Partners for Mental Health installation, by Blok Design (Toronto, 2012)

Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery installation, by Rethink (Vancouver, 2005)

I love public art installations, especially when they are thought-provoking, colourful and initiate public interaction. A great example? The button wall at top created by Blok Design for the Partners for Mental Health campaign “Not Myself Today”. The identity, which uses different emotions and their corresponding colours, was turned into a wall of “mood pins” in a heavily travelled section of Toronto. It reminded me of a similar installation I saw in Vancouver a few years ago. Created for the Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery, Rethink Communications printed 50,000 buttons with a single word representing one of a hundred possible responses to contemporary art. Both walls use colour and pattern in different yet equally compelling ways. They also serve as striking interactive public art that draws attention to important topics and sparks dialogue. Oh and they add rather fabulous colour to streetscapes and collars…

(photographs via rethink and blok design)  

I love music videos. Yes, the genre is littered with some rather disturbing commercialization, repetitive imagery and soulless preening BUT I still believe there is great potential for four minutes of striking visuals and music. Done right, they can become pieces of art. Case in point: I love the new video for “Try” by Pink (a legitimate talent powerhouse). Directed by Canadian Floria Sigismondi, it’s a fusion of beautifully choreographed dance and vibrant powder. I particularly like the end section as a dusty room and carpet fill with colour and desert light bounces off pigment covered skin. One powerful use of colour…

(video directed by floria sigismondi, choreographed by the golden boyz; screen caps made from video)

I love a pop of colour among neutrals and bright laces are a surefire way to inject vibrant detail into fashion. I love these Stolen Riches laces and their gold/silver aglets. The Canadian company has been making high quality laces for four generations and showcase how 100 years of craftmanship can mix with high fashion. Menswear could particularly benefit from a jolt in the colour department and I would love to see a suit with a colourful pocket square/shoelace combo. A pop of colour can truly make an outfit…

(photographs via stolen riches, union, pinstripe mag & union)    

I am a big fan of Canadian landscape architect Claude Cormier and when I saw the photographs of his Les Boules Roses installation in Montreal, I almost immediately booked a ticket East. Created for the Aires Libres summer celebration which turns Sainte-Catherine Street East into an art-loving pedestrian zone, the piece features 200,000 resin balls in three sizes and five tones of pink. Using bracing wire, the rows of balls are laced through the trees in nine different suspension patterns and at varying heights. The final product is a magical canopy stretching over 1km between St. Hubert and Papineau streets. The different tones of pink and levels of suspension bring dimension-rich, joyful texture to the streetscape. You can see this gorgeous temporary rooftop from now until September 16th. The world needs more colourful street canopies methinks…

(photographs via claude cormier, archdaily and arthitectural)

My love affair with facets doesn’t seem to have an end in sight especially when gorgeous work like the Blocks Series comes to life. Captured and conceptualized by Canadian photographer Evonne Bellefleur with blocks created by prop stylist Caitlin Doherty, the series features dreamy expanses of beautiful colour palettes and fascinating shapes. They are like rocks that have tumbled off of some sort of magical mountain. Not sure I can avoid buying one of these prints. Yep, the facet fetish continues…

(prints available/images via soti)

What are these intriguing pans of shimmering colour? Perhaps liquid metal or coloured glass? Nope, they are stainless steel trays full of Listerine mouthwash. Created by Canadian artist Steve Bishop, the pieces are proof that real beauty can come from the everyday colour that infuses our daily lives. In this case, the colours are (from top) Listerine’s Cool Mint, Freshburst and Clean Mint. Steve has a gift for turning simple materials and objects into fascinating work. See more here.

This joyful video is making plenty of news today and for good reason. It is a happy maker! A few months ago, I posted a stop-motion video by Canadian designers Lisa Blonder Ohlenkamp and Sean Ohlenkamp featuring a colourful bookshelf re-organization. Well, the talented pair took things to the next level in their latest piece, “The Joy of Books”. With the setting of Type bookstore in Toronto and a whimsical score composed by Grayson Matthews, Sean and Lisa (and many volunteers) spent sleepless nights turning the shop into a truly magical world. I love the patterns and colours of flickering book spines, the two dancing book covers and the ending when all of the supplies pop back into their spots. I couldn’t agree with the last frame more – ”there is nothing like a real book”. I just know this is what shops do while we are sleeping…

(thanks Jen and Catriana!)

Lately it feels like FedEx is leading the way in making clever and effective ads with a handmade sensibility. Remember the parcel via windows one I posted about a few months ago? The latest effort is this advertisement for less urgent shipping between Canada and the US created by BBDO Toronto. We travel between Montreal and Miami via a route of toppling domino-like FedEx boxes and spot many landmarks and geographical features on our journey. The craftsmanship of the set and all of its purple details is fantastic. I can’t even imagine how much work this set-up required nor the terror of having what appears to be one take to do it in. It also warms my heart when a company embraces the creative possibilities of their brand colour the way FedEx has here. The ad is exploded in their signature purple. I’m not sure why a Canadian goose needs to mail a puppy a hockey stick but when the results are this good, who cares why! Both purple offices are fabulously designed from purple dog bones to the purple bow tie-clad goose’s desk photos of his wife and the man at the park who feeds him. How about his poster with the fitting quote “C’est la V”? I love this ad because it not only shows how a brand colour can be explored but it highlights that any company, from tiny to insanely large like FedEx, can make make a unique and truly creative advertisement.

