Forty years of psychology of colour in Belgium: a 2021 call to colour.

Rummaging through old boxes I chanced upon a remarkable clipping from a 1992 edition of Belgian weekly Humo (1). It pays tribute to professor of psychology of colour J.B. Den Tandt, 82 years old at the time and deemed by the magazine to be the last proponent of a languishing science. 

Humo recounts how by the end of the fifties the subject psychology of colour was taught at the Centre for Effective Colour Application in Amsterdam, spread out over a three year course. Out of 123 students only eight obtained the degree, Den Tandt being one of them. Dutch graduates immediately found jobs and were able to put their theoretical knowledge to the test. For lack of enthusiasm for effective applications of colours in Belgium, however, Den Tandt was forced to further develop the theoretical basis of the psychology of colour on his own. At the same time he was taking up a career as a staunch Reader on this subject at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. I was one of his students back then and recall his classes very vividly as they were much appreciated by all of us young artists and designers during our most formative years. Unfortunately, and inconceivably, the course was cancelled at the beginning of the eighties and Den Tandt was fired. Why? According to the academy board the students had to have knowledge of colour psychology of their own accord ...

Thirty years further down the road I was again a student at the same academy. I had been studying image semantics for about 20 years and construed a theory and praxis(2) on the subject together with semantician Ferre Alpaerts. The meaning and psychological function of colours and shapes have become my subject matter ever since. I was surprised to find that in times of our expanding knowledge of how the brain and the senses work, of surveys, statistics, and worldwide cross-cultural research on colour, the Academy's dismissive attitude towards the subject matter of psychology of colour was still persisting from the early eighties. Students are still left to their own devices when it comes to knowledge of the function of colour and are presumed to possess some kind of innate understanding. Suggestions of sharing the results of my research with students were met with opposition. Scientific analysis might hamper the artistic freedom of both artist and designer. If any attention is given to said subject matter anywhere then generally that's to the credit of individual teachers.

Den Tandt nonetheless managed to pull off quite a few successful projects. The primary school of the Ekeren district Schoonbroek was the venue of one such fruitful application where his experimental colour scheme for classrooms resulted in a spectacular decrease in the number of children who scored either below or barely above the 50% grade. At the Antwerp air terminal his colour intervention made for a reduction in passenger animosity and general apprehension. He published various articles and books. (3,4)

At the age of 82 professor Den Tandt had every right to be disappointed with the Belgian disparaging attitude vis-à-vis the psychology of colour, prevalent in both the corporate world as well as in education. He had a wealth of knowledge that could have enhanced the wellbeing of many people. Because of the offhand stance of patrons and boards alike he was unable to fully implement and pass on this knowledge. Decades came and went and it is painful to observe that nothing much has changed. Sitting on years of studying internationally renowned academic research I still find it a challenge to elicit the kind of enthusiasm this field actually warrants. I suspect that many of my colleagues share the same experience.

A mentality revolution is badly needed on the Belgian design scene, particularly in the art and design schools and universities. Practical designing has been undergoing a fundamental change for a number of decennia in that the traditionally literary culture is unmistakably evolving towards a pictorial mode of communication, resulting in a visceral way of “reading”(5). Emotion, psychological function and meaning are hot topics of today's designing. Belgian educational policymakers would be wise to follow the trend and set up a comprehensive training that involves the study of interdependent entities such as colour, shape, composition, and texture in their relation to emotion, psychology, and meaning. Belgian entrepreneurs would do well to consult with experts the likes of professor Den Tandt when they begin their next product development and marketing. Let 2021 be the start. 

I for one am all up for it.

Inez Michiels, design semantics, CITY of 8

NOTES

1. D.D. (1992). Kleur uw tweede zit. Humo, 170-175.
2. www.dhirubhai.net/in/inezmichiels/
3. den Tandt, J.B. (1971). Vorm en kleur bij het kind : een psychochromoanalyse van kindertekeningen. Hoorn, Kinheim
4. www.dbnl.org/auteurs/auteur.php?id=tand004
5. Mc Luhan, M. (1965). red. Gordon W. Terrence. Understanding media: the extensions of man. New York: McGraw-Hill.