What happens when a brand working in paint for years has to unveil the world’s largest architectural colour library? How does one represent 5,300 colours as a universe? When renowned architect and artist Suchi Reddy was confronted with this question by industry giant Asian Paints, her innovative and human-centric approach to design was challenged further. And thus was born her Chromacosm installation, designed around how an artist saw the infinite universe of colour.

Suchi Reddy | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

At Mumbai’s Snowball Studios earlier this week, New York-based Reddy created a maze of vertical pipes, fashioned like a dense jungle that was — the best part — black with white strips on the outside and bursting with colour inside. Each pipe had shades of colours, separated by a white strip which acted as a differentiator. That’s over 2,000 shades. Transitioning from black to vivid colour, the rods represented a totality of colour, hinting at the possibilities with Asian Paints’ Chromacosm.

Counting neuroaesthetic installations

“To me, colour was never two-dimensional. I never understood how people saw any colour as a two-dimensional thing. To me, a colour is always 3-D. And that is what I have tried to represent in this art installation,” said Reddy, whose practice Reddymade is known for “a design ethos informed by neuroaesthetics”. This involves studying how the brain responds to the design of its surroundings and is seen in some of her most popular projects — Google’s first ever retail store in New York City (2021) is one example. It has a glazed facade overlooking the popular Chelsea Market, warm and tactile materials inside, and a partially open cylindrical structure made from tubes of extruded glass that are suspended between the floor and ceiling. Visitors enter this Imagination Space to interact with a futuristic bank of screens to learn more about Google products and tech.

Reddy is also known for jaw-dropping installations in Washington DC, such as the interactive AI and light sculpture titled Me + you at the Arts and Industries Building of the Smithsonian Museum. And last year, there was Look Here at the National Building Museum, featuring reflective fractals and referencing kaleidoscopes and ancient Japanese magic mirrors. So what went into her latest, for Asian Paints, which we understand will be on display for public viewing at the Architecture and Design Film Festival at NCPA from January 9 to 12, 2025? “The idea of colour being a cosmos is interesting. I didn’t want it to be a series of colours. I wanted to randomise it. It is the randomness and diversity of everything that happens around us. And why black? Because the cosmos is black. It holds everything,” Reddy explained at the launch event.“To me, colour was never two-dimensional. I never understood how people saw any colour as a two-dimensional thing. To me, a colour is always 3D. And that is what I have tried to represent in this art installation,” said Reddy, whose practice Reddymade is known for “a design ethos informed by neuroaesthetics”. This involves studying how the brain responds to the design of its surroundings and is seen in some of her most popular projects — Google’s first-ever retail store in New York City (2021) is one example. It has a glazed facade overlooking the popular Chelsea Market, warm and tactile materials inside, and a partially open cylindrical structure made from tubes of extruded glass that are suspended between the floor and ceiling. Visitors enter this Imagination Space to interact with a futuristic bank of screens to learn more about Google products and tech. Reddy is also known for jaw-dropping installations in Washington DC, such as the interactive AI and light sculpture titled Me + you at the Arts and Industries Building of the Smithsonian Museum. And last year, there was Look Here at the National Building Museum, featuring reflective fractals and referencing kaleidoscopes and ancient Japanese magic mirrors. So what went into her latest, for Asian Paints, which we understand will be on display for public viewing at the Architecture and Design Film Festival at NCPA, January 9-12, 2025? “The idea of colour being a cosmos is interesting. I didn’t want it to be a series of colours. I wanted to randomise it. It is the randomness and diversity of everything that happens around us. And why black? Because the cosmos is black. It holds everything,” Reddy explained at the launch event.

Not just for architects

With her track record, it’s no wonder that Asian Paints knew Reddy was the person to design their installation to celebrate the world’s largest architectural colour system featuring over 5,300 unique shades. “It is set to revolutionise the way architects, designers and industry professionals engage with colour,” said Amit Syngle, MD and CEO of Asian Paints.

Amit Syngle | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

The paint sector in India is seeing serious competition with big players such as Aditya Birla and JSW recently entering the ring. Asian Paints has also just undergone a top-level reshuffle with a couple of exits from its senior management. On Thursday, their share prices hit a 52-week low on the BSE. But Syngle has often insisted that he is not worried about new entrants. In April he told this newspaper, “I think there is enough space for everyone... we think our strengths are strong enough to help us forge ahead.” Supply, distribution and innovations were some of the strengths he highlighted in that interview. So the company’s colour library presented in exhaustive detail earlier this week comes at the right time to attract consumer interest.

All colour families present

“It isn’t about a certain number of colours. It is the nuance and passion behind it, which is important,” said Syngle. “Recognising the industry’s need for an expansive yet unified colour repository, Asian Paints has created a streamlined system by using a combination of algorithmic and visual methods, with over 5,300 shades arranged by hue and depth. One of the key features of Chromacosm is its ability to present all nuances of a given colour family, from the lightest to the darkest in intensity and saturation. This allows designers to view and compare every shade within a colour family at a single glance, streamlining the decision-making process and ensuring that the final selection aligns perfectly with the designer’s vision,” he said further.

Asian Paints is looking at this colour system to be appropriated not just across the world of coating, but also in every trade where design is involved.