colour as a factor in industrial design

COLOUR AS A FACTOR IN INDUSTRIAL DESIGNAuthor(s): Robert F. WilsonSource: Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 93, No. 4691 (MAY 11th, 1945), pp. 304-312Published by: Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and CommerceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41362041 .

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304 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS May II, 1 945

something about the Hoshiar pur Chos. In my original draft of this lecture (which had to be abbreviated) on this subject I wrote : - Perhaps the most notorious example of erosion in the British Empire because one of the most quoted, is the case of the Hoshiar pur Chos. Punjab district reports of the Eighties of last century were already dealing with this example of gully erosion on the grand scale, and much has been written about reclamation attempts in the years which have passed. In 1936 the Chos Act was to be amended to allow closure when two-thirds majority of the owners of the area demanded it. The Forestry Department was preparing a scheme for establishing a demonstration area in which all phases of reclamation and counter-erosion work were to be tried, Officials of the Co- operative Department to be appointed to encourage control of grazing and reclamation of Chos by planting. So monumental is this example of erosion that the Punjab Govern- ment are producing a general manual on counter-erosion work ; and a text book on more popular lines is also to be written.

FOURTEENTH ORDINARY MEETING Wednesday, March 7th, 1945

Sir Thomas Barlow, k.b.e., Chairman of the Council of Industrial Design , in the Chair

The Chairman : I should like to say that I am very glad to be here to-day in this historic building, and I suppose Mr. Wilson has asked me to preside this aftenoon as Chairman of the Council of Industrial Design. As you know, that Council has only recently been formed and has hardly yet had time to formulate its plans and programme, but I can definitely say that one of its functions must be to work with existing organisations, so far as possible, many of which have done such useful and valuable work in the past. The last thing the Council wishes to do isto generate the idea that its existence implies a centrali- sation of energy and functions and the elimination of voluntary effort. I think the latter especially would be a calamity of the first order. Historically it has always been the rôle of this country to depend, to a great extent, upon voluntary effort and I think it a misfortune when a historical background is broken down.

There are a great many interesting points in Mr. Wilson's paper. He stresses the

importance of co-operation and " co-operation " is a blessed word like " co-ordination 9y which we honour so much by word of mouth but practise so little in actual life that some- times one almost despairs. I shall not disguise from you the fact that in my experience as a temporary Civil Servant I often see the dire consequerices which follow lack of co- ordination. At the same time, it is idle to pretend that in the intensity and complexity of modern life it is easy to secure co-operation. It is no use having any illusions about that. It is hardly necessary to stress its importance but what I am wondering myself is what is going to happen when this abominable con- flict is over. Is the reaction from the controls, pains and penalties inflicted upon us going to be so strong that there will be a revulsion against regimentation with every- one struggling to get back as quickly as possible to the conditions of relative freedom experienced in the past ? It will be quite natural if that is so but I think it will be a misfortune in some ways because this war has taught us that mass and simplified production of colour and restriction of design have, to a certain extent, a tremendous advantage and I do not think (I speak only of textiles) that that necessarily involves standardisation and total uniformity. Whether something of these advantages can be salvaged out of this terrible experience of war remains to be seen. I hope I am speaking without illusions when I say that I am not unhopeful that the industries of which I have some knowledge will have found those simplifica- tions and restrictions of such enormous advantage that they will not relinquish them lightly.

Again, I repeat that I am delighted to be here. I know what good work Mr. Wilson and the Colour Council have done during the twelve or fifteen years they have been working. They have established themselves as a vital and essential factor in the general set-up, and I do not doubt that the Council of Indus- trial Design will be able, in the fullest way, to co-operate with them in the future and, if that happens, I think we shall see real changes in many directions after the war.

The following paper was then read : -

COLOUR AS A FACTOR IN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

By Robert F. Wilson, Art Director of the British Colour Council

When I last spoke in this Hall I dwelt chiefly upon the past. To-day I am going to



May II, 1945 COLOUR AS A FACTOR IN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN 305

speak of the present and future. But in doing so I may disappoint some of you, as I shall say, most definitely, that principles of design throughout the ages have not changed and will not change, but are adapted for contemporary use, and colour never has departed and never can depart from basic standards. (Incidentally, I would ask you to note that I use the word 4< contemporary " and not " modern ".)

