Unit 4 Summary (light + color)

Through unit four, I have learned how much of a role light and color play into almost every design. Sometimes light and color are the biggest focal points of a design. Not only does this add interest making something visually beautiful, but often is has a deeper meaning behind it; for example, religion or cultural styles. A place we visited in this unit was the Newman Center. In this religious space, we see how light plays a role in setting the atmosphere of the room. The lights can go from fully bright for a mass or service, but they also had a dimmer setting, possibly for adoration, or to allow a more intimate experience while visiting. Although the layout of the furniture has been changed over time to a circular setup with the altar in the middle rather than the in the front, there was originally a sky light directly over the altar, placing emphasis on the piece and showing that it was an important factor of the space. This space was designed with a natural color scheme, consisting of mostly greens, and neutral colors. However, it also consists of a few burgundy walls, opposite of green on the color wheel. Another place that successfully represents light and color intertwined is the Singletary center. At the main entrance, there is not much color, and the color scheme of the brick and carpet is very plain. However, there are small artificial lights and very large windows which allow natural light to pour in. If you walk further into Singletary, you see a very large, polychromatic piece of art. There is a skylight above the focal point of this piece of art, placing even more emphasis on it and illuminating all the colors and patterns. This was probably my favorite space I physically encountered during this unit that greatly represented light and color.

In high school, i worked with creating designs through stained glass. While I don't have the opportunity to practice this hobby as much now that i am away from home, I always enjoyed seeing how light poured through the bright colors of my creations. Light and color help us to understand design as an integrated place while they can vastly harmonize an object, space, building, or place. On multiple scales color and light can become a very large focal part of a design, or even a small one, depending on the materials used and how the design is constructed. Light and color are principles and elements, so of course there is a link between them. I believe even if a design does not consist of bright colors or direct light, it can still be described and analyzed by understanding light and color. Materials used for a design can be understood through light, while light gives us a closer look at the texture and the shadows we see upon the color as well, whether it is bright or neutral.