The thinking behind OLA LAB
Waves, color, and perception
OLA LAB did not start with a logo or a service list.
It started with a way of seeing.
In the previous post, Meet the woman behind OLA LAB, I wrote about personal history, experience, and the path that led me here. This article sits one level deeper. It looks at the ideas that shape how OLA LAB works with photography, branding, and visual communication.
The name OLA LAB is not abstract. It is descriptive.
OLA refers to a wave. A movement. A form of energy that travels through space without forcing matter to move with it. LAB refers to the perceptual space where light, color, and human experience meet. Together, they describe an approach grounded in how things are perceived rather than how they are produced.
This matters because all visual work lives at the intersection of physics and feeling.
Light as waves, color as perception
At a physical level, light behaves as electromagnetic waves. Different wavelengths correspond to what we perceive as different colors: longer wavelengths are perceived as reds, shorter wavelengths as blues, while green sits in the range where human vision is most sensitive. We never perceive these waves directly. What we perceive is their effect on our eyes and the way the brain interprets that information. The fundamentals of how color works are well established in color science, and a clear overview can be found in the basics of color by Datacolor.
A similar dynamic exists in water. When a ripple moves across a surface, energy travels through the medium while the water itself largely stays in place. Light behaves in a comparable way. Energy propagates, surfaces respond, and humans experience the result.
This parallel between waves in water and waves of light is not decorative. It describes a real relationship between physical reality and perception, and it is also where the name OLA LAB finds its meaning.
Why perception matters more than precision
Two people do not see color in exactly the same way. Even the same person does not perceive color identically from one moment to the next. Context, light, surrounding colors, fatigue, and memory all influence perception.
The human visual system constantly adapts. A white wall appears white at midday and at sunset, even though the spectral composition of the light is completely different. The brain corrects for these changes so the world feels stable.
This adaptability is essential for living, but it also means that color is never absolute. What feels right matters as much as what is technically correct.
This is why color science relies on perceptual models rather than device-specific ones.
The role of LAB in color science and visual work
In color science, the LAB color space exists to describe how humans perceive color rather than how devices produce it. Unlike RGB or CMYK, LAB separates lightness from hue and color direction. Distances between colors in LAB roughly correspond to how different those colors feel to the human eye.
LAB functions as a reference space between systems. It allows color to be translated across screens, print, and materials while staying aligned with perception.
At OLA LAB, LAB is not used as a technical badge. It is a conceptual anchor. It explains why visual decisions are guided by believability, balance, and coherence rather than by maximum saturation or contrast.
LAB is not a production space. It is a thinking space.
Vibrance, restraint, and coherence
Vibrance is often confused with saturation. In practice, vibrance is about perceived intensity, not raw color strength. Two images can contain similar colors and feel completely different depending on light, contrast, and context.
This is why subtle photography can feel alive, while visually loud imagery can feel flat. Vibrance emerges from relationships within an image rather than from pushing colors harder.
OLA LAB works with restraint by design. Color is used relationally. Light is allowed to shape form. Space is treated as an active element. The goal is not immediate impact, but visual coherence that holds across time and context.
What this means for OLA LAB
OLA LAB is a studio built around translation rather than control.
A photograph is understood as a concentrated signal. A brand is that signal repeated over time. Both rely on the same principles of perception, consistency, and care.
The work is not about perfection or spectacle. It is about creating images and visual systems that feel true, remain coherent, and continue to resonate.
Like waves, visual work moves through time. What matters is not how loudly it arrives, but how it continues to be felt.
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