I think I just found a new sculpture to add to the top of my “art I would kill to have” list. Created by Canadian designer Miya Kondo, ‘Composition Light‘ is a light sculpture comprised of five different shapes of light with five different frames of colour. Each piece can stand alone as well as be grouped together in an infinite number of combinations. In addition to the beautiful use of light and colour frames, I love the use of bright cords and wiring. Rather than simply make those technical elements white or hidden, they are pops of colour that add to the entire piece and remind the viewer of what is powering the sculpture as a whole. I’m hoping there will be a home version of Composition Light one day. The only other thing needed is a big loft with industrial beams to showcase it in….

(photographs via miya kondo; spotted on via designboom)

You know those round nonpareil sprinkles that are liberally tossed about during holiday cookie decorating? Imagine meticulously placing 221,184 of them by hand using jewellery tweezers and a pixelating computer program. Are your eyes burning from that thought? Mine are! Canadian artist Joel Brochu was inspired by a previous project he created exploring the pointillism technique of applying small dots of colour to create a larger image and decided to re-create a photograph with sprinkles. Using a photograph of a beagle by Shingo Uchiyama, Joel needed just six colours of sprinkles (red, orange, green, blue, black and white) to create a surprisingly large spectrum of hues. It’s amazing how colour can be suggested and created with the right combinations and placement. Nonpareils are just 1/16 inch thick so 221,184 of them were needed to re-create the 4′ by 1.5′ photograph. Crazy, painstaking work that makes me wonder what Joel could do with a dozen cupcakes…

(spotted on my modern met)

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)

I love these animal cards and prints by Vancouver designer/illustrator Mélanie Kimmett. A fantastic combination of vibrant colour palettes, splashes of geometry and modern style. How cute are those wintery creatures that look as though they are zipped up in snowsuits as colourful confetti-like snow falls? I met Mélanie when we worked together a couple of years ago and within days of meeting her, I was totally overwhelmed by how beautifully she could illustrate. In addition to always having an awesome haircut, she is one of those people that can translate anything into an modern and whimsical illustration with a true sense of colour and style. I am lucky to call her a close friend so I get to see her fabulous product line evolve firsthand. From the beaver’s pink tail to the sheep’s chic striped horns, these colourful creatures just make me happy. Mélanie currently sells blank cards and art prints. How great would these modern animals look in a baby nursery? I am pretty sure your little one would end up being a designer!

(for details, pop over to mélanie’s etsy shop and print shop)

Vancouver Farmers Markets are city-wide weekly events created for “people who love fresh food at festive gatherings”. I am in love with the cheery illustrations created by Vancouver designer Jane Koo to brand and promote the markets. Her style is just full of joy. Have you seen a more whimsical drawing of a squash? And how about the jolly figs or stylish loaf of bread? Love Jane’s hand-drawn typography too. I can only hope there will be more of this beautiful branding around Vancouver as the markets expand. Devoted to highlighting local chow and supporting community farmers, the gatherings are not only a fabulous facet of food-obsessed Vancouver but are dramatically bursting with inspiring colour. I need to take some photos one of these days and devote a post to all of the hues that can be found among the stalls of delicious inspiration. In the meantime, I have my fingers firmly crossed that Jane illustrates an entire cookbook. Fantastic design and good food. Is there a better combination?

(images via jane koo and @vanmarkets)

I’ve always found predetermined tabbed sections in books or files kind of stifling. Who’s to say where one topic ends and another begins? Sometimes you just need a removable tab to mark your own spot! Enter these great Sticky Tab Dividers from Semikolon. Notebooks, cookbooks, file folders – you can throw a little colourful organization into any part of your life.

(photographs via see jane work)

The more I stare at this typography by Canadian designer Jan Avendano, the more I fall madly in love with it. The use of colour, layers of pattern and transparent details are mesmerizing. Jan’s website notes that these pieces are a “type experimentation” but I have my fingers firmly crossed that they become a series of posters if not an entire typeface! I will be first in line to buy a print of this gorgeous work…

I can’t seem to stop watching this stop-motion video so I thought I should finally post it! Canadian designers Lisa Blonder Ohlenkamp and Sean Ohlenkamp created this amazing piece of film magic. I can’t imagine how many hours it must have taken to arrange single books and take photo after photo. Well, you can kind of see how much time it took from the hands of the clock spinning around! On a side note, when I visited Sean’s website I discovered he is also the genius behind the Toronto Zoo Polar Bear Colouring Book that I posted about a while ago. What a talent. I am convinced that this is what bookshelves do when they are alone. A truly joyful, colour-happy film.