Cheong House Colour Design Project

Edwina Hirst is a graduate of the International School of Colour and Design and current educator of the iscd Colour Design Diploma. She currently has one of her projects featured in Houses Magazine.

Edwina worked on the interior and exterior colour scheme of Chong House, a Birley Griffin house in Castlecrag, which won the 2008 Willoughby Heritage Award and was Highly Commended at the 2008 National Trust Awards.

The brief for this project was to create a ‘controlled’ palette of colours that preserved Griffin’s vision for the future of Castlecrag, incorporating his deep respect for the natural environment।

While the interior is calm and contemporary, for this project Hirst looked to nature for inspiration for the exterior colour palette। The colours selected were matched to natural outdoor elements such as sandstone and Blackbutt trees।

Hirst designed the complex colour scheme so each individual within the space can experience the whole landscape they are in.

This project demonstrates that as a colour designer there is a need to understand colour beyond how they look in a palette. Whilst working with the clients wishes, colour designers have to understand colour in a holistic view from how they work with one another to working with the environment.

iscd industry insider :: Ella and Sofia

Karie Soehardi, head designer of Ella and Sofia shares a little bit about herself with the International School of Colour and Design. Ella and Sofia, a textile and interiors studio in Australia has been a great industry partner of iscd for many years.

What or who inspires you?

Many things inspire me – there’s William Morris, then all the art deco/ nouveau era, Liberty prints, 70’s fashion, London (just because I love it and there is so much going on everywhere you go) and Indonesian batik.

What is your design philosophy?

To not get caught up in what everyone else is doing, and to get out there and be inspired by ‘things’. I love drawing and taking pics of different random things – what my designs turn out to be may be quite simple but different visuals are important to me.

What is your signature style?

Ella and Sofia’s style has a feel of yesteryear with a contemporary twist! I like eclectic things and not afraid to marry a loud wallpaper with a baroque armchair.

How did you get to where you are today?

A lot of cold -calling, door knocking, mistakes, late nights/weekends, happiness, tears, passion and persistence – if you have a dream you must believe in yourself and give it a go. You owe it to yourself to be as happy and creative as you possibly can.

What makes you smile?

My five and half month old son – he is just amazing and, I finally get what all the other parents were talking about. I am just so grateful that I get to watch him learn about the world.

We are a School. What were you like as a student?
I loved school, was a bit of a nerd when I was younger, Art and English were my favourite classes. In college and uni, I was very determined and passionate. I studied Jewellery and Object Design, then Fashion Design. I think education is so important, both in an establishment and through reading, mentors.

INSPIRATION :: The colour of post its

Which style are you?

Now you have unveiled your style, check out what the design styles are...

Take this quiz to discover your design style!
Through facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/iscdstylequiz/

Not on facebook? Click here: http://iscd.edu.au/personal-style-quiz/

WE LOVE :: Easton Pearson Designer Rugs Collection

Easton Pearson have collaborated with Designer Rugs to create a collection of inspiring and eclectic rugs. This is Easton Pearson’s first foray into the world of floor coverings. “The idea of working with design and textile in this new medium with Designer Rugs was an adventure we couldn’t resist,” said Lydia and Pamela. ”We are passionate about design and fabrication. It was a joy working with the Designer Rugs team and we are delighted with the outcome.”

There are eight rugs in all, featuring a bold powerful colour palette from warm suffused yellows and reds, through to dense violets and grays. . Explain Lydia and Pamela: "We were inspired by fragments of dilapidated antique chintz fabrics; the intricate hand drawn detail and washes of colour. The rugs show our response as an abstraction of the botanical world".

The Easton Pearson Rugs Collection is available exclusively from Designer Rugs showrooms.

INSPIRATION :: What’s your interior style?

When it comes to decorating, it pays to know your inner stylist. Especially since your two best friends seem so effortlessly intimate with theirs. For better or worse our homes are an extension of who we are and an expression of our personality.

Take this quiz to discover your design style!
Through facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/iscdstylequiz/

Not on facebook? Click here: http://iscd.edu.au/personal-style-quiz/

INSPIRATION :: Vivid Sydney

Light and colour have come to Sydney, Australia as the sails of the Sydney Opera House have become a canvas for the first ever Vivid Sydney. 25 light artworks appear throughout the city from bright fibre-optic blooms down by the harbour to a fire-fly inspired cluster of illuminated recycled plastic bottles in The Rocks.

Take a walk around Sydney and be inspired.

Colour Chat on THE MORNING SHOW

Watch Samantha Bacon chat about colour on Channel 7’s The Morning Show. Samantha is a graduate of International School of Colour and Design. She has designed many colour schemes for projects in Sydney, the Central Coast of NSW and the Hunter Valley and is the colour expert for national lifestyle magazines, Modern Home and Country Home Ideas.

INSPIRATION :: A Lack of Colour

iscd student in Real Living Magazine

Wow! iscd student Kirrilee Phillips rug design is featured in the July issue of Real Living magazine.

“See a Penny Pick it Up” which Kirrilee designed as part of the Art on the floor competition with Designer Rugs was inspired by nostalgia – finding something with meaning and creating a fresh perspective.

Kirrilee says “Society is becoming much more environmentally aware, and we are looking back to the simplicity of our past, to push forward. The simplicity of my design creates a boldness and almost childlike element – where most nostalgia is drawn from. My design techniques were again quite simple – repetition of shape and cropping with an asymmetrical composition”

Well done Kirrilee!