Saturated: The Allure and Science of Color | Exhibitions | Collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

This exhibition was on display from May 11, 2018 to January 13, 2019.

Color is an illusion, but not an unfounded illusion. —C.L. Hardin, Color for Philosophers, 1988. Color shouts or whispers to us from every corner of our world, saturates nearly every surface we touch. An objective, quantifiable event, color is also a subjective personal experience, different for every person and deeply intertwined with language and memory. Color perception is an elusive, complex phenomenon that is still not fully understood, despite centuries of research by artists and designers, scientists and philosophers. Yet designers deploy color everyday, across an incredibly wide array of media. Used effectively, color helps us to navigate our physical world, organize and ingest information, and make decisions as consumers. Saturated brings together extraordinary rare books from Smithsonian Libraries and compellingly colorful objects from Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection to explore how the sensory experience of color has been conceived by history's greatest color thinkers, visualized with graphic tools and models, and used by designers to bring both order and excitement to our visual world.

Book, The Series of Plates Designed as Tests for Colour Blindness, 1936

Book, The Series of Plates Designed as Tests for Colour Blindness, 1936
H x W (each plate): 12 × 12 cm (4 3/4 × 4 3/4 in.).
Smithsonian Libraries, RE921 .I75 1936X.
92.2016.36a/d

There are 9 images of this object.

This object has not been digitized yet.

Book, Pantone color deck, 2014
H x diam.: 5.1 × 40.6 cm (2 × 16 in.).
Gift of Pantone?.
92.2016.52

THIS OBJECT IS NOT PUBLIC

Flat rectangular aluminum handle with brushed surface, adonized green. Rectangular blade adonized purple with rounded outer point and bevelled cutting edge. Blade affixed to handle side with three silver rivets.

Signature Collection: Picnic Flatware Dinner Knife, 1986
anodized aluminum.
Museum purchase from Eleanor G. Hewitt Fund.
1986-94-1

This object is part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts collection.
There are 6 images of this object.

Vertical rectangular form of orange aluminum with large rectangular screen above circular white click wheel with control symbols.

iPod Nano Digital Media Player, 2009
sheet aluminum, glass, polycarbonate.
Gift of Apple.
2010-34-1

This object was made by Apple Inc..
This object is part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts collection.
There are 5 images of this object.

Silver Streak Iron, ca. 1946
molded and emulsion-painted pyrex glass, cast and nickel-plated steel, molded....
Gift of George R. Kravis II.
2015-5-12

This object is part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts collection.
There are 3 images of this object.

the circular plate enameled with samples of varying shades of purple, mauve and russet, in rectangular patches with degrees of shading numbered 831-835 and with the date 3-I-48 on the side of each, on slightly over half the plate, and with samples of border decoration in the same colors and numbers, plus one labelled "Staffage 1551" on the remainder of the rim.

Sample Plate (Bavaria), 1948
molded, enameled and glazed hard-paste porcelain.
Gift of Michele Oka Doner in honor of Lisa Roberts.
2014-52-1

This object is part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts collection.
There are 2 images of this object.

Allover pixelated color gradient calendar design with a large apple. At top, The days of the week in black text with "AUGUST 1970."

Calendar, August 1970, 1970
lithograph on paper.
Gift of Unknown Donor.
n-d-1632

This object is part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design collection.
There are 2 images of this object.

Pattern of arabesque-petalled blossoms in blue and pink with red dots and dark brown circles, with leaves and stems in dark brown in the interstices on a sky blue background.

Drawing, Textile Design: Akropolis (Acropolis), 1910–11
brush and gouache on paper.
Museum purchase from Smithsonian Collections Acquisition and Decorative Arts....
1988-62-148

This object is part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design collection.
There are 3 images of this object.

Pattern of arabesque-petalled blossoms in black and light salmon with yellow dots and brown circles, with leaves and stems in brown in the interstices on a blue background.

Drawing, Textile Design: Akropolis (Acropolis), 1910–11
brush and gouache on paper.
Museum purchase from Smithsonian Collections Acquisition and Decorative Arts....
1988-62-149

This object is part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design collection.
There are 3 images of this object.

Pattern of arabesque-petalled blossoms in peach and lavender with tan dots and dark brown circles, with leaves and stems in dark brown in the interstices on a plum background.

Drawing, Textile Design: Akropolis (Acropolis), 1910–11
brush and gouache on paper.
Museum purchase from Smithsonian Collections Acquisition and Decorative Arts....
1988-62-150

This object is part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design collection.
There are 3 images of this object.

Pattern of arabesque-petalled blossoms in yellow and light lavender with mustard yellow dots and dark purple circles, with leaves and stems in dark purple in the interstices on a brown background.

Drawing, Textile Design: Akropolis (Acropolis), 1910–11
brush and gouache on paper.
Museum purchase from Smithsonian Collections Acquisition and Decorative Arts....
1988-62-151

This object is part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design collection.
There are 3 images of this object.

Pattern of arabesque-petalled blossoms in moss and whitish-blue with orange-red dots and light turquoise circles, with leaves and stems in light turquoise in the interstices on a gray background.

Drawing, Textile Design: Akropolis (Acropolis), 1910–11
brush and gouache on paper.
Museum purchase from Smithsonian Collections Acquisition and Decorative Arts....
1988-62-152

This object is part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design collection.
There are 3 images of this object.

Pattern of arabesque-petalled blossoms in orange and white with yellow dots and red circles, with leaves and stems in red in the interstices on a light orange background.

Drawing, Textile Design: Akropolis (Acropolis), 1910–11
brush and gouache on paper.
Museum purchase from Smithsonian Collections Acquisition and Decorative Arts....
1988-62-153

This object is part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design collection.
There are 3 images of this object.

Pattern of arabesque-petalled blossoms in greenish-gray and light bluish-white with mustard yellow dots and chartreuse circles, with leaves and stems in chartreuse in the interstices on a green background.

Drawing, Textile Design: Akropolis (Acropolis), 1910–11
brush and gouache on paper.
Museum purchase from Smithsonian Collections Acquisition and Decorative Arts....
1988-62-154

This object is part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design collection.
There are 3 images of this object.

Pattern of arabesque-petalled blossoms in grayish-green and white with light blue dots and navy circles, with leaves and stems in navy in the interstices on a sky blue background.

Drawing, Textile Design: Akropolis (Acropolis), 1910–11
brush and gouache on paper.
Museum purchase from Smithsonian Collections Acquisition and Decorative Arts....
1988-62-155