Today we take it for granted that c

Today we take it for granted that colour is infinitely varied, affordable and everywhere – the epitome of cheap and cheerful. Yet technological advances in printing and reproduction, in paints and dyes and in visual communications of all forms, mean that we live in a much more coloOur world is not only more colourful than it was in the past, but we also encounter much more visual stimulus in our daily lives, not simply through mass media, such as the internet, television and film, but also through the ease with which we can travel to far-flung corners of the globe, an exposure that has opened our eyes to the vital role colour plays in different cultures. Only half a century or so ago, unless you were very well-heeled or exceptionally adventurous, you would have to rely on second-hand descriptions or poor-quality reproductions of those vibrant colour com combinations that today every gap-year traveller can see for themselves: the ice-cream colours of the Caribbean, the vibrant pinks and reds of Rajasthan, the hot and spicy palette of Central America, or the free-for-all of Holi, the Hindu spring festival, where people pelt each other with coloured powder and coloured water. Such exuberant examples of a delight in colour for its own sake cannot fail to have an impact on a home-grown colour sense. urful world than ever before.