4 ms·

It is particularly interesting to track the use of the bright colors. Pre-consumerist societies did not have a marketing sector so everything was more natural c

It is particularly interesting to track the use of the bright colors. Pre-consumerist societies did not have a marketing sector so everything was more natural color tinted (which to our eyes looks drab). So if you focus for example on the color red you find it is used extensively in political signaling context (not totally surprising given the location and era :-), to differentiate gender clothing and, in one instance, a religious building.

true_religion 3y ago
This isn’t really true. I think you maybe seeing things from a capitalist perspective. Usage of bright color is culturally dependent, and also geographically dependent when it comes to sourcing dye. For example west African counties have always used bright colors in fabric due to culture.
- nologic01 3y ago
  > I think you maybe seeing things from a capitalist perspective. The argument is that marketing has made cities more intensely colored. Its not a value judgement (maybe calm natural colors are better for the soul). It is also not a universal rule, there are places here and there that have a tradition of painting, e.g., house exteriors in intense colors (these days they are invariably tourist attractions - precisely because they are exceptions). > For example west African counties have always used bright colors in fabric due to culture Red appears in these photos in clothing context so not sure what this (dis)proves. Sourcing dyes for clothing has been a global trade mainstay from the earliest days of human civilization.
  - true_religion 3y ago
    At least some of those buildings are houses. Do you think what color homes are painted has more to do with marketing or culture and geography? How about the clothing choices. I see a lot of grey. Do you think that’s an unconscious choice due to lack of marketing for bright clothes? The red in clothing does stand out, but as other posters and the article say: red was closely associated with the communist party so using it is a political statement of solidarity, not a free fashion choice. Marketing may have an effect on making western cities more catching than they otherwise would be, but communist era Russia isn’t a good example of what that would look like. Due to other constraints (e.g. government control of factories and design industry) people were not really given free expression. This is an economic factor forcing an aesthetic. Similarly, if you live next to a quarry, you’ll have a lot of polished marble buildings in your town. This isn’t because you love white marble, but because it’s far cheaper than trees to you.
flohofwoe 3y ago
How does this consumerist-society-color-theory explain that car colors have mostly converged to drab black, gray and white though instead of distinguishable 'brand colors'? ;)
- midasuni 3y ago
  Because they sell better. Consumers want to drive grey cars. They won’t go to a shop with a grey sign though.
  - dan-robertson 3y ago
    Plenty of popular boutiques have grey signs.
- nologic01 3y ago
  Cars used in marketing context (advertising some brand) are definitely not gray :-) People generally like color in some measure and it obviously serves as sending a more intense signal. But in various contexts other factors may prevail (e.g maximizing the market for eventual sale) The interesting question is when does color get used more extensively (above average) and why.
- jen20 3y ago
  Those are the colours that you can choose without paying extra on most new cars.
dan-robertson 3y ago
I don’t really think your reasoning is correct. I think it’s more that Victorian fashions (and later) favoured those drab colours. Compare to eg medieval dress which was colourful (though limited by dyes) or the way old (catholic) churches were decorated. You can see the brightly coloured roofs from Red square for example. It was just taken on an overcast day with a 70+ year old camera. I think part of the drabness is limited by the technology, in the same way that Turner’s paintings are less colourful than those by Van Gogh. Another thing is the soot in the cities making everything generally dirty and perhaps also causing people to prefer darker outer layers.
JKCalhoun 3y ago
The bright colors made me wonder they are partly a result of the photos having been shot in early Autochrome. I didn't see mention of it in the article but the photos definitely remind me of photos in this YouTube video about the early color (and particularly Autochrome) film processes: https://youtu.be/QsN2PBhYMPI https://youtu.be/QsN2PBhYMPI
- flipthefrog 3y ago
  Autochrome was a much earlier process used around the turn of the century. These are most likely Kodachrome, a legendary slide film from Kodak with a very particular, pleasing color palette, whose colors hardly fade for decades.
asats 3y ago
Pre-consumerist russia had incredibly colorful dresses: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=traditional+russian+dress&t=ffab&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=traditional+russian+dress&t=ffab&i... If anything it's the communists that turned everyone into a gray mass, mostly because you had a very limited number of items of clothing that the state manufactured and you could buy, and the state decided on the color, and second because standing out in any way was at best frowned upon, and at worst dangerous, especially during stalin's times.
baud147258 3y ago
> Pre-consumerist societies did not have a marketing sector Soviet Russia totally did have a propaganda sector. And they sure used bright color, though limited by what colors were available.
storkhm 3y ago
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true_religion 3y ago