The title of my talk to-day implies that we are going to continue as an industrial nation, but to do so is going to be hard work. It will require the greatest measure of goodwill between all men, since co-operation is the keynote of future industrial success. The Background

If, in dealing with colour as a most important factor in industrial design, I illustrate my talk with incidents from my own life, I hope you will not think me egotistical. I have decided to use this method as, after mature thought, I feel it is the best way of conveying my experiences to you.

My introduction to colour was at a school, where, in common with most youngsters at that time, I was given three colours, which probably were not of the highest grade. These were Gamboge, Crimson Lake and Prussian Blue, and I was told that these were the three Primary Colours, though I was never given a reason for that statement, but simply had to accept it as a fact. I was also told that I could obtain any colour from the correct mixture of these colours, but much as I tried, I coüld not get a good purple or orange, and so my confidence in my teachers waned and so did my interest in colour.

Fortunately I was given the opportunity of studying at an art school, and in my five year design course had plenty of opportunity, not only of realising that several reds, blues and yellows were regarded as the correct primaries, but of spending many hours grind- ing powder colours with gum, a process I can commend - if it is necessary - to instil the virtue of patience into a young colourist. However, in those five years I learned something of the economic use of colour and the true meaning of juxtaposition of colours and how precious pure or intense colours were. This latter fact I was to appreciate in my five- year painting course which followed, especially in some of the work of the French impression- ists. So I left the realm of tempera and designers' colours to enter one of Raw Sienna, Yellow Ochre, Terre Verte, etc., in artists' colours. Here I realised the sheer beauty of greys - the pearly greys of flesh, the misty

greys of early summer morning or autumn afternoon, the greys of wet roofs and smoke of factory chimneys and slag heaps. Following Harold and Laura Knight, I learned much from their work which hung in the life room of the College of Art at which I was privileged to study, under the same Masters as those under whom the Knights studied.

My painting diploma followed and also the 1 9 14 war.

When I returned it was to realise that I could do my most useful work in industrial art, since the art of painting and sculpture in this country does not reach the number of people that it should do, and because I believed that, if the standard of industrial art could be raised, it would be likely to instil a greater appreciation of the fine arts into the mass of the peoples.

So I returned to my Colour Circle and designers' range of colours, but here I en- countered a nèw factor - the work of the chemist in interpreting the colour work of myself or my students in terms of cotton prints, knitwear, posters and paints, carpets, fabrics, etc., for interior decoration, and so I had to learn what was possible in reproducing colours by means of dyestuffs or other colour- ing matter.

This period of co-ordinating the work of artist ' for industry lasted until 1930 when I accepted the position of Art Director to the British Colour Council. Since that time I have made many good friends in many industries, and learnt very much. In order that you may appreciate what I am going to say later I will show the colours which I have used from that very early age when I embarked on my artistic career with three colours.

[Here Mr. Wilson showed the colours to which he had referred, and various colour circles including one he used thirty years ago, and made comparison with the Munsell and Ostwald systems ; and finally showed a range which he felt conformed to educational and industrial needs of all kinds, including the designing and reproducing of paper, cloth, etc.

He also demonstrated the application of these colours including one of the most important aspects, namely, the juxta-position of colours explaining tìhe value of this knowledge to designers.] The Application of Colour

Under this heading I shall, of course, speak of colour as it is concerned with industrial art in relation to

(a) Home Trade, ( b ) Export Trade.



ЗОб JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS May II, 1 945

If I can put into a few words the principles that matter most in the application of colour, I would say : " It is not the size of a colour range that

is important. It is the application of the colours either alone or in combination with other textures, shapes, forms and back- grounds." There is a quaint idea that there are such

things as exclusive colours or ranges of colours. This, unless qualified, is sheer nonsense. Let us, in a more enlightened age, throw overboard the nonsense that has persisted in the past concerning colour and enter the post-war period with a sound knowledge of colour and confidence^ what we can do with it and not try to fool ourselves or other people that we or anyone can create a colour which cannot be created by anyone else.

