DESIGN FOR HAPPINESS

We asked four creatives to share their insights into the design choices that can have a positive impact on our wellbeing

- Ellen Finch and Hugh Metcalf

the endless joy of colour

ARTIST AND DESIGNER CAMILLE WALALA ON THE SHADE THAT'S BECOME AN UNEXPECTED MUSE

I never normally use brown in my designs. However, having experimented with the colour palette of Danish furniture company Montana, developed by designer Margrethe Odgaard, to reimagine the exterior of their factory to celebrate the brand’s 40th anniversary, I’ve found joy in some unexpected combinations. A brown with a pale yellow, a pale blue, a lilac – suddenly brown becomes a happy colour. For a palette like this, it brings in balance. I’ve recently bought a new house, so maybe this turn towards a colour like brown is part of the nesting process.

The Memphis movement has been a huge inspiration, although when I first came face to face with it, I didn’t know its name. My dad was an architect and we lived in a really minimalist house, both in lines and colours. Yet there were a few colourful objects I was drawn to – a rug, a plate, a lamp – but didn’t have the language for it. I only discovered the movement when at university, after picking up a book and being so excited by the designs, page after page. These designers were considered seriously but, at the same time, didn’t take themselves too seriously.