b'colour trendsHowever, the Flower Power days of the Swinging 60sTheywereimportantinrelationtoourwork,and changedallthat,promptingahugeburstofcolourarchitects became very familiar with the colour names across the kiwi landscape.and numbers. The 50s had been about rationing, as we hadnt thrownThe impact of the introduction of the Total Colour System off all the shackles and restrictions of the war years. Inin 1985 was also an event Gordon remembers well. He the1960s,thisshroudwasdiscardedandthecolourused the range in new ofces for a leading accountancy range just blossomed and blossomed. And theres beenpractice, with dramatic effect. no turning back. I offered to paint all the walls out if they didnt like it, but Colour really does rule at Resene. Or, as Colin sums it up:it was a great success, he remembers.Resene produces paints, but the emphasis is denitelyAnd interestingly, he noticed that staff reacted positively on colour. He sees the work of the late Tony Nightingaleto the range of shades used, by wearing more vibrantson of the companys founder and father of the currentcolours themselves.managing directoras having a huge inuence on the companys reputation as a leader in colour.Resenehasconsistentlyrespondedtothedesign directions of the time, which is reected in the new range Tony saw the power of colour, he explains. introduced each year, Gordon says. In1969,ReseneintroducedtheBritishStandard Specication colour range (BS2660) as a paint rangeResene produces paints, but the toNewZealand.ThisgaveNewZealanders,who were used to safe pastels, their rst foray into strongemphasis is denitely on colour.colours. It was followed by the ColorShop concept, which Tony launched in 1975, with shops opened inHe explains the changes that have evolved in colour in our Auckland,HawkesBay,Hamilton,Christchurchandmarket, from the use of lots of saturated shades in the 70s Dunedin that year.through to our preference today for more recessive tones The introduction of the BS2660 was received with open colours that are lighter, with more clarity and warmth. arms by the countrys leading architects, who were eagerThisisprobablyrelatedtothedirectionthat to inject the verve of the sizzling 60s into the buildingsarchitecture has taken recently. In the 70s, there was they were designing. We were exceedingly pleased,a romantic use of colour, with lots of craft-based rich ishowwell-knownaward-winningarchitect,Gordonshades, but today there is a more contemporary and Moller, sums up their reaction. closely clustered group of analogous tones with vibrant We were aware of these colours through the Britishand powerful contrasts.Standard Range and Resene was the rst company toTheinuenceoftheenvironmentoncolouris introduce them here. It was a balanced selection, whichdemonstrated in the palettes used throughout the world worked well with the direction that architects were taking from the sombre shades of Northern Europe to the at that time, he adds. sizzling vitality of the tropical countries. The Australian Gordon points out that many colours of the range paint charts feature more reds and yellows in earthy and particularly 3-039 Sepia, 3-044 Cinnamon, 3-037 Coffee,ochre shades, while New Zealand predictably enjoys a 1-024 Burgundy and 6-068 Hollywere in keeping withplethora of greens.the New Zealand environment.Many of Resenes colours echo this countrys environment, Back then, Resene knew how to identify and relate tobut they are also right up there with the latest in global architects, as it continues to do today. trends. As Karen Warman, who has been working as He recalls using many of the colours across the BS2660,marketingmanagerforReseneforthelastsixyears, BS4800andBS5252ranges(thetwolaterranges,points out, the company has always been a trendsetter. incorporating even stronger hues, were launched in 1973We focus on offering customers fresh colour choices and 1976).each year, backed up by a wide selection of colour options 58 |'