I believe colour and pattern can make a positive impact in the world! The right colour can uplift mood helping people to feel more positive. Pattern and imagery can help connect people to places and add meaning to placemaking.
Joyous Ground Graphics
One way to add more colour into the public realm is through adding ground graphics and colourful crossings transforming dreary tarmac streets into colourful ones! Look how joyful these are! Cobalt Collective in collaboration with with some community groups decorated the plaza around the V&A Dundee to create this colourful positive artwork.
Examples of colourful ground graphics from around the UK
Photo by Better Bankside
“The aim of the Colourful Crossings commission is to explore how everyday infrastructures in the city, such as pedestrian crossings, are perceived and can be transformed,” said Better Bankside.
I (Louise Kirby) created this design inspired by the local area taking elements from the historic architectural details, green spaces and public art after consultation with locals wanting more colour into the grey streets. You can see more about it and a blog about the whole process here
I’ve always loved this graphic iconic print design by Eley Kishimoto. It’s got great movement with the use of strong graphics in the positive and negative space. It looks great on the streets of Brixton, also in the variations of colours.
Photo credit David P Scott
It brings great joy to walk up and down through the colour of Union Street, Dundee to and from the V&A Dundee. I love the limited colour palette and bold graphics. Nice to see local businesses making use of the street, it reminds me of cafe culture on holiday! I look forward to seeing what happens next in this project to create a more permanent enhancement. I am really inspired by Dundee City Councils vision.
Photo by Bigg Design
Hamish from Bigg Design and Eleanor from Fun Makes Good created these cool ground murals called the ‘Craigie Compas’ to help with wayfinding in Perth, Scotland. Great to see the ground graphics used to help wayfinding, brighten up the area and the addition of fun signage giving it a 3d feel. You can read about it here
Practical Considerations
On ground graphics we have a limited colour palette. By using different colour combinations we can get varied results. There are options from the material used to apply the designs depending on if it’s a temporary or longer term installation and what the purpose of the area is used for. When designing a ground graphic in the public realm consideration and consultation needs to be in place for accessibility for all users’ needs.
They are a great way to inject a bit of fun, playfulness and joy!
Photo credit UNESCO city of Design Dundee
An example of taking a bit of Dundee to the other side of the world in Puebla,Mexico, representing UNESCO City of Design Dundee. You can read more about this project where students from Puebla painted my design and used design to highlight a safety issue on the roads you can read more about it here
I have a vision of the world full of colourful creative interventions to bring more joy to the spaces we play, live, work and travel through. My aim is to uplift and connect people and highlight the positives by creating artworks that capture a sense of place which creates a sense of belonging. I love to do this with my use of playfully applying colour and pattern.
I am ready to take on new design challenges and if you have a project, collaboration or commission in mind please get in touch hello@louisekirby.com or you can check some samples on my website to give you a flavour of previous projects.
