Is anyone still visiting plenty of colour?! I sure hope so! Sorry everyone for the ridiculous delay in posting. I received some very sweet emails asking if I was okay. Indeed I am. I recently returned from Turkey where I was working on the inspiring Istanbul 2020 Olympic bid. If you haven’t been to Turkey, go. What an extraordinary country bursting with stunning colour, brilliant architecture, delicious food and warm people. Every corner seemed to have a new colour palette and unique fusion of modern and historical design. Yep, I even saw blue mosaic tile used to fill potholes! Istanbul is a magical city that you all should visit ASAP. I had a marvelous time and one of these days, I hope to post a collection of colourful images from my jaunt. Above are two quick images of a place I found endlessly fascinating – The Spice Bazaar. Pile upon pile of textured colour and the heavenly wafting scent of mingling spices. What more could someone want? Oh Istanbul, you have a piece of my heart.

I think five days was my longest posting break in the past. Oops. I had big plans of posting regularly while I was away but work got a bit crazy. And I got distracted by Turkish colour. Hee. On a side note, Kate Spade selected my wee colour blog as a “site we love” while I was away and I am honoured to be featured by such a colour icon. Long story short – back to regular and frequent colour posting! – Chloé

(photos by chloé douglas)

Wow, it is 2013? That sounds rather futuristic. Shouldn’t we be living like The Jetsons by now? Best wishes for a happy, healthy and creative 2013. May the new year be so wonderful that colourful confetti explodes all around you (literally or figuratively). I may take matters into my own hands and make a joyful wall like Beci Orpin….

(photograph of beci orpin’s confetti wall in find and keep, via wee birdy)

Created by South African artist Marco Cianfanelli, “Release” is a gorgeous monument to a true icon of peace: Nelson Mandela. To mark the 50th anniversary of Mandela’s capture by apartheid police in 1962, Cianfanelli created 50 columns of painted laser-cut steel in the South African town of Howick. Intriguing shapes up close, the pieces create a striking profile of Nelson from afar. Cianfanelli says, “the 50 columns represent the 50 years since his capture, but they also suggest the idea of many making the whole; of solidarity. It points to an irony as the political act of Mandela’s incarceration cemented his status as an icon of struggle, which helped ferment the groundswell of resistance, solidarity and uprising, bringing about political change and democracy.” Such a powerful and beautiful piece of work…

(photographs via designboom)  

Fantastic posters for Kibon ice cream by designer Renata El Dib. Love the clever rolled edge hinting at ice cream cones. It’s amazing what a two-sided print and some iconic neapolitan colours can do…

(images via renata el dib)

Paper sampler books are always full of lovely swatches of colour but rarely gorgeous items of design themselves. I love this GF Smith’s sample book created by MadeThought to showcase the brand’s “iconic range of premium coloured papers and boards”. The tab cutting style reveals all 50 colours along the book’s edge and highlights the endless hue combinations possible. Oh and don’t even get me started on that sublime binding with multicolour stitches…

(photographs via september industry)

I just spotted prototype shots of a simply beautiful weather app called ‘Brisk‘ and it has put a stop to all my complaining about the sad weather icons that dominate technology. Designed by Eddie Lobanovskiy of Two Solid, the app works like a regular thermometer with temperatures moving up and down bars. It looks like there will be local forecast and detailed weather info too. Of course, I am most smitten with the gorgeous colour coded bars depicting heat levels. Instinctual and clever. I can’t wait to see how Brisk will develop. Colour coded weather is just better…

(sign up here if you want to know when Brisk makes its way to the App store)

I love the colour-focused styling of these culinary stacks by Dutch design duo Raw Color. The still life photographs were created for the opening of Martin Creed’s revamp of the iconic Sketch restaurant in London and feature disassembled ingredients of dishes from the new menu. As culinary creations are really layers of flavour and stacks of colour and texture, the styling is both smart and beautiful. Perhaps we could do away with word-focused menus and just use striking photograph to select our meals…

4th image: Sweet chilli paste, filo pastry, foie gras, sesame seeds, green apple, pink radish, celery leaves, spring onion
6th image: Parmesan cream, goat cheese, coconut, beetroot sauce, lobster, squid Ink, black Olive Jelly

(photographs via trendland)

The first of May is known as Lei Day in Hawaii, a celebration of Hawaiian culture. A day full of music, lei-making competitions, the coronation of a Lei Queen and her court, hula and general merry-making, this year is the 85th anniversary of Lei Day. Hawaii is my adopted second home so I plan on bringing some Lei Day festivities to Vancouver today! One of the best facets of Lei Day is the celebration of the holiday’s namesake – the gorgeous, fragrant and colourful flower garland known as a “lei” worn around one’s neck. Icons of “aloha“, these traditional symbols of Hawaii mean welcome, friendship, respect and love. They are heavenly feats of flower architecture and definite eye candy for a colour lover. From pure white tuberose leis to ornate magenta orchid ones, there is not shortage to the inspiration found in these famous symbols of Hawaiian culture. I love seeing modern interpretations of leis too including injected gold geometric shapes or creating artful half-leis on silk ribbon. After researching photos for this post, I am determined to find more reasons to pop on a colourful lei…

(from top, photographs via style me pretty, bloomers blog, style me pretty, elliot chang, makena g, sweet blossoms hawaii, noel hawkins, tiger_tim_2000, neka pearl, martha stewart weddings and rue magazine)

