Ever wonder what the first colour photographed looked like? Well wonder no more! Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell is responsible for creating this intriguing image of tartan ribbon in 1861. By photographing the ribbon three times through red, blue and yellow filters, Maxwell could combine the images into one full-colour composite. A milestone moment for the art and technological evolution of photography. Oh and a pretty striking image in its own right!

(thank you for the inspiration mélanie)

(photograph via national geographic)

I have always loved Papel Picado, a Mexican festive decoration that translates into “perforated paper”. Stunningly elaborate designs are cut from tissue paper or plastic using a template and small chisel, allowing artists to make many flags at one time. Papel picado with various motifs including nature, love and skeletons are strung up in vibrant rows of colour for festivals, weddings, baptisms and holidays. Such a beautiful handmade art form that brings rich colour and detail to a celebration. Time to try making some papel picado for an upcoming fiesta!

Oh and some fascinating information from wikipedia about the colours selected for papel picado:
“Sky blue or pink and white are commonly chosen for celebrations in honor of the Virgin Mary, yellow and white for parton saints, vibrant pink, orange, and purple are the key tones employed for ofrendas (offerings) associated with the Day of the Dead. Shades of purple are also widely used at Easter. The colors of the Mexican flag – red white and green – are set aside for venerating the nation’s patroness, La Virgen de Guadalupe, as well as for commemorating Independence Day, Sept. 16th. Rainbow hues are appropriate for Christmas and non religious festivities.”

(photographs via krickett, emiliano rodriguez, andrea docksey, visit san antonio, mexican sugar skull, wickedlady, kristina husby, sebastian ibarra, roving gastronome, love and lavender, thomas aleto, mexican sugar skull, andrea m. gómez, delexed, bullshit artist, timlewisnm and thomas aleto)

I have been staring at “Monument to Change as it Changes” by artist Peter Wegner for over two days but I still can’t stop gasping aloud. Honestly, I am overwhelmed by how brilliantly clever and mesmerizingly beautiful this piece is. What a showcase of colour, engineering and imagination. Installed as part of the new Stanford Graduate School of Business, the piece utilizes flip-digit technology much like European train stations used to announce arrivals and departures. The plastic pieces move like tiny rolodexes and were meticulously programmed to create specific colour patterns. The idea is a monument to constant change – a perfect metaphor for what is faced in the business world daily.

* This piece’s true beauty is in its motion. Take a look at this video for a glimpse of the spectacular moving colour! Peter’s other fantastic installation for the campus is featured at the beginning but the colour section starts around the 1.00 min mark.

(additional information: 2,048 flip digit modules, 80 colours per module, finished size 8′ x 32′)

(photographs via peter wegner, video via the los angeles times)

Computer enhanced or CGI work dominates a lot of the visual effects we see in film these days. I love when designers and artists illustrate how much magic can be created using everyday materials and big dash of imagination. The Universe Is As Big As Your Mind by Eran Hakim creates an ethereal world of colour and shape using water, oil, alcohol, ink, energy drink and watercolours. A truly dreamy world of hues that looks computer generated but is completely created with household ingredients. Hoping we can make more films with this imaginative spirit in mind!

(ingredients used: 2 litres of water, 1/2 litre of oil, 1/4 litre of alcohol, 1/5 litre of ink, 50 ml of mana portion energy drink, 6 ounces of watercolours)

(found via not cot)

You may have already seen this RGB Wallpaper by Italian studio Carnovsky. It received a lot of attention last year and I was reminded why when I was rifling through some inspiration folders last night and rediscovered the incredible project. I was inspired to post it here just in case it hasn’t been seen by everyone and because I want to make sure the genius colour-focused project is saved for prosperity on plenty of colour! The wallpaper contains overlapping primary coloured illustrations of subjects such as animals and sea creatures. When a red, green or blue light (RGB colour) is shone upon the room’s paper, one of the three overlapping patterns is visible and the other two are hidden. Such gorgeous illustrations and a real feat of colour theory. Months later, I am still in love with the innovation and beauty of this project.

(photographs via creative review)

British photographer Louis Lander-Deacon is one of those artists you just know you are still going to be hearing about 30 years from now. His work reveals an immense talent and curiourity that can only result in spectacular photography. I love this series Louis created using coloured powder and a few willing friends. The very subdued and cold hues of the forest are a perfect backdrop to the vividly pigmented clouds of colours. Colour powder and smoke bomb photos seem to be growing in popularity and I personally love the randomness that results. Who knows what photograph you will end up with? The first image shown above has a colour palette that actually took my breath away. Yep, I need to find some willing friends and see what colour I can cover them with… (p.s. these photos also remind me of posts I have done on holi celebrations and silence/shapes by filippo minelli)

I’ve always loved Picasso’s portrait of his adored dachshund, Lump. Picasso loved animals and his work is rich with depictions of them. In contrast to his usual beautifully complex style, I love Picasso’s animal drawings for their simplicity and minimalism. There is even a book devoted to the artist and his best friend – Picasso & Lump: A Dachshund’s Odyssey. I love this drawing and that so many of Picasso’s pieces have his dachshund as a muse but most of all, I love that a dog named Lump became an icon in modern art!

