Colour in the British Interwar by Dr Becky Gooby on 29 January 2025
Announcing the fifth in our series of colour lectures ‘From Colour Fundamentals to Colour Applications Across Design and Industry’ will be on 29 January 2025 and presented by Dr Becky Gooby, who will be talking about ‘Colour in the British Interwar’ Eventbrite
Introduction
The British Interwar period (1918–1939) is not typically recognised for its use of colour, yet this era saw significant advancements that reshaped colour research and application across the arts and sciences. Affordable chemical dyes, synthetic fabrics, durable paints, and improved wallpaper and textile printing techniques increased material and colouration possibilities, and enabled the imitation of expensive looks, making luxurious aesthetics more accessible. Innovation in colorimetry and shifts in international trade drove the need for colour order. This presentation charts these progressions and notes the emergence of distinctly British colour palettes: the refined British Moderne and the more vibrant modernistic, revealing how this period laid the groundwork for a more colourful mid-20th-century.
Biographical note
Dr. Becky Gooby is a researcher of colour in textiles, digital technology, and historical design. Her AHRC 3D3 CDT funded doctorate at Centre for Print Research, UWE Bristol developed a modality of visual methods to predict and resolve colour challenges in digital textile printing, drawing inspiration from British Interwar palettes to create a real-world case for testing these to blend historical insight with contemporary discourse. A key output, demonstrating the importance and value of her research, is a highly successful article, published in Journal of Textile Design Research, (DOI 10.1080/20511787.2020.1827802).
She is currently developing The Colourette, a consultancy focused on contemporary and historical colour and colour management and has a forthcoming chapter in the Wiley Blackwell Companion to Colour titled Colour in Residential Interiors during the British Interwar Period.
Approximate length of lecture is 30 minutes. The lecture will be accessible on the day and during the afternoon from 12.00 (GMT) midday until midnight.
About the lecture series at University of the West of England: “From Colour Fundamentals to Colour Applications across Design and Industry”
Understanding the role of colours across industries varies significantly. It requires different skills, languages, and tools to communicate effectively and accurately. The series of lectures, “From Colour Fundamentals to Colour Applications across Design and Industry”, comprises nine inspirational women speakers who are experts and practitioners in their field. All are working and drawing from their disciplines, including in printing, fashion design, product design, art, interior design, built environment (design, materials, urban planning, conservation), and material science and production, and will explore and discuss current thinking about the role of colours across disciplines.
Forthcoming lectures:
29/01/2025 Becky Gooby – Colour in the British Interwar Eventbrite
12/02/2025 Laura Morgan – Towards Sustainable Colour: Rethinking Practices for Production, Application and Design.
26/02/2025 Agata Kwiatkowska-Lubańska – Material and Finish in Contemporary Design
12/03/2025 Justyna Tarajko-Kowalska – The Connections Between Color, Architecture, and Space – Does Color Unite or Divide us?
26/03/2025 Grazyna Wiejak-Roy – Colour Appearance in the Built Environment
(passed) Vien Cheung – Colour Theories in the Western and Eastern Cultures
(passed) Carinna Parraman – Colour in Art and Perception
(passed) Alexandra Loske – Women colour theorists and historians through the century
15/01/2025 Stephanie Wooster – Colour and Fashion Trends Eventbrite
For more information please visit https://cfpr.uwe.ac.uk
Centre for Print Research, University of the West of England, Bristol
Lecture series Co-ordinators: Carinna Parraman and Grazyna Wiejak-Roy
