COLORLESS CRUX

Aside from keeping my site fresh for SEO bots, another reason I keep a blog is for personal purposes; usually, when I find something interesting, upsetting, or controversial within the design world…or overlapping it. For the last several years, one of these things has been the desaturation of America. Maybe the world, since we widely influence it.

In other words...where has the color gone? From architecture and fashion to tech and the automobile industry, you can see it seeping everywhere. The question is…why? Like most things that affect our lives, the answer is rarely singular or simple. That said, this is my three-fold theory:

The Economy: during a time of economic uncertainty fueled by inflation/cutting costs at every corner, color could be a casualty. Why? Color costs more to produce and consequently so does everything it touches.

Practicality: with speed being centerfold and everyone on the go, the uprise in casual wear has become commonplace.  From church to the office, comfy threads are the name of the game, and by default, color is often jettisoned.

The Future: as I look on the last century of aesthetics, I suspect every decade was heavily influenced by projections of the future. I made a post a while ago that touched on the early 21st century being influenced by sci-fi/cyberpunk/Asia and for this reason, you saw great saturation. Was it the last season to be touched by it?

Has color been completely removed? No, but anyone looking around can immediately see it reduced to a few pale hues and...for what? A desire for monochromatic modernity? And if so, what does this say about us/our perception of the future?

I look around at my colorful apartment and wardrobe and wonder if desaturation continues: could color become a form of rebellion? Hopefully, it’s one of many pendulums that will soon swing back. We’ll see what happens…