Notes on interdisciplinary perspectives of local colour identity

Abstract

The identity of a place is determined by its location and characteristics. Colour identity is a pervasive and persistent characteristic of a place that enhances the visual experience, and helps to create a familiar environment. The local colourscape, i.e. colours of the perceptual elements related to local characteristics, is embedded in the shared memory of a group of people, and may differentiate insiders from outsiders. Colour is a key feature in people’s experience of a place, and, as a distinctive visual component of urban heritage, colour is integral to creating and shaping the cultural identities of cities. This offers a way to counter the influence of globalisation, which tends to homogenise cities, making them all appear to be the same place. Local colour may be seen as a source of difference of cultural identities, which globalisation cannot entirely eradicate. The field of colour culture calls for an interdisciplinary approach, and these notes provide a theoretical basis for how colour can help to construct identity of place in the urban environment.