This isn’t really true. I think you maybe seeing things from a capitalist perspective. Usage of bright color is culturally dependent, and also geographically dependent when it comes to sourcing dye. For example west African counties have always used bright colors in fabric due to culture.

nologic01 3y ago
> I think you maybe seeing things from a capitalist perspective. The argument is that marketing has made cities more intensely colored. Its not a value judgement (maybe calm natural colors are better for the soul). It is also not a universal rule, there are places here and there that have a tradition of painting, e.g., house exteriors in intense colors (these days they are invariably tourist attractions - precisely because they are exceptions). > For example west African counties have always used bright colors in fabric due to culture Red appears in these photos in clothing context so not sure what this (dis)proves. Sourcing dyes for clothing has been a global trade mainstay from the earliest days of human civilization.
- true_religion 3y ago
  At least some of those buildings are houses. Do you think what color homes are painted has more to do with marketing or culture and geography? How about the clothing choices. I see a lot of grey. Do you think that’s an unconscious choice due to lack of marketing for bright clothes? The red in clothing does stand out, but as other posters and the article say: red was closely associated with the communist party so using it is a political statement of solidarity, not a free fashion choice. Marketing may have an effect on making western cities more catching than they otherwise would be, but communist era Russia isn’t a good example of what that would look like. Due to other constraints (e.g. government control of factories and design industry) people were not really given free expression. This is an economic factor forcing an aesthetic. Similarly, if you live next to a quarry, you’ll have a lot of polished marble buildings in your town. This isn’t because you love white marble, but because it’s far cheaper than trees to you.

flohofwoe 3y ago

How does this consumerist-society-color-theory explain that car colors have mostly converged to drab black, gray and white though instead of distinguishable 'brand colors'? ;)

midasuni 3y ago
Because they sell better. Consumers want to drive grey cars. They won’t go to a shop with a grey sign though.
- dan-robertson 3y ago
  Plenty of popular boutiques have grey signs.
nologic01 3y ago
Cars used in marketing context (advertising some brand) are definitely not gray :-) People generally like color in some measure and it obviously serves as sending a more intense signal. But in various contexts other factors may prevail (e.g maximizing the market for eventual sale) The interesting question is when does color get used more extensively (above average) and why.
jen20 3y ago
Those are the colours that you can choose without paying extra on most new cars.

dan-robertson 3y ago

I don’t really think your reasoning is correct. I think it’s more that Victorian fashions (and later) favoured those drab colours. Compare to eg medieval dress which was colourful (though limited by dyes) or the way old (catholic) churches were decorated. You can see the brightly coloured roofs from Red square for example. It was just taken on an overcast day with a 70+ year old camera. I think part of the drabness is limited by the technology, in the same way that Turner’s paintings are less colourful than those by Van Gogh. Another thing is the soot in the cities making everything generally dirty and perhaps also causing people to prefer darker outer layers.

JKCalhoun 3y ago

The bright colors made me wonder they are partly a result of the photos having been shot in early Autochrome. I didn't see mention of it in the article but the photos definitely remind me of photos in this YouTube video about the early color (and particularly Autochrome) film processes: https://youtu.be/QsN2PBhYMPI https://youtu.be/QsN2PBhYMPI

flipthefrog 3y ago
Autochrome was a much earlier process used around the turn of the century. These are most likely Kodachrome, a legendary slide film from Kodak with a very particular, pleasing color palette, whose colors hardly fade for decades.

asats 3y ago

Pre-consumerist russia had incredibly colorful dresses: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=traditional+russian+dress&t=ffab&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=traditional+russian+dress&t=ffab&i... If anything it's the communists that turned everyone into a gray mass, mostly because you had a very limited number of items of clothing that the state manufactured and you could buy, and the state decided on the color, and second because standing out in any way was at best frowned upon, and at worst dangerous, especially during stalin's times.

baud147258 3y ago

> Pre-consumerist societies did not have a marketing sector Soviet Russia totally did have a propaganda sector. And they sure used bright color, though limited by what colors were available.

storkhm 3y ago

[dead]