I am completely and utterly smitten by the packaging for these Holiday Barrettes by Kate Spade. The vibrant orange card, the mix of typography, the integration of the barrettes into the whimsical sentence – I love it all. Simple and pitch perfect design. I’m pretty sure every holiday outfit would be enhanced by a hairdo featuring words like “pop fizz clink”!

(images via kate spade where the barrettes can be purchased)

Pattern, colour, type, slipcase, booklets, print. All good words alone but even better when they come together. Case in point? This limited edition box-set by Fontsmith for the 10th anniversary of their typeface library launch. Designed by Thompson Brand Partners, each of the ten booklets is written by a typeface designer and explores the creative process behind type design. Such a beautiful piece of print with fantastic colours and patterns. The photo of the booklet spines in a stack or spilling out of the bespoke slipcase just makes me plain happy…

(spotted on collate)

God bless the blade sign – a gem of a retail signage and brand. If you are interesting in going a virtual walking tour of store sign trends and inspiration, please pop over to Rena Tom’s blog where I wrote a post on the topic. Time to find a real life job where I can go on daily field trips to ponder shop and store design…

(images via the society inc, armas, the dieline and damon styer)

One of the things that amazes me the most about colour is how easily it can convey a message or emotion without any words required. This horrifyingly clever Preparation H advertisement by Shawn Couzens and Gary Ennis is the epitome of that quality. The brilliant placement of glowing red doesn’t need a single world to get the (rather painful looking) point across.

(image via ads of the world)

I have posted about the sublime embroidery work of Evelin Kasikov before but with every visit to her website, I am reminded of Evelin’s immense talent and am inspired to post again. A project that I just love is her Stitched CMYK Colour Chart. Embroidering the cyan/magenta/yellow/black or CMYK colour model required in colour printing, Evelin creates a handmade printing process that charts colours combinations by an interval of 25%. Designed for the Digital Soirée event at Central Saint Martins, this piece is a beautiful fusion of meticulous handmade design and the technological aspects of printing. I can’t wait to see where Evelin takes her fantastic CMYK embroidery talent next. Perhaps a completely embroidered Pantone guide?!

I’ll admit it, I laughed over these Dear Cab Driver Napkins for far too long this morning. I blame Monday? With those notes your mother used to pin to your mittens in mind, you can now enjoy some festive beverages with no worries of pesky details like your address and money location. These cocktail squares are sure to be the hit of your next party (as long as your party can live up to their wild expectations!)

(more information via heliotrope)

How spectacular is this cover for Novum Magazine by German design studio Paperlux? The colourful triangle pattern is beautiful in its own right but the ingenious printing technique that creates moldable facets and insane texture is extraordinary. The ‘making of’ video shows the sculptural paper piece in motion as well as a glimpse into the technology and methodical design required to create the cover. Colour, texture, pattern, printing brilliance and paper sculpture? Not sure it gets better than that.

(spotted on/images via graphic exchange and paperlux)

Designed by Proud Creative, I love this branding for luxury jewellery firm Guy & Max. Most jewellery companies seem to go down that “pretty proposal” route but Guy & Max feels bold, masculine and fiercely modern with a high fashion edge. Oh and I think their shop has the most beautiful awning I have ever seen. By using just the right shades of black in just the right geometric pattern, the piece feels like a sculptural work of facets. Same goes for the business card as it feels like a paper sculpture rather than a flat piece of paper. Throw in some sublime macro photographs of diamonds and this branding is officially gorgeous. With such a great look, I can only imagine the stunning jewellery being created by Guy & Max.

(spotted on september industry)

When it comes down to it, make up is just pot and tube colour swatches. Perhaps that is the main reason that the displays, design and styling of cosmetics is always inspiring to me. I just love the whimsy and handmade-feeling design of Topshop’s make up line created by designer Sarah Thorne. Their main line is a chic mix of matte greys, uncoated paper, black patterns and hand drawn illustrations. In addition, each fashion season sees the launch of trend led make up range with inspirations such as ‘sand storm’, ‘festival’, ‘heavy duty’ and ‘smoke and mirrors’. I love how detailed and just plain artistic the packaging is. How stunning is the sandstorm mountain range packaging with dashes of colour and pencil lines of gold? The illustrations look like there were drawn with make up and the pieces feel like art. From metallic foils to scalloped box edges to the hand drawn type that unites all the products in every range, Topshop makeup are worth buying simply as examples of beautifully crafted design.

(images via sarah thorne, unity and form and the dieline)

Minimega is a design studio and online shop that creates fabulously patterned and colourful stationery, paper products, gift wrap, cards and more. Their dots, triangle or nautical pattern gift wrap would make even the strangest present look fantastic. I wouldn’t mind framing a sheet or two. On top of great products, Minimega is focused on the environment with 100% recycled paper, vegetable-based inks and no unnecessary chemicals. I really love Minimega’s product photography and styling. Full of colourful details, the shots are just plain inspiring. I’m fairly certain any design studio would benefit from an frilled ice cream paper decoration… (Oh and Minimega even has an awesome blog bursting with hue!)

These colourful ads by Ogilvy & Mather for 103.5 KISS FM in Chicago caught my eye for the bold and colourful typography as well as the clever copy. It’s true, the lyrics of current dance music is pretty bizarre when you take out the beat! I don’t think that last song by Usher is going to win any songwriting awards anytime soon…

(images via i believe in advertising)

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)

Given my now full-fledged obsession with modern embroidery and typography, I pretty much yelped when I saw these gorgeous embroidered business cards by designer Nina Gregier. She decided to create the textured cards in reference to her latest project – fuchsia embroidered type. One glance at that project and I fell in love with Nina’s woven letters. They are so full of imagination, geometry and bold colour. Wow. The colours look amazing next to the black paper. Don’t you wish more business cards were tactile and hand detailed? Even the back of the threads on the flipside of the card is beautiful. I will visit Nina’s website regularly to see what handmade brilliance she dreams up next!

(cards spotted on lovely stationery)

Shopping List Magnets by Harrington and Squires allow a refrigerator to become one big grocery list while adding pops of colour to your kitchen. A fantastic London letterpress workshop, Harrington and Squires have recently added a set of Spice Magnets to their collection. I’m thinking you could take a cell phone photo of your fridge before heading to the grocery store so no paper list is needed at all. Can’t wait to see what they add next. Perhaps liquor store, farmer’s market or bakery essentials? The possibilities for food and colour seem limitless…

(photographs via harrington and squires, kitchen critic & unlimited editions)

I love these Action Pencils by We Are What We Do, a non-profit organization that gives all profits from their stationery line directly to schools and community projects. Even the most snooze-inducing tasks can be brightened up with some colourful, positive and community improving desk supplies. These pencils bear just six of the 131 small and simple actions that We Are What We Do list as ways to make someone’s day, make your home a big greener and overall, do a little chunk of good. I really hope the organization comes out with a giant box of 131 Action Pencils. Each day, you could grab a pencil and complete the action. A vibrantly colourful desk and a happier life would be the end result I think…

(spotted on our workshop; read more about the fantastic mission of we are what we do line here)

Le Droit de Suite (The Resale Right) is a fantastic animated short about artist resale rights in Europe. Using colourful typography full of personality, designer Pierre-Emmanuel Lyet made a somewhat dry topic became vibrant and just plain fun. I hope these characters become a series that explains other legal and financial situations. I have a feeling they could do quite a number on mortgages…

(spotted on notcot)