Whether we like it or not this war has stripped us of all elaboration down to bare essentials. Is it not possible to turn, this to advantage and, when compulsory controls are no longer necessary, replace them with voluntary industrial controls, because restriction has proved its worth, not only on economic grounds, but on artistic grounds ?

We have seen firms carrying ranges showing anything from 750 to 1,000 colours and this must obviously be an uneconomic procedure, because the selection of selling colours from such a range must necessarily be made on a hit-or-miss basis. Only a few colours each season are in demand and the others are dead stock.

At the present time the Council is engaged in assisting firms to cut down these large ranges to a comparatively few colours. Any such policy of restriction of colour means that industries whose products are used or seen together must co-operate in order that their colours shall be co-ordinated. This is the work on which the Council has been engaged from its incéption, as it has always maintained that the colour-using industries, by working on small but skilfully selected colour ranges, can not only produce economically but can also produce more beautiful colour harmonies (and many varied colour schemes can be created from a well-chosen range), to the benefit of the trade of this country as a whole.

Our Chairman, Sir Thomas Barlow, has for many years recognised the value of co-operation, and I hope he won't mind my quoting to-day, the words he used at the British' Colour Council Lace Exhibition held at the

Manchester Chamber of Commerce in 1939 : " The pre-eminence of France in the dress trade is largely dependent on the capacity of the various trades involved- weavers, dyers, designers, couturiers, etc., to co-operate in the production of fabrics and styles, and, unless the same methods are adopted in this country it will never be possible to establish and maintain a specifi- cally English style and design." The same principle applies to men's and

children's wear, and to interior décoration; as well as in printing, where the paper and ink manufacturers, blockmakers, etc., must co- operate with the printer to obtain the finest results. The Council has recently resolved itself into divisions to cover each of these major coloür-making and colour-using industries, and gives to each division regular colour services designed to meet the needs of each industry as a whole, as well as providing special services designed to meet the needs of individual firms.

What I have said applied generally to home trade, but if we are to build up that export trade which we are told is essential to the welfare of this country we must know what are the needs of the people of those countries to whom we wish to sell our goods.

For many years after the Industrial Revolu- tion this country was in the fortunate position .of being able to export whatever goods it produced because we alone had the machinery with which to make materials and goods in bulk. But gradually other countries caught up with us in technical achievement and competition grew. The war has intensified this position all over the world, and particularly in those countries which before the war we looked upon as our most hopeful market.

So, when the war ends, after five years or more during which we have exported vir- tually nothing, we shall be faced with fierce competition, and the only way in which we shall be able to sell our products abroad will be by creating materials and goods which appeal to the people of other countries.

One cannot help wondering, when reading of factories being converted from war purposes to the production of goods for export, exactly to whom it is thought these goods will be sold. The purpose of this growing con- centration on export is obvious - the necessity for this country to sell its goods abroad or forfeit its position in the world, and the need to create full employment for its people. But many other countries are also turning their technical abilities and their mass production




methods to the creation of goods for export purposes.

It is therefore essential that we should devote very deep thought to the vital questions of colour and design. For it is only by understanding the climatic and economic conditions and through these to some extent at least the psychology of the people to whom we hope to export, that we can attempt to com- pete in world markets of the future.

Again, we must consider whether we are regarding the increase of our export trade entirely from the materialistic, and very important, viewpoint of full employment and financial stability within this country, or whether we have any altruistic motive in endeavouring to raise world standards of living through the appreciation of fine things. Whichever point of view we take, or if we take both, the necessity for understanding the psychological needs of people the world over remains of paramount importance. Spreading the Gospel

We have learned one lesson and this is that we must try to understand the other man and his way of life, and not impose our will upon him. This we can only do by studying his requirements and, having designed and coloured products according to the results of our research, we must, through the Press and the Films, show to the various nations our products in the finest way possible.

However, it is not much use our building up propaganda on the fine goods which this country can produce unless we at home live up to the standard we set, since the foreigner visiting our country is bound to have his critical faculties affected by what he sees in this country.

