COLOUR IN THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY: THE ROLE AND USE IN JAKARTA URBAN AREA

Authors

  • Lila Yahya Lecturer School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Faculty of Economic and Management BINUS University/ BINUS International Indonesia
  • Indra Kusumawardhana Program Coordinator School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Faculty of Economic and Management BINUS University/ BINUS International Indonesia

Abstract

Colour pervades every aspect of people’s lives, as it is manifested in every single object in the environment.Colour defines the world, for nothing has meaning without colour. Restaurant industry is among many industries that can be benefited with the effective use of colour. When people eat out, they seek more than just good food.They want a meal experience which includes both tangible and intangible aspects. Food and drink fall into tangible aspect when service, atmosphere, and mood are some of intangible aspects in ones’ meal experience. Atmosphere contributes a great deal to the whole meal experience. Together with other aspects such as design, music, lighting, and temperature, colour makes the atmosphere of restaurant. The appropriate use of colour is known to have major impact on the atmosphere. Designing a colour scheme requires careful consideration since different people have different tastes. However there is no theoretical and empirical knowledge regarding what the role of colour and how the use of colour is in the Jakarta urban area’s restaurant. Therefore to evaluate the importance of colour towards customer’s patronage and its effectiveness used in a restaurant should be taken into consideration in creating the best atmosphere that can influence their appetite and food consumption. Semistructured and in-depth interviews has been taken onto young people aged 19-25 around Jakarta urban area that represents a customer group of restaurant industry the findings reveal that restaurateurs should take into account the use of white, green (especially soft green) and blues as the predominant colour; these are the colour that young people like best for restaurant surroundings. In Addition, principles of colours harmonies and combinations should also be applied, because basically colour monotony is not an option. The intelligent use of colour prevails over the intituitive one.

Key Words: Restaurant, Eating Out, Colour

For full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.lk

Published

2012-02-25