Studio Brief 1 - Wayfinding - Colouring Designs

Colouring designs using heraldratic tinctures

Rules when using Tinctures:

-        Colour must be placed on metal

-        Metal must be placed on colour

-        An exception is if charges in their natural colour

The five heraldic colours (tinctures) are:

-        Gules (red) which means warrior/ martyr

-        Azure (blue) which means loyalty / truth

-        Sable (black) which means constancy/grief

-        Vert (green) which means hope / joy

-        Purpure (purple) which means majesty/ justice

The Two metals are:

-        Or (Gold)(can be represented as yellow) which means wealth / generosity

-        Argent (Silver)(can be represented as white) which means peace/ sincerity

The Three stains are:

-        Tenne (orange tawny) which means ambition

-        Sanguine (Blood red) which means patience

-        Murrey (Purpley red) which means fortitude

For each place I wrote the colours which I thought would best represent them.

Millennium Square

Gold (wealth/ genoristity) reflects the grand space and its openeness

Orange Tawny (ambition) reflects vastness of the project

Leeds City Council Building

Gold (wealth/ genoristity) reflects the expense of the huge building

Purple (majesty and justice) reflects the intricacy and beauty of the building

Civic Hall

White (peace and sincerity) reflects the quietness of the area which is set aside from the road

Purple (majesty and justice) reflects the intricacy and beauty of the building which is part of the Leeds City Council Building

Leeds Museum

Black (constancy/ grief) reflects the life of the building and how it has lasted so long by changing its use

Orange Tawny (ambition) reflects the hopes of the people who trained there

St Annes Cathedral

Green (hope/joy) reflects the different events that happen there and the link to God

Black (constancy / grief) reflects the longlasting nature of  the church. Also can reflect the grief of funerals hosted there.

White (peace / sincerity) reflectsthe atmosphere of the place

War Memorial

Black (constancy / grief) reflects the sadness of the loss of life

Silver (peace/sincerity) reflects the reflectiveness of the place

Leeds City Library

Blood Red (patience) reflects the timeconsuming nature of the interior

Gold (wealth/generosity) reflects the intricate interior

Library Tapestry

Blood Red (patience) reflects the timeconsuming nature of the creation of the piece

Gold (wealth/generosity) reflects the community who created the tapestry

Municipal Building

Black (constancy / grief) reflects the way the owls have survived

School Board

Blood Red (patience) reflects the process of learning

Orange Tawny (ambition) reflects the potential of the students

Town Hall

Gold (wealth/generosity) reflects the expense of the building and the grand scale of it

Purple (majesty/justice) reflects the beauty and scale of the building

Black (constancy/ grief) reflects the dominance and permanence of the town hall

When colour was added using the rules of heraldry I found that the designs were going to look very similar. Also I found that some of the colours didn’t work very well together but this could potentially be because they are the wrong shades.  Also I found that most of the designs would be yellow (gold) with only a few being white (silver) which could look odd as a system.