And this naturally brings us to that very important factor - Tourist Traffic - which will be so important to this country after the war. Not only should we devote attention to transport from the point of view of buyers visiting Britain, but should foster this traffic in every way we can in order that visitors can appreciate our mode of living, and we in turn can visit them and understand their outlook on life and thus reduce the possibility of future wars between nations. But we must be good hosts, and apart from good food and wine we must offer the finest possible accom- modation as well as comfortable and attractive means of transport. And this, of course, means aeroplanes, ships, railways, motor cars, airports and hotels. Apart from con-

sidering the foreign visitor, we owe it to our own people to give them the best that can be devised, especially since it means that employment will be provided and that appreciation of fine things will increase in accordance with the high standard of work carried out.

Thus far, I have spoken of the employment of our people in producing goods for home and export trade and this leads to another very important matter. The Housing Question

We cannot expect people to develop a higher standard of appreciation if their dwellings and surroundings are not given adequate consideration.

If they see beautiful colours and designs passing through their hands everyday they must either consciously or subconsciously compare them with what theý have, and who can blame them if they express dissatis- faction ? Probably we all know what we would like to do as we go through the slums of the big industrial towns, and we must sympathise with those who have to plan for the future in this vexed question of housing. But it is not my province to-day to do more than say what the Council is doing. There is one thing we should realise, and that is that without light there can be no colour. Surely then the first thing we must do is to open up congested parts of the country - the slums - and let in the light, for it is only in this way we can get colour in the lives of those who want it most.

This thought naturally brings us to another important aspect of life and that is the consideration of colour and lighting in factories and offices. / Colour and Lighting in Factories and

Offices > How much illness and failing eyesight at an

early age was due to the appalling working conditions of the past century will never be fully appreciated, but we do know that during the war the lighting of factories and offices has been given great consideration by the Ministry of Labour and National Service and by individual employers. This consideration has resulted in several things : -

1. Increased output. 2. Risks of accidents lessened. 3. Alleviation of eyestrain.

This has meant that there has been less absenteeism and that workers have found it possible, through better health, to enjoy their leisure to a far greater extent than hitherto.



308 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OP ARTS May II, 1945

It is obvious in a short talk like this that one cannot enlarge upon any particular phase of the activities I have mentioned, «since they are all of such importance.

But I had to mention, however briefly, all of them, because we cannot detach one phase of life from another since we are all dependent one upon another, little as we will at times recognise it.

Now I think I can do no better than sum up what I have said and elaborate in certain places, by examples of work which are actually being carried out by the British Colour Council.

Education Attention is being given to the correct use

of both colour and lighting in schoolrooms. The Council has an educational membership and many schools and colleges in different parts of the country are members. I hope that with the great attention which is being paid to education, room will be found in the curriculum for lessons in art appreciation, and I should like to see special attention being given to colour and design by teachers specially trained to guide young students. I should also like to reiterate what I said when I last spoke here when I urged that all children on entering school should be thoroughly tested for colour blindness.

It is somewhat unfortunate that Red and Green were chosen as the two vital colours for warnings in connection with traffic since they are the two colours which sufferers from colour blindness most commonly fail to identify or of which identification is weak. Red and Green have not always been the operative colours on the railways. I am indebted to Mr. Herbert, of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, for a very interesting account of colour signals on railways, and you may be interested to know that about the middle of the last century this couplet was composed : " White is right and Red is wrong ;

Green means gently go along." But now as you know, White has gone and Amber has been introduced, and the Red, Green and Am ber have a different significane e. If it is impossible to change the Red and Green signals, I would suggest that shapes be used to identify colours - that a square be used for red, a triangle for yellow, green a circle, and a heart for purple, etc. These could be used for all manner of controls on machinery and also for identifying cables where different coloured cables are employed.

