Malaysian designer Tang Yau Hoong uses negative space in such a dreamy way. These two illustrations caught my eye yesterday because they have a lovely contrast of colours and, like all of Tang’s work, are a magical way of looking at everyday life. I love the idea of colour painted against the night sky…

(images via tang yau hoong and demilked)

My love affair with Holi, the Indian Festival of Colour, continues to grow by the year. A joyful celebration that includes throwing vibrant powders and pigments? Yes please. I did a rather large post on the topic last year so take a look if you are after colourful eye candy today! I was also lucky enough to be asked to create a t-shirt design focused on Holi for Made in the Now, a Brisbane-based studio/shop that produces a design every 24 hours inspired by a top of mind news story of the day. With just a couple hours of time at your disposal, it is a challenging yet mucho fun project to work on! Long story short, my t-shirt design is only available today so if you are interested, take a look here. My thought was, as India celebrates Holi, the entire country is bursting with brilliantly colourful powder far into the midnight blue night…

(holi photographs via the big picture and tee design by chloé douglas)

I have been meaning to do a post on Saul Bass as he is a true colour and design hero of mine. I spotted this poster for 1957 film Love in the Afternoon today and couldn’t resist posting it. Gorgeous handcraft typography and cluster of primary colour. Don’t you wish modern movies would experiment with illustration as handsome as this? Time to prep a Saul Bass post…

(photograph via brain pickings)

Helmo is a great design studio from France and I recently came across some work they did in 2009 for the Sonorama Music Festival in Besancon, France. Th CMYK typography is fantastic and the black and white illustrations are playful yet modern. What a mix! I love the program and its rainbow of one-colour photographs. The wayfinding is my favourite though as it brings so much life to the streets and grey weather. If I had been at the festival, I probably would have walked away with all of the merchandise (and an illegally procured bus shelter or wayfinding poster!)

A stop-motion music video featuring coloured pencils? I’m in. Film maker and animator Dropbear (otherwise known as Jonathan Chong), created this soothing and happy-inducing ode to a classic art supply for Melbourne-based band Hudson. I’ve always had a feeling hanky-panky was going on in my design supply boxes…

(thank you florencia!)

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)

I love this typography alphabet by Yann Le Bec called “Type/Face”. Can you spot the letter in each face? The monocle “q” and moustache “w” are among my favourites…

I am a sucker for unique and colourful food styling. It always amazes me how textures, patterns and colours of a recipe or food can really come to life with some great lighting and thoughtful detail. A stylist with ridiculous amounts of talent in that arena is Dietlind Wolf. I was reminded of his styling and illustrating skill when I saw the series above on seesaw. A wonderfully clever fusion of handsome food and beautiful ingredient illustration. I love this mixed media approach to food styling and photography as there are endless possibilities. Collage next? Or how about graffiti!?

(spotted on seesaw; images via dietlind wolf where all credits for the shoot can be found)

Love illustrator Lucie Sheridan’s ‘Prolonged Daschund’ print. Available in blue and red, this long whimsical weiner dog is just plain happy-inducing. Couldn’t you see he/she as a children’s book character? Running across countries, wrapping around landmarks – there is no shortage of tall tales this happy daschund dog could get up to.

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)

If her homeware range Swiden Design is any indication, designer Charlotte Swiden is as bonkers about colour as I am. The Swedish-born, Melbourne-based creative is launching a new line next week called “Tivolivat” inspired by fun park rides, fairy floss and ferris wheels. From illustrated prints to painted wood decorations, the collection is bursting with colour and modern shapes. My favourite pieces are Tivolivat’s bold, geometric and happy-inducing cushion covers. I think that beautiful pattern of multi-coloured rectangle and square stripes (on the bottom far right in the first image) might just find a new home at my place…

I have already babbled on and on about the vibrantly colourful and innovative RGB Wallpaper by Milan studio Carnovsky. Overlapping primary coloured illustrations create a beautiful multicoloured print in everyday light but when a red, green or blue light (RGB colour) is shone upon the room’s paper, only one of the three overlapping patterns is visible and the other two are hidden. When I spotted their new installation ‘La Selva’, I fell in love all over again. Adorning the walls of Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes, a café and exhibition space in East London’s Shoreditch, the wallpaper takes on a whole new chic look as part of an interior design. Doesn’t it look great next to a chalkboard menu? The theme of ‘jungle’ works brilliantly as its textured vegetation, daunting beasts and exotic creatures create three mesmerizing layers for each colour of light. If you happen to be London, La Selva is on view until September 21st, 2011. It looks like Carnovsky has created limited edition prints as well. Pick me up one please?!

(spotted on design boom)