Ep. 45 Color Archeology, Trends and Forecasts with Montaha Hidefi, Color Archeologist, Author and Public Speaker

ABOUT MONTAHA HIDEFI:Montaha’s LinkedIn Profile:linkedin.com/in/montahahidefiWebsitewww.montahahidefi.cawww.colorl....anding.comwww.colora HIDEFI's Bio:A world-renowned Color Archeologist™, Montaha Hidefi centers her consultancy services on developing color trends foresights and color forecast projections, portfolio ideation and customized color related insights to small, medium, and large organizations on a global basis.In 2020, Montaha established the notion of Color Archaeology™, a trademark of her Color Landing Studio, to best define the practice of color forecasting and its intricacies. Color Archaeology incorporates the skills and expertise to track and observe societal trends, analyze how they are interpreted in current times, and predict how they will evolve into the future.A public speaker, Montaha lectures and keynotes about color and trends virtually and in-person at international events and company settings. Her articles on the subject matter are published in countless trade publications.Montaha serves at Color Marketing Group® (CMG) as Vice President of Color Forecasting, at the Executive Committee of the Colour Research Society of Canada (CRSC) and as Vice President of the Canadian Freelance Guild (CFG). She holds a comprehensive background in international marketing, color marketing and the coatings industry. Montaha was born and raised in South America, is an avid traveler and has lived and worked in the Middle East, Europe, and North America.She is the author of Giving Voice to My Silence, Dando voz a mi silencio, and Groping for Truth, and the co-author of Colour Design: Theories and Applications.SHOW INTRO:<br />On my first day of the freehand drawing studio at McGill University School of Architecture, the teacher, Gerry Tondino, explained that he would not teach us how to draw. Instead, he said, we would learn how to see. To understand light. How without light nothing exists. How it created form, texture, and color.I loved those classes where every week, for three hours, we would ‘learn to see.’ I took additional drawing classes in the evenings and Sketching School where we would travel to some location and spend a week drawing outdoors.And learn to see I did.Gerry Tondino fostered my love of drawing with his gentle teaching approach. He would walk the studio in his well-worn jean jacket saying “put a line at the top of the paper, now another one at the bottom, now draw the figure…” 30 seconds late he would say it again, and again, and again. The 3 hours studio seemed to go by in 30 second increments as we learned to see.Mostly we worked in black and white. Charcoal on newsprint paper.Color would come later. Color had its own challenges. Understanding color was tough. Understanding color was a process that went on for years. Even now in my recent paintings, color is a challenge but one I take on with enthusiasm. What color goes with what other color. How does one color seemingly change the hue of another simply because it is adjacent to or surrounding it? How is light reflected off of one object coloring another? Cool. Warm. Saturated. Transparent. Opaque.  I love color. Fuchsia particularly. To me, it is vibrant and signals enthusiasm and creative innovation. And then there is understa