To return to schools, I found that I took a great deal more interest in history and learnt more when it was linked up to the great trade routes of the world from the earliest times, and when it was related to the ways of life, the manners, the fashions and the arts of mankind. I think a great deal could be done in the teaching of history and geography by co-operation with museums who could stage special displays showing large maps of various parts of the world marking the trade routes, and group round them examples of the pottery, the weapons, the dress and so on, of a period. A sympathetic teacher could arouse great interest in these displays and recreate the past in the minds of the children. I feel that this would help the designers of to- morrow to appreciate the significance of their own times and to be able to look just that little way ahead which is necessary to design successfully for the age in which they live. And in those who will not become designers it will instil a critical faculty and will be the means of stimulating a demand for a fine standard of product. Art Schools, Technical Schools and

Designers I hope that in post-war days there will be

the closest co-operation between the art and the technical schools as one is so dependent on the other. Unfortunately there are jealousies, but those jealousies should cease and the two work together for the benefit of the country. Manufacturers should not look upon these schools (as they do particularly upon the art schools) as a useless legacy bequeathed to them from Victorian times.

The status of the designer and the art master should be raised and they must prove themselves worthy of this recognition.

I have recently visited some of the art schools and think that the work that is being done is worthy of the attention and encouragement of the manufacturers.

The British Colour Council is helping designers and manufacturers by collecting, sifting and analysing a mass of information on colour and design from abroad. All through the war the Council has received trade and fashion journals from Paris, Vienna, Switzer- land, Sweden, South America, the United States and the Dominions, and also cuttings of the types of colours most popular in , various countries all over the world, and of new designs and fabrics.

The Council has kept both designers and manufacturers in touch with this information,




and in this way has enabled the manufacturers to know what is needed in overseas markets and the designers to supply the manufacturers with suitable types of design. In this way* the Council has kept track of the néeds of our export markets and is in a position to offer valuable help to both designer and manufacturer as soon as they know what markets are available to them and can prepare to supply them.

Colours for Housing If in the sphere of housing we can keep

our ranges of colour for component parts within reasonable limits we can build more quickly and produce more economically. I do not think that an architect or a decorator minds having a limited range of colours, but rather is he challenged by these limitations as were the painters, decorators and architects throughout the ages.

The Council, working with the Institute of Vitreous Enamellers, has produced a range of colours. This range has been selected from colours known to be technically possible and from colours which are immediately available. The Vitreous Enamel range is being followed by harmonising ranges for bathroom equipment, and for distemper and water paints. One reason for a restricted range of colours lies in the possible shortage of certain colour- ing materials immediately after the war.

The country can rest assured that all the resources of the industries represented on the British Colour Council's Interior Decoration Committee are available to produce the component parts needed for equipping homes, and there need be no fear that restricted colour .ranges will mean standardisation, for when the architect and the decorator use their ingenuity, it will be somewhat sur- prising to see what a large number of har- monious colour schemes can be achieved through co-ordination.

But, whatever happens it will remain for a woman to make a home of a house, and this is perhaps an opportune moment to pay a tribute to the women of this country who, although they have had restrictions in dress, and in other things imposed upon them, have proved themselves to be the equal of any woman in the world in the matter of taste. Women have used imagination to replace the loss of materials, and have in many cases dressed in ways they would not have dared to have done before. In doing so they have entirely justified themselves.

In the same way the spirit of improvisation

has entered into the home, and it is to these women who have dressed well, kept their homes attractive and at the same time, in many cases, done a man's job, that we must ' look for the creation of the homes of the future. Being thrown on to their own resources women have gained confidence and triumphantly expressed their own personality. Women are the ultimate selectors of most of the world's goods and their imagination and discrimination will be of the greatest value to this country in raising the standard of its industrial products after the war.

While on the subject of housing I would make a plea for the closest co-operation between the architect, decorator and lighting engineer. This collaboration should begih at the earliest possible moment after a building project is first mooted. I make this point because I have so often seen, the work of an architect knocked about to instai the lighting equipment, and the ideas of the decorator adapted to fit an already conceived architec- tural plan. About thirty years ago I received a visit from some Americans who were evolving a scheme by which the architect and the decorator worked together from the start of any housing enterprise. This idea was put into practice in America, and I think it is time that a similar scheme was worked out here.