(image via art prints gallery)

I always love visiting Anna Garforth’s site to see what she has been up to. The diverse materials she uses to craft typography is full of creativity and wonder. Dried flowers, dough, moss, rolled rubbish, folded advertisments or leaves – Anna creates installations that are not only beautiful but commentaries on sustainability and natural materials. I have loved her moss work for several years and they have a special place on my inspiration board as joyous and thought-provoking bursts of colour. Also, considering the only available option seems to be those boring block letters, I can’t help but wish Anna would come out with her own cookie cutter line!

Confetti System is a studio that creates the most incredible works of paper, mylar and fabric art. They have really revolutionized so-called party decorations by turning them into dynamic and modern stage backdrops, window displays, decor and fashion pieces. How gorgeous is that silk wall they created for a New York clothing store? (second image from the top). With clients ranging from fashion houses like Opening Ceremony, magazines like Martha Stewart, stores like Bergdorf Goodman or Urban Outfitters, events like The New York Ballet and bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Confetti System are constantly exploring new avenues for creativity. It is so refreshing to see this kind of well-designed handmade craft appreciated and used in so many arenas. Computers are amazing but they can’t make a giant wall of gold mylar! If designers Julie Ho and Nicholas Andersen asked me to move to New York as a Confetti System sweeper, I would be on the next plane tomorrow. Seriously.

(p.s. The Selby did a fantastic ‘behind the scenes’ photo piece on Confetti System. Have a look here.)
(photographs via confetti system, the selby & 100 layer cake)

Maya Hayuk is an artist with talent in a ridiculous number of design areas from painting to photography to absolut vodka ads. I particularly love her murals/installations as they are bold pops of colour on otherwise mundane or uninspiring urban landscapes. Just imagine how dull that barn would be without Maya’s colourful addition! Her newest piece was created in Brazil and is a mural woven in fabric. Can’t wait to see this unique idea develop…

Olly Moss is a British designer and illustrator who you can add to my ‘obsessed with’ list. He has an obvious abundance of creative chops but it is his cleverness that never ceases to amaze me (case in point, his sea-saw illustration I posted about a couple of months ago). Olly just opened a solo show at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles called ‘Paper Cuts’. The exhibit features over 350 laser-cut and hand-finished silhouettes of pop culture icons from the cast of Saved by the Bell or Seinfeld to animated Disney classics to Cliff Huxtable in one of his crazy sweaters. I love the juxtaposition of historical cameos with modern pop culture. A brilliant concept, six months of exquisitely detailed paper work and fantastic styling in vintage frames all add up to a spectacular show the is overflowing with Olly’s talent and cleverness.

(photographs via olly moss, the fox is black, hi fructose, jawilmesjr & flixist)

I would love to go to lunch with artist Arthur Buxton as he looks at colour in a truly fascinating way (you may remember my post about his Van Gogh pie graphs.) His newest piece focuses on British Vogue magazine covers from 2001 to 2011. In reverse chronological order, from left to right, each block is a separate cover. Within each block, the strips of color that vary in width, represent the five most common colors proportionally found within that specific issue. The larger bands represent the years, starting in May and moving backwards. (If you’re like me, you will need to read those instructions a couple of times!) While there is the expected influence of skintones, it is interesting to see how similar the colours stay across soft tones, pinks and some fall hues. Even though a variety of colours became popular in each of those years, the covers don’t really deviate from a feminine palette. Other than two issues of blue, there is very little from the yellow, green, blue or purple colour families. I would love to see Arthur use this method in different eras. I imagine the 1960′s are full of vibrant powdery hues, the 1970′s are a blend of warm tones and the 1980′s are bursting with colour and neon. A really fascinating commentary on what colours are used to sell magazines.

Artist and designer Matt W. Moore has a portfolio overflowing with amazing projects ranging from fashion to typography to fine art. He is definitely one of my colour heros and I am a long-time fan of his inspired use of vivid colour and soulful geometry. I really could feature hundreds of images in this post! One area of Matt’s work I really love are his murals so I have focused on those above. Created all over the world, Matt’s murals add so much joy and design to whatever street is lucky enough to house them. The top image is of his newest piece in Cincinnati and it is yet another example of his incredible colour sense and creative talent.

(photographs via matt w. moore)

When I saw these photographs of So Takahashi’s Origami Chair, I swear I was speechless for a good ten minutes. The folds of powder-coated sheet metal, the pin-thin back legs, the exquisite angles – this piece must rank among the most beautiful chairs ever created.

There are a million images by design director David Schwen that I love and this one is no different. I admire anyone that sees magic in the everyday and seeing an ice cream cone among construction pylons is pretty darn magical.

(image via david schwen’s flickr)

I seem to have a major embroidery fetish lately that is perhaps obvious from my posts about Jillian Tamaki and Takashi Iwasaki. In particular, I am mesmerized by embroidered and tactile typography which may have been sparked when I fell in love with the extraordinary talent of Maricor Maricar (read my post about their work here). I had some server issues when attempting to post this feature yesterday which only underlines that in an almost alarmingly digital dependant world, craftsmanship like the examples above feels even more special and vital to the world of design. Hoping you find some handmade type this weekend and it colours you happy!

(images via evelin kasikov, sandy suffield, maricor maricar, peter crawley, sandy suffield, peter crawley, chez sucre chez, maricor maricar, sarah blick, rosie geissler, laura belle hanley, sarah blick, evelin kasikov, evelin kasikov, laura belle hanley & jessica wilson)