The Appearance of Colour
Posted on October 8th, 2020 by Mathmos
We are sometimes asked why the colours of lava lamps look slightly different when you turn them on at home. Also why they look different in different lighting conditions.
So we took one of our new colours blue and pink in the Astro lava lamp and photographed it in different lighting conditions. We also commissioned Antoni Malinowski who is the colour consultant for the Architectural Association in London and a fine artist to look into this for us.

Antoni chose two different paints with different colours and different reflective qualities to illustrate how the same colour lava lamp can look so different in rooms painted different colours.

“The dark cool blue reflective background multiplies the lava effect through the sharp reflection. The pink of the lava bubbles combined with the blue becomes a strong and mysterious magenta. The blue background turns the turquoise liquid into the dramatic darkness of a night sky.” A. Malinowski
Buy Astro Lava Lamp – Blue/Pink

“The same lava lamp in front of the yellow ochre matt background creates a very different ambience. The warm yellow glow turns the lava bubbles a softer pink. The reflection on the wall is softly diffused – it gently mixes the pink reflection with the yellow shades.” A. Malinowski
Buy Astro Lava Lamp – Blue/Pink
We then photographed the same Astro in blue pink against a white wall with the lights on and with the lights off. See how different they are;


So when choosing your colour for your lava lamp think where you will put it, how you want it to appear and how you would like it to make you feel.