At first, such a scheme could be applied to houses and public buildings comparatively in mass production, but as controls are lifted and the need for emergency buildings is passing, the architect, the decorator and thé lighting engineer will 'come into their own in the planning of houses for individuals.

I suggest this because we have seen such changes recently in the science of lighting. It is becoming a matter of great importance and we should recognise it as one of the great advances affecting art and industry.

While on the question of lighting I would like to say one word which affects the various subjects on which we have touched to-day. I have said that one phase of life cannot be detached from another since all depend on one another, but surely we can regulate or control those things which might .be detri- mental to our effort as a whole. In saying this I am referring particularly to coloured lighting for advertising purposes. Are the products of this country so poor that advertisements for them have to hide noble pieces of architecture and so reduce the work of our architects, or is the architecture so poor that it needs to be hidden in this way ? One



3IO JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS May II, I94S

fortunate consequence of the war is that we and many of our Allies .have been able to see something of the majesty of London at night without these defacements, buildings silhouetted against skies with no competition from man-made lighting.

We speak of Piccadilly Circus as the Hub of the World. Are we going to see it trans- formed once more into a circus of coloured lights or are we going architecturally to dignify this world-famous , centre ? I know that thé Royal Society of Arts is planning a series of lectures on this subject, so I will say no more.

Factories and Offices The British Colour Council has been

carrying out a great deal of work in connection with colour and lighting of factories and offices during the war, and has collated information which should be of immense value in post-war days. It is being increasingly recognised that many people spend the greater part of their waking lives in factories or offices, so why should they not have the most attractive surroundings possible ? Pleasant conditions in their places of work have untold effect on the health of the workers, and therefore on their capacity to enjoy their leisure. The Council is preparing a book on this subject, and it has the interest of Mr. Ernest Bevin, Minister of Labour and National Service, and of Sir Wilfred Garrett and Mr. C. Conway Plumbe of his Ministry.

As you can imagine I could go on for a long time talking on this subject which means so much to the people of this country and of the world, but my time is drawing to a close and I propose to end with something I said twenty years ago in a series of talks on industrial design : - " I do feel that science and art must be

recognised as partners in this new era and I have not spoken of what might be, but must be. The business man must recognise art or go out of business or his bank balance may become an overdraft. " If the subject on which I have been speaking to-day could be idealised we should, see art used to its greatest advantage by not only helping towards production but towards that ideal spoken of by Tolstoy in his book ' What is Art ? ' : " ' We know that the well-being of man lies in unison with his fellow-men. The task of art is enormous. Through the influence of real art, aided by science, guided by religion, that peaceful co-

operation of man which is now obtained by external means - by our lawr courts, police, charitable institutions, factory inspection, etc. - should be obtained by man's free and joyous activity. Art should cause violence to be set aside. And it is only art that can accomplish this

DISCUSSION Mr. E. W. Goodale : I should like to

thank Sir Thomas Barlow for presiding over our meeting to-day because I know how busy he is. His recent breakdown in health was entirely due to the diligence with which he is endeavouring to clothe us civilians.

The vote of thanks was carried by accla- mation ; Sir Thomas Barlow then left the meeting, and the chair was taken by Mr. E. W. Goodale.

Wing-Commander G. Milner, r.a.f. : May I refer to the 8-ft. length of specimen shades which includes 1,000 colours ? If one is limited to the colours suggested by the lecturer how is one to get a repeat ?

Mr. Wilson : You never will get a repeat even if you have a standard. You might get something very near it but dyers seldom dye a colour twice the same, but good com- mercial matches are achieved. If you want fashion yoVi must organise and arrange what is going to be fashionable. Whether you have twenty or i ,000 does not affect the question of repeats.. If fashion is dictated from abroad the prestige of British manufacturers will be lowered. If you try to keep up with the demands of people who want something different uneconomic production will result and that is how this range of 1,000 colours was created, and we cannot afford that in view of the competition it will be necessary to meet from abroad. . Miss Rina Hands, b.a. (Women's Liaison Officer of the Coal Utilisation Joint Council) : I am interested in cookers and stoves and I was therefore glad to see the range of vitreous enamels shown by the lecturer and to learn that there would be similar ranges of colour for household utensils.

