Context is Everything
“Whenever we start a project, we look at how we bring a positive change to how people experience the subject matter that we are working on. In this case this raised the question: ‘how can we use the Keaykolour range to educate designers about colour?’”, says Golnar Roshan, co-founder of creative agency Design & Practice. “When designing for a creative audience we are working for our peers, which brings both a lot of excitement as we know we’ll have a knowledgeable audience, as well as some healthy pressure knowing each recipient is a critic. By sharing some of the studio’s longstanding areas of inspiration of research with fellow creatives, the hope is that the Keaykolour inspiration tool adds value to each recipients.” One of the long term inspirators of the studio is Josef Albers, as well as his wife Anni. Their practical and theoretical research into colour and composition have been an inspiration to generations of designers. In his book Interaction of Color, Albers stated that color is the most relative medium in art. “In order to use color effectively, it is necessary to recognise that color deceives continually.”– Josef Albers According to Creative Director and co-founder Ruben de la Rive Box, the partnership was a natural fit. ‘We were deeply inspired by the role colour plays in design and the incredibly rich palette of Keaykolour,’ he explains. “We also run Rive Roshan, a conceptual design studio focussed on innovative material use and collectible design objects, in which colour plays an elemental role. Consequently, we felt this project was a sort of homecoming for us.” The new Keaykolour inspiration tool brings colour theory to life. It moves away from the static ‘library' approach of traditional sample books and invites you to play. Through a series of cards featuring cut-out windows and marquetry-style combinations, the tool demonstrates how a single sheet of Biscuit or Particles Sunshine can shift dramatically depending on its neighbour.
Diving deeper into colour theory
While Albers was a foundational source of this project, the creative process was informed by deep research into the broader history of colour theory. Golnar Roshan: “The interesting thing about colour is that there’s an intuitiveness to it as much as there is scientific theory. In that sense it’s a good metaphor for design; the theory and craft inform your decisions, but you can only really ‘feel’ whether the result is right.” For the two partners the subject of colour was far from a blank slate, having incorporated it as a core ingredient in many of their projects, from the self-produced collection of Colour Shift Panels to client projects, including Dutch furniture brand Moooi and Antalis’ own Olin Colour. For designers looking to further their knowledge of colour, the Keaykolour tool serves as the perfect physical introduction to several key concepts: Simultaneous Contrast (M.E. Chevreul): Notice how the new Keaykolour Coral vibrates differently when placed against Teal versus Guardsman Red. Chevreul’s law states that the eye exaggerates differences at the edges where colours meet. This theory likely informed a lot of the thinking of Josef Albers. The Seven Contrasts (Johannes Itten): Colours can form contrast in different ways, and the Keaykolour tool encourages you to experiment not just with hue, but with ‘Contrast of Extension’ (how much space a color occupies) and ‘Contrast of Saturation’ (placing vivid foils against muted papers). Texture as a Colour Variable: Colour is not just pigment, it is light reflected off a surface. This theory is not linked to a specific author but plays a big role in paper. Texture acts as a crucial colour variable by altering how we perceive colour’s lightness, depth and mood through light absorption, shadow creation, and surface quality, making colours appear softer on rough surfaces and more vibrant and defined on smooth ones. The new Keaykolour range introduces extra heavy black and white papers and new embossed textures. As light hits these ridges, it creates micro-shadows that alter the perceived value of the color—a phenomenon impossible to replicate digitally.
The Collaboration between client and agency
This project was realised through a longstanding collaboration between Antalis and Design & Practice. The studio, led by Creative Directors Ruben de la Rive Box and Golnar Roshan, took a holistic approach, managing everything from early concept and color research to the final campaign photography in their in-house studio. “Our goal was to create an instrument that would empower exploration,” says Golnar Roshan. “By giving creatives confidence with color, you open up new ways of telling stories and connecting with audiences.” Trust in the creative process is often a delicate topic in a client-agency relationship, because the outcome is uncertain and the stakes are high. Yet, the best results are often yielded when creative strategy is free to run its course. Ruben de la Rive Box: “Antalis was fully on board with the concept from the beginning and pushed us to pursue the most daring interpretations of our thinking. Ultimately their pivotal rol within the creative industry is to inspire, educate and support creatives and they understand that this role asks for pushing the boundaries of what a good inspiration tool is”. The duration of the collaboration plays a role here as well. “Since we have been working with Antalis for half a decade now, and have been involved in some pivotal moments in the strategic development of their creative paper business segment, we have come to understand the company and the market they serve, which helps us innovate and evolve our design solutions.” To execute on the ambitious vision, the team turned to their long-time collaborators, Atelier Bulk. Based in Bordeaux, Atelier Bulk is renowned for pushing the boundaries of modern print production. Together, they utilised micro-embossed hot foils and 3D sculpted embossing to create a tool that is as much a feat of engineering as it is a design object.
Extending the campaign
To launch the tool, Design & Practice created a holistic campaign to publish the work across several channels. The studio created creative photography and e-commerce photography of the range and the tool in its own photography studio, capturing the concept and the rich textures of the range. Design & Practice has had art direction, image making and photography as a part of their service offering from the beginning, recognising the importance of good photography to support design and marketing efforts. In the case of Keaykolour, this meant capturing the playful concept of rich colour relationships as well as a very concise post-production process, to ensure an accurate digital representation of the colour and texture of the paper. A behind the scenes documentary showed more insight in how the concept was conceived, following the design process within the agency as the concept was taking shape. Following the team in the development of the tool, it offered a glimpse into the inner workings of the agency and it showed the tool coming to live from the early stages of conception. A stop motion animation showcased the endless compositions of Keaykolour, animated to a unique music score that was created in collaboration with a sound engineer. Online and digital reach is crucial to reach a global audience, and it creates a desire to experience the tool in real life. It ultimately underlines the core message: for Antalis, this relaunch of Keaykolour is an affirmation of paper’s enduring role in creative culture. Digital tools are efficient, but they lack tactility and direct interaction. The Keaykolour renewed identity reminds us that physical experience – the friction of paper, the catch of light on foil, the weight of a card – remains a powerful driver of inspiration.
Written for Creative Power by Antalis. First published on antalis.com
