Tinta

Beginning at birth, an organism gifted with sight learns the language of color to interpret the environment. Color provides clues to decipher if a thing is hot or cold, safe or dangerous, edible or toxic. Over time, what is initially a biological interpretation of color for survival becomes layered with complex emotional and cultural associations and personal narratives. The world becomes literally saturated with meaning.

Hence, the color of Tinta is such a direct and deep-seated medium, with all its physiological effects, signifiers of culture and of a home's identity, and innately alluring beauty. It is a powerful work of art, to be wielded with sensitivity.

Using Tinta well also depends on where it is applied and for whom: each of its palettes, Oliva, Salvia and Argilla, possesses the potential to soothe or irritate, uplift or depress, please or repel. Ultimately, the color of each Tinta variant determines our response to it. Yet if we'd like works of art to suit a home or to touch our minds, we too must use the potent and instant medium of color.

Through a human-centric lens, color's primary role in the design of Tinta is to evoke meaning, encourage the well-being that its two greens and its earth tone bring, and, with wood as its material, extend the life of the work itself. When we had our first design ideas for Tinta, we necessarily started from a primal physiological argument: to understand color perception and to work with instinctive reactions to certain hues, tones and chromas, which are definitions of beauty refined through human evolution.

From here, our aim is to create a work of art whose palette viewers and buyers alike find satisfying on the deepest, often subconscious level. That palette must fit its context, serve its function and possess a quiet beauty that transcends trends and will not fade with time. In our search for these qualities, we find ourselves drawn to earthly colors and to sage and olive green: to the softness of sand, depths of cloudy skies, richness of clay and warmth of wood. I thank nature for giving me an abundant palette to enrich this work of art.

Through a restrained selection of three colors, we also invite the eye to discover the subtle nuances of each hue, sharpening an appreciation of a deceptively "minimal" palette. Over time, the eyes become familiar with the character transitions of a certain shade of sage compared to its moodier olive sibling, adeptly perceiving minute differences. Warmer tones often invite feelings of happiness, optimism and energy, while cooler tones typically soothe and relax us. Monotonal or monochromatic reliefs are especially good at instilling peace. They're not only effortless on the eyes, but they mimic a natural ocular process that regulates the gradual variation in color from morning to evening: a mental construction of order and simplicity.

Each Tinta panel is one color, edge to edge, and Argilla, the clay, is the warm one of the three.

Beyond working with innate physiological responses to color, we must carefully handle the murky realms of color meaning and memory. Throughout our lives, colors are infused with stories that affect our preferences for or against them. From this mindset, we find ourselves returning to primal neutral colors, originating in nature, which have marinated in meaning for millennia and are thus more universal and timeless. While the preferred palette is restrained to soft beige, brown and gray, each context inspires a different hue selection and combination, certain tones and levels of vibrancy that resonate with that place.

For Tinta, the selection is the green of olive and sage and the brown of clay. Much like a bird's nest, we aim to design wall reliefs that integrate with their surroundings. A beguiling camouflage with just the right amount of character.