The difficulty I see is that people do not get all their household utensils at the same time ; thus one might buy yellow saucepans and then be compelled by circumstances to have a green cooker. Is it possible to co- ordinate the small ranges of colours suggested by the lecturer, so that one could be certain that differently-coloured pieces of equipment would harmonise ?



May II, 1945 COLOUR AS A FACTOR IN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN 3II

Mr. G. E. Wilson Crowe (Easiwork, Ltd.): I should like to pay a tribute to Mr. Wilson for the great efforts he has made during the last ten years to standardise a range of colours. I am afraid that the last speaker has not kept up to date because in 1934, with the assistance of Mr. Wilson and the Colour Council, the household appliance section of the London Chamber of Commerce produced a series of twelve colours for household appliances. They haVe been in use for more than ten years.

In my experience, which extends all over the country, from analyses made of the requirements of housewives for their kitchens, I have found that they are content with five or six of these colours : white, cream, green, grey, blue and red. We must not forget " white " because there are thirty or forty shades of white.

I do plead for a greater standardisation among paint manufacturers of colour nomenclature. Nearly every manufacturer for in- stance has an apple green in his card but different in tint or shade from every other producer's. Whether through the British Standards Institution or the British Colour Council, those consumers should use a common language in describing colours, particularly a short list in use for interim equipment.

Mr. H. À Brassard : I was particularly struck by the comments made in the paper about colour blindness, and should like to know more about the lecturer's views on that subject. One's own experience is that the colour blind minority can be very large. How does Mr. Wilson test his own staff for colour blindness ? Does he use the Ishihara test.

Mr. Wilson : The Ishihara test is a good one but I have known people with good colour vision who could not pass it. I think the best way to test people is to have them under observation for one or two months and observe them without their being aware of it. You must work from basic intense colours down to greyed hues until the people you are testing can describe colours intelligibly. If a person knows anything about colour he can very quickly tell you the composition of a grey, whatever kind of grey it is. When I spoke here previously I said that there are something like 10 per cent, of people - particularly men - who are partially or totally colour blind.

Mr. H. À Brassard : Would the lecturer

agree that it is desirable that people who wish to enter any colour-using industry should be tested for colour blindness first ? It is my experience that a lot of money can be spent on people in order to fit them for a certain position and then you find that their shades are . off-shades.

Mr. Wilson : Yes, I agree that it is desirable but I have known cases where men have obtained important positions which demanded good colour discrimination. What one man used to do was to take a coloured design and then get the reaction of a number of people about it. He made a mental note of what each said, and so could speak with apparent intelligence on colour in spite of being unable to see it. I have also known the general buyer of coloured materials for a big firm to be colour blind. If my recommenda- tions that every child entering school be tested for colour blindness were adopted the cases cited by the questioner would not occur.

Dr. R. K. Schofield : The Physical Society's Colour Group has a sub-committee preparing a report on colour blindness with special reference to industry. I hope that report will be a valuable contribution, and I think it will generally support what has been said by the lecturer.

Co-operation with the chemist has already been mentioned, but the physicist is one of the scientists interested in colour and he has a contribution to make, both as regards the educational presentation and in the technical production of colours. I am not suggesting that the physicist is, in himself, an arbiter in these matters, but I do think he has a contribution to make in co-operation with the technician, the artist, the teacher and the chemist. I do not think that hitherto he has been sufficiently called upon to make his contribution. As its Chairman I should like to say how anxious the Physical Society's Colour Group is to work with other people who are interested in colour. Membership of the group is not restricted to professional physicists but is open to all who are interested in colour physics and its applications.

Mr. Wilson : Although I rather avoided that aspect of the subject in my paper I am quite sure that there is definite work for the physicist to do. We must not, of course, quibble over terms. If the physicist can produce a good colorimeter which is not too costly and not too complicated, but will help industry to decide upon what is a good match



312 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS May II, I945

and also to measure colours, it will be very valuable indeed.

