Pastel Inspirations From The SAG-And-Emmy-Award-Winning Squid Game
The most watched K-Drama on Netflix makes use of candy colors to tell the story of a psychological thriller
Squid Game (Netflix, 2021) is the most watched kdrama on Netflix. The story is based on a game and how to survive it at any cost. This series represents a denunciation of contemporary society through its vices represented by certain aspects of the game and the choice of its competitors with social, psychological, money or health problems.
The money and the extreme situations of each competitor are opposed to a very colorful set full of references to art, the use of color and cinema. In fact, from the first episodes rules and choices are established through the use of color; the green suits of the competitors and the red ones of the guards or from the choice of cards for the recruitment game.
Among the many distinctive features of the drama emerges a very particular care of the environments in which the scenes are shot. Most noticeable of the visual elements used in the series are the pastel colors. Employed to tell the story of a bloodthirsty thriller, pastels in this series evoke a jarring, unsettling effect on the viewer.
A look at the architectural inspiration for this series will clue one in on the use of pastels in the built environment:
Photo Gallery
Photo Gallery
Ricardo Bofill’s Muralla Roja
Beyond the disturbing element of the rooms furnished like children's rooms that then turn into bloody arenas, we can be inspired by a style that is anything but anonymous that plays on the combination of pastel colors.
Photo Credit: Still from Squid Game, Netflix, 2021
Ricardo Bofill’s Muralla Roja
A famous scene from Squid Game is set in a complex interweaving of pastel-colored stairs reminiscent of the Muralla Roja in Alicante by Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill.
Photo Credit: Muralla Roja in Alicante by Ricardo Boffill
Ricardo Bofill’s Muralla Roja
This complex includes fifty private apartments, of various sizes, which share interconnected patios. The roof of the Muralla Roja also includes a solarium, a swimming pool and a sauna for the exclusive use of residents. The color plays a fundamental role in indicating the different functions defined by red for the residences and the various shades of blue for the common areas.
Photo Credit: @privat_fotowb
Ricardo Bofill’s Muralla Roja
His architectures seem to come out of a world of fantasy and surrealist joy. The Ricardo Bofill – Taller de Arquitectura studio in Barcelona focuses on creating dynamic spaces in which the human scale is central. Competence and sensitivity to cultural aspects are characteristic of the architecture of Ricardo Bofill who has created, in addition to the Muralla Roja in Alicante, also the South Terminal of Barcelona El Prat Airport and the Rambla de Mar in Barcelona, the United Continental Headquarters in Chicago and the Frontemare in Salerno, Italy.
Photo Credit: @privat_fotowb
Interior Design
Pastel hues evoke fairy and magical worlds and not just bloodthirsty as in Squid Game. In fact, there are many architectural firms and interior designers who have created furniture using these shades of color for indoor environments and sometimes for public spaces. One such firm is Studio Sam Buckley, whose specialty is creating a space that is anything but ordinary, with the use of bespoke colors, furniture and accessories.
Photo Credit: @studiosambuckley
Interior Design
We can be inspired by some furnishing elements such as chairs, tables and upholstery or by painting the walls of the room, the entrance and the stairs with these pastel shades. Colors such as pale pink, light green and sky blue give a unique personality to the rooms.
Photo Credit: @studiosambuckley
Interior Design
In addition, these soft colors adapt to different styles and go well with the color of wood. If anything, they create a truly memorable space, with a dreamy and soft impression.
Photo Credit: @studiosambuckley
Artistic Inspiration By Teresa Freitas
If you are in Korea you can find another source of inspiration to better understand this candy style. In fact, the exhibition "Springtime Delight" shows works by Portuguese artist and conceptual photographer, Teresa Freitas. This show was just been inaugurated at The Gallery By Hyundai in Seoul.
Photo Credit: @teresacfreitas
Artistic Inspiration By Teresa Freitas
The exhibition shows a mix of architecture, nature, travel and art photographs that are rendered in distinctly dreamlike pastel colors.
Photo Credit: @saracerutti
Artistic Inspiration By Teresa Freitas
But if you can not visit this exhibition in person, view Teresa Freitas's works at @teresacfreitas.
Photo Credit: @bluestonelapis
Artistic Inspiration By Teresa Freitas
Photo Credit: @from.hye
Banner Images Stills From Squid Game, Netflix 2021.
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