What if the colors we see are shaped by the places we call home?

The warmth of the sun in Dubai, the soft northern light of Alaska, the vibrant streets of Bangalore. We all live under the same sky, yet our experience of light, and therefore color, can be remarkably different.

But how much does geography influence the way we see the world? And how does it shape the colors we feel connected to?

These were the questions at the heart of What Color Do You See? Same World. Different Light., an interactive workshop we had the pleasure of developing alongside Gensler and Lamp for the 34th Color and Imaging Conference (CIC34), held on November 3, 2026, in Barcelona.

Eight Cities, Eight Palettes, Countless Perspectives

Every place has its own relationship with light.

The intensity of daylight, the colors of the landscape, the rhythm of the seasons, and even the materials that surround us become part of how we perceive our environment.

A shade of blue might remind someone of the ocean, while for someone else, it brings to mind a winter morning. The same color can carry entirely different memories, emotions, and meanings.

Together with Gensler and LAMP, we explored this idea through eight cities and eight color palettes, inviting participants to look beyond the colors themselves and consider the places, experiences, and cultural influences behind them.

The workshop became a space for curiosity, conversation, and discovery, encouraging people to reflect on something we often take for granted: the way we see is deeply connected to where we are.

Designing with a Sense of Place

As lighting designers working across different regions and cultures, we are constantly reminded that light is never experienced in isolation.

It interacts with architecture, materials, landscapes, and people. It changes throughout the day, transforms the atmosphere of a room, and influences how we feel within a space.

Understanding these relationships is fundamental to our work.

When we design lighting, we consider the character of a place, the people who inhabit it, and the experiences that unfold within it. Because the same lighting approach can feel entirely different depending on its context.

Exploring the Geography of Color offered another way of looking at this connection, reminding us how much there is to learn from the different ways people experience the world.

A Conversation Worth Continuing

Sharing this exploration with Gensler at CIC34 was an opportunity to step outside our everyday design conversations and look at light through a different lens.

It brought together geography, culture, perception, and personal experience around a question with no single answer.

And perhaps that is what makes it so interesting.

We may look at the same color, but what we see, what we remember, and what we feel can be entirely our own.

Same world. Different light. Different ways of seeing.