If you find yourself organising a meeting or event, finding a suitable location within your budget will be your primary objective. It is less concrete considerations, however, which are likely to determine your final choice. Perhaps one room has the advantage of natural light, or attractive lighting for a night-time function. But when it comes to creating a positive impression, few things are more powerful than colour.
Pablo Picasso once observed that colour follows the changes of emotions. The great artist was reflecting the age-old knowledge that we all attach special feelings, meanings and symbolism to colours. Yet this is an insight too often overlooked by event organisers and venues. While companies spend a great deal of effort ensuring their brand logos and trademarked insignia are faithfully reproduced in colour printing or on the web, when it comes to branding their events the certainty is lost.
Colour psychologists argue that the human brain reacts instinctively to certain colours which are part of our natural environment: blue generates automatic associations with the sky and sea; red and orange have elemental links to the sun and fire; green gives a glimpse of the countryside.
Colour symbolism, on the other hand, explores the connections between colour and culture. These are associations which can differ radically depending on ethnic, religious or political backgrounds and even from generation to generation.
For example, depending on context and the eye of the beholder, the colour green could signify Irishness to a Dubliner, Islam to an Indonesian, environmentalism to a young Singaporean or Taiwanese separatism to a Taipei voter.
But preventing controversial or potentially insulting misuse of colour is only one aspect of the issue. Event organisers and designers can use their knowledge of colour to increase the impact of presentations, displays, stages and costumes. Venues can use colour to alter the mood and ambience of a meeting room, and lighting can complement this, offering even limited spaces the ability to evoke different responses each time they are used.
This applies not only to fixed fittings, such as curtains, carpets, walls and ceilings, but to mobile elements as well. Flowers and vases, table and chair covers, are an obvious way of adding a splash of colour to a staid meeting room. Even small, unobtrusive details, such as ice-blue water jugs and drinking glasses, can give a room a refreshing feel.
These tips can be applied to larger elements, such as backdrops, signage and presentation material. Red is a strong vibrant hue on the spectrum and as such often strikes the human eye in such a way that red items appear closer than those in other colours. Unsurprisingly, that's the reason why red is used in traffic lights and stop signs to warn drivers. Red imagery stands out strongly and red backgrounds are eye-catching.
Even black and white, which are not strictly speaking colours, may seem to some unimaginative but can be used to convey authority and seriousness, as well as offering a backdrop for more vibrant shades.
Colour is such a key part of our everyday life that its impact can easily be ignored by busy organisers. However, used properly and with flair, colour can lift your event or venue above the ordinary.
Hotels and colour
From the guest room to the meeting room, the poolside to the spa, colours can be used to reinforce a hotel's positioning and mark out business areas from relaxation points. Business Traveller looks at four London properties which have benefited from a modern makeover
Park Inn Heathrow
A theme of walnut and lime dominates what will be the largest and most attractive conference centre at Heathrow, and one of the largest in the UK, when it opens on April 1 at the Park Inn.
It is the first time that such a design-led environment has been brought out to Heathrow. The new centre, at 2,000 sqm of versatile space, has nine conference and meeting rooms which can be joined or separated to accommodate up to 700 delegates in striking theatre-style surroundings. It will take the number of meeting spaces at the hotel up to 45.
The interior design scheme has been styled to complement the spectrum of clients the hotel caters for – from sober-suited seminars to glamorous and glitzy parties and receptions. On entry, a stunning black-tiled floor is contrasted against abstract rugs in limes and acid yellows, whilst the imposing reception counter has been styled in black American walnut and lime Corian.
Black walnut features again in the meeting rooms and main banqueting suite as acoustic wall panellings and the large windows are screened with either sliding fabric panels or coloured sheer curtains. Even the toilets have been given a stylish edge, with the wall panellings within the cubicles featuring full-size images of Hollywood icons, including Audrey Hepburn and James Dean.
Contact tel +44 (0)20 8759 6611, parkinn.com
The Mayfair
Designer Michael Attenborough has used colour sparingly but to stunning effect in the revamped Mayfair Hotel. Formerly part of the Intercontinental group, the property was taken over three years ago by Radisson, which has spent £75 million on a complete refurbishment.
Throughout the building, a subdued background palette now forms the setting for vivid splashes of colour provided by original oriental artworks and contemporary minimalist furniture. Each of the 12 private meeting rooms is accented with framed antique silk kimonos in rich jewel colours, which are complemented by chairs in brilliant shades of red, blue and yellow.
The private theatre, which seats 201 and features the latest in interactive technology, is styled in a whirl of funky Seventies pinks and greens, while the oriental theme is continued in the famous Crystal ballroom, where the £1 million Baccarat chandelier is now set off by a delicate orchid motif on glowing chagreen.
"We wanted to get back to the Deco feel of the 1920s, when the hotel was first opened, and rediscover the grandness it must have had," says Attenborough.
Contact tel +44 (0)20 7629 7777, radissonedwardian.com
86 Park Lane
The second phase of Grosvenor House's £50 million renovation programme has seen 86 Park Lane, which houses the hotel's meeting rooms, emerging from an 18-month renovation.
Acquired by Marriott in February 2004 and currently undergoing a three-year restoration to become a UK flagship property for JW Marriott, the hotel has some of London's largest meeting spaces in the Great Room and the Ballroom (once an ice rink). Now it also has 20 meeting rooms able to accommodate between 10 and 400 delegates.
Managed as a separate entity within the hotel, 86 Park Lane has its own reception and independently-run kitchen. All 20 rooms have natural daylight, and the fresh colours of greens and golds enhance the proximity to Hyde Park, which a number of rooms overlook. The entrance is from either Park Lane or Park Street, with its historic wrought-iron gates designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in the 1930s. A mixture of antique and original furniture, along with the hotel's carefully-restored collection of art, give a sophisticated boardroom look.
Contact tel +44 (0)207 499 6363, grosvenor-house.co.uk
Intercontinental Park Lane
Few hotels offer the opportunity to be more flexible with colour than the Intercontinental Park Lane, another old stalwart which has recently emerged from a major refit.
J2 Designs have deliberately created a blank canvas on to which companies can project their own vision. The décor is studiously neutral, but state-of-the-art lighting systems can create stunning effects in a rainbow of colours at the touch of a button.
Starting at the separate entrance adjacent to the hotel, which leads to the events floor via an impressive sweeping staircase, organisers can create a bespoke décor using lights and projection. In the Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 750 guests or be divided into three sections for smaller groups, coffered ceilings and wall recesses can be flooded with coloured light, while backlit columns provide a striking contrast to the wood-panelled walls.
The décor in the six event suites and six meeting rooms is austere and masculine, with dark wood panelling and black leather chairs, but floor-to-ceiling windows offer copious natural light as well as views over Hyde Park and St James's Park, while lighting sets can create a warmer feel for evening functions.
Contact tel +44 (0)870 400 9650, intercontinental.com