The Rev. Ethelbert Goodchild : I rather hoped that Dr. Schofield would carry his argument on and state what is, of course, a fundamental truth that objective colour is specific wavelength and that there are about 4,000 A. units which between them must include every variation of colour stimulus. There are 4,000 possibilities at least, and those possibilities can be registered exactly by purely physical means1.

Dr. R. K. Schofield : The subject we are dealing with is very complex. Physicists have supplied most useful information about this connection between colour and spectral composition, but colour is not merely a matter of physics. The visual process is physical, physiological and psychological. The per- ception of colour only emerges at the end of a long and complicated train.

Col. G. R. Johnston : I should like to ask a question about colour in book production because presumably after the war we shall want to produce books relating to the war which require statistical diagrams, maps, and so forth. Coloured illustrations would increase the attractiveness and saleability of such publications. Is there any prospect of multi-colour production process being simplified and cheapened so that we can present our point of view to the world under better financial conditions than would at present be the case ?

Mr. Wilson : I am afraid that I cannot answer that question definitely because it involves finance and depends upon availability of raw materials. All I can say is that the colour makers, the printing ink manufacturers, the paper manufacturers and printers are working with the Council to ensure the closest co-operation. It may be that through that co-operation more economic and better productions may be made possible, but I agree that we must make every effort to make our publications attractive and not too costly.

The Chairman (Mr. E. W. Goodale) : Mr. Wilson has referred to one activity of the - British Colour Council, namely, that of co- operation with other bodies. That ties up with what has been said by several speakers. The Council has nearly finished a dictionary of colours for interior decorations and I am sure that that will be one of the best things it has ever done. If the vitreous enamel fabric, pottery, carpet, paint and plastics

manufacturers can all speak the same language regarding colour it will make the task of the decorator extraordinarily easy. If, for example, we can get a carpet to match household fabrics the task of the housewife in furnishing will be greatly simplified. It is not a question of standardisation as Mr. Wilson has shown, but of nomenclature, and the Colour Council's dictionary should go a long way to help in that.

I should like to propose a hearty vote of thanks to the lecturer for his paper.

The vote of thanks was carried by accla- mation.

GENERAL NOTE

Art in the U.S.S.R.- The U.S.S.R. Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries publishes a Soviet Fine Arts Chronicle, of which the number for May- June, 1944, has just been received. It is interesting to learn that, in spite of their tremendous pre-occupation with war, the Soviets find time for art exhibitions in Mos- cow, and that the State Arts Institute is drawing from all parts of the U.S.S.R. crowds of students, some of whom wear medals which they have won as fighting parti- sans. In Russia Mars readily shares his glory with the Muses. Perhaps the most interesting article in this instalment of the Chronicle is the account of the great Russian painter Repin's residence on the Gulf of Finland. "Penates," as the house was called, was a spot near and dear to every Russian. No pains had been spared to keep it exactly as it was during the painter's life, when it was a centre that attracted famous brother artists, musicians and writers - all the cream of Russia's intellectual life. To-day, alas, the place is a scene of desolation. Finnish gangsters, emulating the vandalism of their German allies, have done their damnedest to annihilate everything that could tell of the great man and his work.

SOME MEETINGS OF OTHER SOCIETIES DURING THE ENSUING FORTNIGHT

Thursday, May 17^... Chemical Society, at the Royal Institu- tion, Albermarle Street, W.i. 5 p.m. Prof. J. D. Bernal, m. a., F.R.S., " The Past and Future of Crystal Chemistry." Friday, May 18... Institution of Electrical Engineers, Savoy Place, Victoria Embankment, W.C.2. 5.30 p.m. Sir Lawrence Bragg, o.b.e., m.a. " Magnetic Materials."

Tuesday, May 2 2... Institution of Electrical Engineers, Savoy Place, Victoria Embankment, W.C.2. . 5.30 p.m. H. G. Taylor, D.sc., and L. B. Hunt, ph.d., m.sc., " N on-Ferrous Contact Springs." Saturday, May 26... Royal Sanitary Institute, at the Guild- hall, Swansea. 11 a.m. J. B. Bennett, a.m.inst.c.e.^ " Reconstruction and Housing Proposals of Swansea."



colour as a factor in industrial design

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