Top 5 x 5- Colour  

Top 5x5 - Colour is the sixth seminar in the Top 10x10 series presented by the Design Institute of Australia Victorian Branch.

The annual event held in Melbourne as part of the State of Design Festival provides an opportunity for design industry professionals from a variety of disciplines to become better acquainted with the work and influences of their peers.  

The invited speakers came from the practices of Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Textile design and Illustration, Interior Design and Architecture.

This year the theme is Colour and for the 5 design luminaries; Debbie Ryan, Pascale Gomes Mc-Nabb, Ian Wong, Michaela Webb and Beci Orpin their colour choice was immediate. This response highlights the passion and inspiration that can be drawn from childhood memories, travel, design projects and appreciation of different cultures.

Dulux, a proud Silver Sponsor of the DIA Victorian Branch, collaborated with each Designer to showcase their favourite Dulux colour.

Debbie Ryan - Red

Debbie Ryan is a principal of the architectural practice McBride Charles Ryan and the colour Red has appeared in a number of their projects, notably The Klein Bottle House on the Mornington Peninsula and the Fitzroy High School. 

The Klein Bottle House won a number of awards including the World Architecture Festival in 2009 and the Residential Exterior category of the Dulux Colour Awards 2008.  The Fitzroy High School won the Grand Prix award in the Dulux Colour Awards 2010.

Debbie selected red to present because "it's always loaded with ideas and associations like passion, speed and ritual and also it is a warm colour which I think is particularly. Debbie's top 5 Dulux Reds are:

Ian Wong - Orange

Ian Wong is an Industrial Designer and lecturer in industrial design at RMIT.  He is also undertaking research at RMIT for a PhD focusing on the history of industrial design in Victoria.  Ian's passion for the colour orange is specific to product design of the 1970's. 

As one of the dominant colours of that era, Ian's presentation will include a selection of significant Victorian industrial design products from his own collection.  Ian's collection includes the iconic orange and brown biscuit barrels with faux timber lid made by B.X. Plastics, the plastic kettle designed for General Electric and the Wiltshire Staysharp knife with orange plastic scabbard.

For Ian, the colour orange is also a reminder of his childhood.  "My family home had orange features.  We had orange vinyl chairs and there was orange in the curtains."

Ian's presentation touched on the use of orange in automotive design, colour branding in agriculture, the association of orange with safety and Tarax Black Label Orange soft drink. Ian's top 5 Dulux Oranges are:

Michaela Webb - Blue

Michaela Webb, graphic designer and Creative Director of Round, will discuss the unique colour Yves Klein Blue and her company's successful collaboration with architecture firm Herbert and Mason on the Bleu marquee designed for the 2010 Spring Racing Carnival at Flemington Racecourse.  The Bleu marquee won the Commercial interior category of the recent Dulux Colour Awards. 

Yves Klein Blue was developed by the artist Yves Klein in the 1950's.  Referring to the use of blue pigment in the painting, 'Girl with a Pearl Earring', Michaela explains that, "Historically, it was seen as a lavish colour with the pigment at least twice more expensive than other colours.   Blue was only used if the painter was commissioned to do the work." 

The creative use of colour and creating successful relationships with clients provide the inspiration for Michaela and the team at Studio Round. Michaela's top 5 Dulux Blues are:                   

Pascale Gomes- McNabb- Black

Pascale Gomes-McNabb is an architect and the designer and co-owner of Melbourne restaurants Cumulus Inc and Cutler & Co. with her partner and chef Andrew McConnell.  Both restaurants display a use of black in the finish, texture and detail of fittings.

Pascale's selection of Black to present is based on her fascination with the colour from an early age, her observations of Japanese culture and her experience of living in London, Hong Kong and Melbourne.  The fashion, culture and traditions of different societies will be presented along with details of her work at Cumulus Inc and Cutler & Co.

The use of black in Japanese architecture and particularly the historical aspects of black timber are of particular interest to Pascale. Pascale's top 5 Dulux Blacks are:

Beci Orpin- Yellow

Beci Orpin has a successful illustration based practice and design blog.  Trained as a textile designer, Beci's illustrations regularly appear in a variety of publications including Frankie magazine. Her commissions include illustrations for advertising campaigns and fashion labels. 

Beci finds great joy in the colour Yellow and believes that "yellow is a good neutral colour in terms of design".  Using examples of her work, Beci's presentation will show how yellow can be used to great effect as a highlight colour.

Beci recently completed a residency at Harvest Workroom in East Brunswick where she held mobile making workshops using paper cut-outs and displayed her designs at the pop-up shop.  Beci's top 5 Dulux Yellows are: