It’s amazing how colour-blocking can turn ordinary objects into fantastic photo subjects. Love this styling and photography by Gothenburg-based design studio Kontor Kontur. I would like most of the colourful office supplies featured!

(via seesaw)

After conducting a poll to discover the most-loved childhood toy, Chevrolet used the winning Play-Doh to create a street advertisement in London for their new family-friendly seven-seater Orlando car. Definitely an eye-catching, 1.5 ton advertisement that hopes to capture the attention of parents and children alike. It took eight model makers over two weeks to create the remarkable sculpture by hand. Now if only real cars came in such a beautiful shade of blue….

(images via chevrolet uk)

Sometimes, especially on a Monday, you just need to gaze at a beautiful scene full of brilliant colour. I think Navagio Beach (or Shipwreck Bay) on the Zakynthos island of Greece does the trick today. The rugged, curvaceous topography is certainly intriguing but it is the gorgeous blue colour that stops me in my tracks. I almost thought the photos were colour treated until I researched many others that all contained a similar vibrancy. Today I wish I was eating an olive oil focused Greek lunch and staring out at that unreal blue.

(images via rita, shay lawless, robert wallace, emelie klamvik)

I find these ads for Bic pens brilliant. The lifespan of the ubiquitous ballpoint pens are tested to last for two kilometres, a distance equivalent to six Eiffel Towers, two Tower Bridges or four Empire State Buildings. What a clever and effective way to describe just how long the pens should last. The sole use of the very recognizable Bic pen blue across the entire ad (even the logo) is a final brilliant touch of brand in a fantastic ad campaign.

(images via ads of the world)

Life Calendar by Barcelona-based Brigada Creativa allows you to sum up each day by drawing a face onto a colourful dot. I love the idea of this bright and graphic poster on an office wall. I imagine it provides some insight as well – patterns and arcs that emerge. It would be so interesting to look at a whole year in this way.

I really love the work of artist Francisca Prieto and her folded, intricate paper installations. Photos of her amazing pieces are prominent among my boxes and folders of inspiration. Francisca uses many types of paper for her art from written versions of Shakespeare to newspapers and maps. I love them all but my absolute favourite is what she creates with envelopes. I have always been fascinated by the ornate security patterns printed inside envelopes. Francisca folded hundreds of interlocking forms with these intriguing blue designs to create her ‘Between Folds – Envelopes’ series. The colour palette, mix of patterns and 3D nature of these envelope origami installations is stunning. I can’t wait to see what Francisca comes up with next!

I love art in unexpected places – especially when it adds colour to an everyday object or location. In 2008, Kelly Goeller created ‘Pixel Pour‘, a 3D interpretation of water pouring from a faucet in an almost video game, pixelated way. Recently, Goeller created ‘Pixel Pour 2.0′ on Mercer Street in New York City. The brilliant blue is so striking against the industrial surroundings and the layers of blocks really give the sense of a piece of video game magic emerging onto the street. Hoping to see more of these clever street art installations!

(images via unurth)

I love this Discovery album cover. It is no easy feat to seamlessly transition from orange to blue but this gradient does it flawlessly. I love the pixelated plaid-like effect created. I have no idea what this album is about but from the fusion of warm and cool colours, I imagine it has songs that transition from sad/depressed to happy/optimistic. Or a mix of slow and fast songs? In any case, it is a fantastic, colourful album cover!

(image via discovery)

How incredible is this photo by Rodney Smith? The scale and composition of a model wearing a billowing dress atop a plane wing are amazing by themselves but the colour scheme is just breathtaking. Soft shades of aqua water, a periwinkle sky, clean white lines of a plane and a vivid coral-orange dress billowing in the air. What can I say? This colour scheme and photograph overall is absolutely stunning.

(image via rangoli)

Olly Moss is a brilliant British illustrator and designer. I especially love this illustration – his colourful and clever take on a seesaw!

(image via olly moss)

I have always loved the word Patagonia because it sounds so regal, majestic and otherworldly. After seeing a photo of the glaciers where Argentina and Chile meet, I realize that my vision was pretty accurate. Breathtaking is the only way to describe the blue palettes created by the spectacular sculptures of ice. Patagonia is definitely added to the top of my “must see” travel list.

(images via dids, daveleb, dave curtis, ingekuhn, nigel craig)

There is just something about the colour of blueberries that I have always found magical and impossible to duplicate. A frost-covered midnight blue mixed with purple that has so much depth that it looks different in every light. My favourite part? Cut them open and they look almost clear but blend them up and a red-violet emerges out of nowhere. Now that is magical.

(image via tiny white daisies)

I love typography made out of unexpected things (especially when it becomes 3D). The primary colours and teasing nickname Richard Perez used to create this woodblock piece are instantly childlike yet the typeface is handsome and so beautifully constructed. I hope there is more where this came from!

(images via friends of type)

Love these clever ads for Comex Paint using iconic cartoon characters and their identifying colours. Bright, eye-catching and to the point: they can match any colour!

(images via coloribus)

Love the work of Malaysian illustrator Lim Heng Swee and his Doodle Everyday project. It is hard to pick a favourite but I fell in love with this doodle in particular. If you live in Vancouver or anywhere that gets a lot of rain, this should give you a new perspective on how whimsical and jolly rain clouds can be if you choose to see them that way!

(image via Doodle Everyday)

After thinking about starting a colour and design blog for several years, I can’t believe today has finally arrived and the site is live. It’s a dream come true. If you are passionate about colour, you came to the right place! I hope to fill this site with inspiration drawn from architecture, art, design, food, fashion, photography, nature and all that is colourful.

I am working on some special features that should appear weekly. More on those soon…
Thanks for stopping by. Check back often for colour inspiration! – Chloé

(photo by the incredibly talented Grégoire Alexandre)