The personal body as information design
uriah April 21st, 2009
Could colour be used as a human geographical tool? Stuart’s post raises some great questions about colour as information. I argue that the shift towards modernity has severed the link between colour and the natural material.The boom of the textile industry and of mass produced products has caused the public in developed parts of the world, to behave as an information design. Unique and bespoke items are reserved for the rich and elite.Large quantities of identical coloured shirts, indicates that groups of people are wearing the same colour at the same time. What can these patterns tell us? Certain patterns of colour can be attached to an occupation. Designers wear black t-shirts; blue scrubs and white for medical services; bright orange for road workers. Would particular patterns emerge if we examined one occupation, like education?
Uniqlo’s “fast-food for fashion” has a similar ethos to Ikea, that good quality design should be available for all. Clothing was once made-to-fit through an individual that was known to us, that we often shared a personal relationship with. The colour would often reflect the material.The shift to mass production has eradicated the relationship between clothing’s colour and the natural material. For example, in Uniqlo’s online store you can view the clothes by blocks of color, choosing your outfit as if it were paint for your house.
What if this concept was extended to a dramatic level, could you recognise yourself as an entire colour? Valeria McCulloch wears entirley blue. Rebecca Turbow wears grey. As seen from the interview in NYmag 
In a mass produced world where colour no longer reflects the original material, has colour become an identity itself? Could colours establish entire social groups of people? Could clothing colours be considered a visual code that we have cultural and economic relationships with, which inform us when we meet someone? Feedback would be great, especially from fashion designers and human geographers.Links: Uniqlo, NYmag one color interview
April 30th, 2009 at 8:30 am
This is very interesting. In fashion, colour has had a history of distinguishing social class. Social constructionism acknowledges the importance of our presentation as a tool for communication. So I do believe that colour alone could be modified into a social code.
May 6th, 2009 at 3:11 am
[…] post has a clear antecedent in Uriah’s post, The personal body as information design. Have you ever pondered why so many nations seem to have two sets of national colours? Notice how […]
June 9th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
There is something deeply disturbing about such speculations, but extremely interesting and accurate! How much do sub cultures identify with particular colours, and how much does it define one’s identity.
Identification of “workers” and the “Yellow Vest” was part of a recent exhibition at Fremantle Arts Centre entitled “Yellow Vest Syndrome” where groups pushed ideas of class, social status and Perth’s economic boom relating to the workers attire.
June 11th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
Colours are so powerful, we only need to look at the orange colour worn by the supporters of the political party in one of the Eastern European elections and currently green being worn by the opponents of Ahmedinijad in Iraq. In Indonesia each political party has a colour that supporters wear during elections. Is this now seen as a non violent form of protest?