Mnemosphere Project – Colour & Emotion
The colour issue: How can colour translate memory and emotion into spatial experience?
Colour and emotion | Colour semantics | Colour memory | Exhibition Design
Mnemosphere is an interdisciplinary research project that explores the deep connections between memory, emotion, and atmosphere—three powerful forces that shape how we perceive and experience space. The name itself is a fusion of these themes: MN (memory), EMO (emotion), and SPHERE (atmosphere).
The project investigates how personal and collective memories are embedded in places, how emotions influence spatial perception, and how atmosphere can be designed to evoke meaningful experiences. Central to this inquiry is the role of colour—as a trigger of memory, a carrier of emotion, and a key design element in shaping the atmosphere of a space.
My role as colour consultant and co-researcher focused on developing a theoretical and practical framework for understanding the role of colour within this triad. To ground this framework in visual culture, we launched an open call for image submissions, gathering a diverse range of visual materials. From this collection, I developed a colour research methodology that translated the visual and formal characteristics of the images—whether figurative, geometric, organic, or abstract—into chromatic data. I identified the most recurring hues and mapped out emotional colour “landscapes” by analysing key attributes such as brightness and saturation, which are essential for conveying meaning and atmosphere.
These colour landscapes offer a tool for understanding how people emotionally connect with colour in relation to space and memory, and how this can inform design decisions in contexts such as exhibitions, installations, and public spaces. Mnemosphere was publicly funded through the MiniFARB program for interdisciplinary research, promoted by the Department of Design at Politecnico di Milano, Italy.
Project Team: Marta Elisa Cecchi, Clorinda Sissi Galasso, Ingrid Calvo Ivanovic, Ambra Borin, Claudia Mastrantoni, Martina Scagnoli
Years: 2020-2023
See more: Mnemosphere Project Book
