be used in the workplace by designers, architects, decorators, students and as a useful tool for homeowners. The book is lavish, printed using the innovative Hexachrome® colour process, which is seldom used in consumer publications. Hexachrome® renders accurate colour of the palettes and produces vibrant photographs, which have been printed on a combination of both coated and uncoated paper.

It was Newton who decided to settle on seven colours of the rainbow when at first, he believed there to be between five and eleven. Colour is still regarded in Newtonian terms today and in Choosing Colours, Kevin McCloud has chosen 700 colours arranged into 64 palettes. These colours are drawn from historical, regional and cultural sources. Each palette is a collection of swatches and with each swatch, advice is given on how it can be best used. The palettes are grouped into chapters, ranging from pure colours to vibrant palettes, which includes an aniline trip on class A colours and full-on seaside dazzle.

The palettes are not named according to their sources as Kevin McCloud feels that might put people off. Instead he has chosen names which sum up their overall perceived character. What makes this book so useful is that every colour in the book has been matched with a commercial paint, a list of which you will find at the end of the book. Interestingly, one of Kevin's most favourite colours is an uncomplicated duck egg blue, saying that it is ‘one of the most innocent colours I have ever used. Very approachable and quite guileless.'

When you are considering a colour for a room, Kevin McCloud suggests two things. Firstly, view the palettes in the book through the swatch viewers, which allow you to judge colour more accurately. The swatches viewed on the page, against a large area of white, cause the eye's iris to close a little, thus darkening the swatch. Consequently, pale colours can appear even more insipid viewed against the white page. Each palette in the book advises which viewer, black or a smoky mid grey, should be used. Once you have decided upon a colour, paint the inside of a box. This gives a true representation of what you can expect the paint to look like on your walls. The rest is up to you, whether you are after a Madame de Pompadour inspired boudoir or a 1960s scheme.

Kevin McCloud sets out to educate your eye and he achieves it. ‘A powerful palette to my mind is one that's not just a set of interesting or strong colours: it's something that has its own identity above these colours and which can trigger strong associations, sometimes in our subconscious, of a time or place or emotion. A single colour can of course trigger such associations by itself, as can a Miles Davis solo. The palette, on the other hand, can work like a full orchestra.'

Publication details:
192 pp. £20
Published by Quadrille
ISBN 1903845777
2003

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