View on color —

Shades of grey are my most favorite color spectrum. They are the most universally applicable, most sophisticated range and they work in any combination with each other and with any other colors. The grey spectrum is also the only one that rightfully includes the extremes of white and black. Grey is also very difficult to connect with a certain time period, it seems to ignore styles and movements and gives anything the potential to look great at any time in history.

I like the shy diplomacy of grey and I use a medium grey for objects when I want the viewer to concentrate on the outline and the face of the object with equal attention. The universal functionality of grey is also appealing to me because it fits within the definition of design as a discipline that attempts to find values that are accepted by a wide range of people. You could say grey is the color of design. —

I have different relationships to various colors. Mostly my preference is due to some association or its based on design history. When it is possible and when it makes sense I always try to make a conceptual decision about color. For any situation though I always enjoy when an object has only one color and when it gives an impression it was completely dipped in paint. Just as its components form one complete object I want the color to go along with that and cover the whole surface. This became clear to me first time I saw dip-moulding in fluorescent red vinyl. —

In my designs I often try to escape the color problem and let colors happen by some other cause in the process. Let them be the product of the lifetime of an object. A naked material is always a good color choice because it is honest and its there by the rules of nature. A natural surface has the great advantage that it ages in an interesting way. Thats why I like to work with metal and wood, compared to plastic they have the ability to explain history through the way time and usage changes their surface. — M Ch