Tagged: color

A graphical representation of the Rotterdam skyline with all important buildings, bridges and other icons, in four different color schemes

A New Skyline for Rotterdam

In 2014, Rotterdam Festivals organized a design competition for a graphical representation of the city’s famous skyline. The organization used such a skyline as its logo. But in that year, three new icons were added in quick succession: Central Station, Markthal and De Rotterdam building. That called for a new skyline logo, hence the competition. The prize money was… nothing at all. Nothing? Indeed, it was all about the honor. Actually, as a designer you shouldn’t want to participate in that, but hey, it was for a good cause. And I had a good idea…. The colors of the skyline… Read More

Image of an aluminium Greek temple, iluminated with lights in many colors, mounted on panels on the facade of the Euramax factory in Roermond, The Netherlands

The Aluminum Temple That Would Never Be

“Unlimited freedom of design!”, that’s what Euramax offered in the competition for an image on the main facade of their factory in Roermond, the Netherlands. The competition was organized to promote their Aludesign aluminum panels on which every conceivable image can be printed. Unlimited freedom, that’s rather difficult for a designer. Luckily, the shape of the facade provided some clues. The Parthenon That sloping roof, the windows, the brick plinth … You only see it when you get it, Johan Cruyff would say. And when I got it I could only see a Greek temple. An aluminum temple, with a… Read More

Photo of the multi-colored and rather varied architecture of Bristol, England, with the Floating Harbour in the foreground

Colors of the City

Because of my ten-day tour through England, work on blog, twitter and other websites has somewhat stalled during the last weeks. Sometimes it is good to take some distance to all those social media. But during such a trip, I can not help looking with an architect’s eye at the things around me. Like at the colors and materials that are characteristic of certain cities. St.Ives, for example, a popular tourist destination in Cornwall, is almost entirely built with just three materials. Brownish stone, white plaster and gray (sometimes turned greenish) slate, used quite randomly. That results in a pleasantly… Read More