New York-based artist Tattfoo Tan created the Nature Matching System, a Pantone-like set of colours that highlight the hues that should be part of your daily nutrition. Extracting the colours of 88 fruits and vegetables, Tattfoo has applied his healthy food swatches to placemats, colouring books and public art pieces. The images above are of a striking mural Tattfoo created in DUMBO, Brooklyn in 2008. I love that Tattfoo’s swatches not only create an attractive colour scheme but bring attention to healthy food choices. For the Brooklyn mural, Tattfoo had children paint each square of colour which undoubtedly sparked fruit and vegetable interest. There are plans to create another mural on the grounds of a Brooklyn school – a brilliant idea and foil to the endless junk food advertisements that children see. The intense colours of fruits and vegetables highlight their naturally occuring phytochemicals and valuable nutrients and I love that Tattfoo’s swatches not only create an attractive palette but inspire healthy, colourful eating. As Tattfoo says, “it’s the idea that colour plays such an important role in nutrition.” I say we throw out the food pyramid and just eat according to colour palette!

(thanks Elisabeth for the inspiration!)

(images via good)