If 2012 is going to see the end of the world, you may as well go out with some attractive branding! Design studio MENOSUNOCEROUNO created Just In Case, “an end-of-the-world survival kit” or “the perfect brand for the end of times”. The kit contains six iconic products from Mexico re-packaged in bold yellow including dark chocolate, a classic notebook, a simple knife, 40 black matches, liqueur and a bottle of water. This collection may not ensure long-term survival but you certainly will enjoy your final hours… (Read more about the kit here)

(spotted on the dieline)

I love great wayfinding and signage design. The Tate Modern visitor maps and dispenser by London design studio Cartlidge Levene is an example of simple but pitch perfect wayfinding. Maps are vital tools in a gallery and in a space as expansive and visually stimulating as the Tate Modern, it would be easy for a display to get lost. A large clunky dispenser or oversize typography would be a distracting eyesore especially for an iconic gallery. What I love about Cartlidge Levene’s design is not only its strong looks but how it showcases the vital role of colour in wayfinding and design overall. The neon pink is essential in catching the eye of visitors as the hue vibrates off the black background. Instead of displaying hundreds of maps, the five columns of maps are carefully and handsomely placed at one end of the black dispenser. Even the integration of the cash box is great with its subtle rectangular shape and small £1 typography. This piece is an example of how even the most functional item can be be on-brand and very beautiful.

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month marked the end of World War One and is now a day when countries around the world honour those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, those who served and those who continue to serve. It is a holiday unique to every nation but in Canada and many Commonwealth countries, Remembrance Day is a memorial wrapped in vibrant red. Why red? For the symbol of Remembrance Day itself – the poppy. Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian artist, doctor and solider, wrote the now iconic poem “In Flanders Fields” in 1915 as he processed seeing the bodies of so many fallen comrades intermingled with the bright red poppies that now marked their graves. The poem was published shortly after and spread across the world. Its first two lines, “In Flanders fields the poppies blow/Between the crosses, row on row” inspired the use of poppies as a symbol of remembrance. The blooms are sold each year to raise money for Veteran services and worn as a promise to never forget those who served and continue to serve.

I didn’t mean to turn this post into a rambling history lesson (although I have been asked by many a tourist what the red flower is for!) Overall, Remembrance Day is a day of honour, reflection and red. The poppy is an enduring symbol of gratitude and I am always struck by their beauty and meaning. Combined with the colours of military ribbons and uniform neutrals, it is a day of poignant colour palettes and a vivid poppy red that ensures we always remember. The image above of lights is of Vancouver’s war memorial in Victory Square Park and is a piece of local art I really love. Eleven lights based on WW1 helmets encircle the memorial and, when lit at night, always feel like a hauntingly beautiful tribute to all of those we lost and are beyond thankful to…

(photographs via themonarchist, iammacgirl, amanda last, tt24813055, matt s, wikipedia, dale calder, piscesdreamer and rainypete)

If you have trouble keeping a good dinner party pace, you need these Dinner Candles by Adam + Harborth, a Berlin-based design studio. Lit as the party begins, the candles slowly burn off the icons of each course so you know when to move on to the next portion of your meal. I love the bed illustration at the end as it would certainly inform lingering guests that it is time to go! I think the first symbol is a bouquet of roses? I now want to throw a dinner party just to test these clever candles (oh and receive floral hostess gifts…)

(spotted on sleek identity where you can buy them)

Colour Nativity is the latest thought-provoking creation of industrial designer Sebastian Bergne. A set of seven handmade and painted wood blocks make up a minimalist nativity scene while the wooden storage box becomes a manger and the gold divider becomes a modern Star of Bethlehem. I love the way the pieces look in the box. Like a religious television test pattern perhaps? It’s quite striking how such an iconic scene can still be recognizable when reduced to a simplistic set of blocks. The power of colour, proportion and placement is certainly on display in this piece. A Christmas decoration to consider for your modern mantle…

(spotted on co. design)

I hadn’t really thought about it until today but it is quite amazing how many shades of brown you can achieve when toasting a piece of bread. For his series ‘Toasted’, photographer Henry Hargreaves created large-scale portraits of pop culture icons with hundreds of pieces of toast. The level of detail and eye for subtleties of hue are quite astounding. A glimpse at the level of work can be seen in the last shot where toasted crumpets are being meticulously arranged to create a portrait of Pippa Middleton. I may never look at a piece of burnt toast the same way again! (Bread toasted by Angela Barrow and Osvaldo Ponton)

(from top: Marilyn Monroe, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Che Guevara, Jim Morrison and Pippa Middleton)

(spotted on feature shoot & smilepanic)

What a beautiful album cover and inside photography for French artist Ornette. Personally, I think any great art project ends with hands that look like that. I would be so intrigued to see an entire book or editorial done in this style featuring music icons like Madonna, Elton John, Prince or Lady Gaga. It would be stunning! Kind of makes me want to try a new “look” tomorrow too… Design and art direction by Leslie David, photography by Gregoire Alexandre and make-up by Anthony Preel.

(thanks for the inspiration joseph!)
(photographs via it’s nice that)

Man Blowing a Bubble, a short film by Mitch Ansara has officially made my day. Perhaps because of my inappropriate use of emoticons in business correspondence or my love for Mary Tyler Moore’s stylish typewriting, this film set on paper just makes me happy.

(image via flickr; visit mitch’s blog here)