Casino aesthetics involve the sights, sounds and layout of a gambling hall. The ideas and themes used in them can be found across entertainment design.
Imagine you enter a casino floor. Think of the colours and audio cues that spark your interest and let you know where you are. From the shades in the furniture to the digital blare of the slot machines, everything is leading your mind and senses down a very specific path. So, how has the design of casinos influenced other forms of modern entertainment design?
The Importance of Colour Psychology
At the heart of this lies psychology. We associate colours and even textures with different feelings and emotions. Have you ever seen a casino painted in hot pink? It is unlikely, as they do not convey the mood and emotions associated with the venue. Many of the classic casino table games and their boards, from the roulette wheel to the blackjack table, have very specific colours, and this is for a reason.
Take the colour gold, for example. We think of it as something that belongs to winners, as seen in Olympic medal standings. Yet it is also a base metal, bringing in elements of the natural world. Thus, gold and, to some degree, silver, both make casinos feel natural and homely while promoting luxury and achievement.
Red is another colour used heavily in casinos. Along with yellow, it provides a psychological hint of excitement. It is ideal for catching the attention, as seen in how slot machines use it in their graphics. This is perfect when combined with blue, a colour that is associated with royalty but also relaxation.
Of course, all of these are subject to cultural, personal and situational interpretation. Yet in bringing these together over time, they have reinforced the themes of casino décor, which has spilt over into other design verticals.
Lighting in Casino Table Games
The lighting found in casinos is very clever, in that it is used to set moods but also needs to be used for quite detailed tasks, such as being able to clearly view cards, roulette wheels and dice. Therefore, it can generally be broken down into three areas.
The first of these is ambient lighting. This serves no other purpose than to create a mood. It needs to be bright enough for people to move around, but not so bright that it makes the space look like a supermarket or a dentist’s room.
Second to this is the task lighting. This is focused specifically on tables, giving clean light so people can view games. Third comes accent lighting, which is purely decorative and can be found on walls and spaces. It can deceptively lie to the eye, making areas seem bigger or smaller, or guiding it to certain focal points.
Lighting such as this is most commonly found in modern gaming rooms. People usually combine ambient LED lights with a task light on their PC or console. These types of rooms are becoming more common in houses.
Music in Casino Games
Music and sound have always been a key part of entertainment. You wouldn’t expect to go to the cinema and watch a movie with a substandard audio system. You also wouldn’t expect to fire up a video game and play to a title that had no soundtrack or in-game sound effects.
Casinos tend to use these sounds to spark the senses. Slot machines are a prime example of this. They will have tunes that use modes and timbre linked to the game’s theme, be it ancient Egyptian mythology or Irish luck. Sound effects such as tinkling coins hark back to the days of mechanical slots, where coins would drop from the bottoms of machines. This makes people associate these games with the ability to win.
These are not limited to casinos. Sonic anaphones are a trick used across entertainment. Think of the sounds that identify gamers with Nintendo, or the cues that associate viewers with the start-up of Netflix.
Symbolism in Casino Design
You will also find a lot of very specific motifs and designs used in casinos. These may come in the form of decorative elements, such as coving, light fittings and even sculptures around the casino. Often, they are associated with the classical realm, taking cherubs, lions and Greco-Roman ideas.
This is also a theme found in many slot games: that of mythology. This brings about concepts of luck and divine intervention. However, it is also practical. When casinos first started to be built in Europe, such as the casino at Baden Baden in Germany, this type of revisionist architecture was in vogue.
In today’s modern world, where buildings are cost-efficient, often made from glass and steel, this gives a timeless elegance. Even casual spaces that have utilitarian frontage, such as those on shopping strips and city centres, can become plush Renaissance groves inside with these themes.
Not all casinos will stick to these colours and symbols, but most do. It fosters familiarity, and many of the techniques have been used in other aspects of design.
