Thread by @culturaltutor

The world is becoming less colourful:

Greyscale colours now make up three quarters of cars produced globally, compared to less than 50% in the past.

Just look at a parking lot from the 1980s compared to one today.

This change has also happened to interior design.

These were the most popular colours of the paint brand Dulux in 2020:

And here are the most popular kitchen paint colours in the UK, from 2019-20.

Or compare a typical 1970s home to a modern designer home.

While it is wholly understandable not to miss the garish colours of bygone eras, it is interesting to note the change.

Similarly, there is a trend of whitewashing everything — be it made of wood, brick, plaster, or anything else.

While grey is now the most common carpet colour:

And neutral colours are by far the most popular when it comes to clothing:

Even McDonald's is less vibrant than it used to be!

In films, too, there has been a general trend (with some notable exceptions) toward neutral or darker colours and desaturation, whether in costume and set design or colour grading.

The evolution of Superman:

Some of this is related to building materials.

Concrete, steel, glass, and plastics, which dominate modern construction, are generally less rich and varied than the colours of wood, brick, terracotta, bronze, masonry, and so on.

But that doesn't really explain it, because steel or plastic or concrete can easily be painted any colour we like.

It's just the case that neutral colours are the ones we now choose.

In metros, for example, what might once have been green is now, by default, white or grey.

It wasn't so long ago that ovens, toasters, kettles, and fridges were almost always colourful, even when made from the same materials.

This trend includes just about everything, even... IKEA.

So the world is becoming less colourful, for good or for bad.

The only question is: why?

Is it just a fashion which will eventually pass, or something more fundamental?