Square Colour Chip Boxes from Leif combine hue swatch with trinket holder. Crafted in Copenhagen out of coloured plexiglass and Danish wood, I like the sliding mechanism with a bar of wood remaining on the glass. Love the neon translucent glass and oak combinations most of all. Colour chip holder perhaps?
Yes, I am a broken record of coloured smoke gushing (see here, here and here). I admit I am a tad obsessed. There is just something beautiful about an eyesore or neutral landscape suddenly bursting with colour. Until now, I have admired this mini-movement in still images only but then I spied this sublime video by New York based studio floto+warner (photography/director team Jeremy Floto and Cassandra Warner). The photographs are gorgeous but the video captures the dreamy way coloured smoke suddenly and vibrantly fills spaces while dancing and dispersing in the wind. I sure hope I see a fuchsia plume of smoke cross my path one day…
(photographs and video via floto+warner)
During her 60 year reign, Queen Elizabeth II’s wardrobe has never lost its youthful and vibrant focus on colour. PANTONE and Leo Burnett London created this limited edition colour guide of the Queen’s ensembles in honour of her Diamond Jubilee. The guide features some of the Queen’s most notable colour choices including Primrose Yellow (the colour of her dress for William and Kate’s wedding last year) or Crystal Blue (her most frequently worn colour group). Pantone noted that perhaps the Queen dresses monochromatically to add a more stately height to her 5’4″ frame. With this book and Vogue magazine’s feature, the Queen has cemented her role as a true colour tastemaker… (I haven’t quite figured out if this book is for sale yet? I would love to see it in person. I am hoping it features both the pastel shades and stronger, more jewel tone colours that anchor The Queen’s wardrobe)
(photographs via pantone & leo burnett london via yatzer)
Chalk pastels are one of my favourite art supplies. Sure, they’re messy but that’s the beauty of them! The different layers of colourful dust mixing across a box layered with vibrant sticks and shards of hue… There is a new palette each time you pull them out of your drawer. This shot by Elsie Larson highlights some mingling chalk pastel colours and brings a big dash of bright to a rather grey day.
(photograph by elsie larson)
Photographer Joshua Scott created this fantastic toy typography for a youth-focused feature in BULLETT Magazine. The layers of vibrant objects create a playful yet artful texture that works wonderfully with the modern type shapes (the result of perfectly selected colour, shape and scale). I always knew something brilliant could be done with those bright Barbie brushes…
I have a thing for coloured metallics lately so this packaging for Amelia Rope Chocolate caught my eye. I love the simple but fun mix of vibrant metallics and kraft paper. Oh and how about Amelia’s Chocolate Cube Collections? A bit like a box of colour swatches, these little shiny cubes are too handsome to eat…
(photographs by mary wadsworth via amelia rope)
Animals are longtime fixtures of the design world and seem limitless in their ability to inspire home objects, fashion and so much more. Specific animals move in and out of the spotlight and some become the focus of massive trends. Case in point, owls who are critter rockstars at this point! In my latest post for Rena Tom’s site, I focused on animal trends and who could take the throne from owls as the next “it” creature. My money is on foxes but there are many other contenders. Foxes, giraffes, whales, llamas and even snails – will any of these animals reach owl-level popularity? To read my post, please take a look here.
(images via lucky pony, bongo design, madewell, j.crew, rue mag and anthropologie)
In my final guest post for yellowtrace, I showcased the fabulous styling of HAY, a Danish furniture company. The HAY 2012 Catalogue has a behind-the-scenes, raw cement type of vibe mixed with play-like sets of interior design. Their product shots are equally great (check out those artful stacks of boxes). I just love that end shot of all of the catalogue pieces taking a final “bow” in colour-coded sections. I wouldn’t mind framing that photograph! HAY’s 2012 Catalogue is sure to become one of my favourite examples of brilliant styling. To see all of the photographs and read my whole post, please pop over to yellowtrace.
(photographs via HAY)
I am mesmerized by ‘Bubblegum‘, a whimsical and colourful installation by Merijn Hos and Renée Reijnders. The piece features 50 balloons around one metre in diameter that “shine, float and bubble” across the large water expanse Weerwater in Almere, Netherlands. At night, LED lights are inserted into the balloons to create a magical hue-filled glow. I love that no photograph of this installation will ever be the same twice as the balloons dance across the water in a million different ways…
(photographs via merijn hos and renée reijnders)
One of my favourite things about colour is that stunning combinations often appear in the strangest places and an inspiring palette can truly be found anywhere. I recently came across this chart for washi tape and decided it made a perfect tropical colour palette with pastels, mid-tones and neons working seamlessly together in saturated summer brilliance…
(photograph via organdie)
A beautiful campaign for Artisan Make Up Paris captured by French photographer Ludovic Taillandier. Fingers crossed the campaign expands with more images as I just love the burst of brilliant powder against a face with neutral make-up. Colourful cosmetics are a rather inspiring medium, don’t you think? If only this was how they were applied on a daily basis…
(photographs via ludovic taillandier)
I love the colour-focused styling of these culinary stacks by Dutch design duo Raw Color. The still life photographs were created for the opening of Martin Creed’s revamp of the iconic Sketch restaurant in London and feature disassembled ingredients of dishes from the new menu. As culinary creations are really layers of flavour and stacks of colour and texture, the styling is both smart and beautiful. Perhaps we could do away with word-focused menus and just use striking photograph to select our meals…
4th image: Sweet chilli paste, filo pastry, foie gras, sesame seeds, green apple, pink radish, celery leaves, spring onion
6th image: Parmesan cream, goat cheese, coconut, beetroot sauce, lobster, squid Ink, black Olive Jelly
(photographs via trendland)
I love this exuberant branding for Dan Arisa, a Spanish musician and percussionist. Barcelona-based designer Alex Dalmau created the sherbet-hued identity and I think the exclamation point fits just perfectly for a drummer. Like a typographical “hi hat” perhaps? Love the branded drum sticks and musical noises on the letterhead too. More musicians need fabulous personal collateral methinks…
(photographs via alex dalmau, spotted on designworklife)
How on earth did it become Friday so fast? I have clearly slacked off on creating my palette of the week. A selection of colours that grabbed my attention yesterday are in this still life shot by fantastically talented photographer Johnny Miller. From dusty lavender to vibrant cherry red, the colours work seamlessly together. I love how the hues highlight that summer items can have a richer, more autumnal palette outside of the expected colour combinations.
(photograph by johnny miller)
We all know how ubiquitous neon, colour blocking and big florals have been lately. In fact, remixed and modernized 1980′s design don’t seem to be slowing down in any product category. In my post this week for Rena Tom’s site, I focused on four 80′s/90′s trends that are gaining steam and visibility: marble, brass, metallic colour and oxblood. I was inspired by an episode of The Golden Girls, an 1980′s classic full of design begging to be re-imagined and tranformed. Will these four trends become formidable in modern design/retail much like neon hues have? We will have to wait and see. On a side note, I am loving how well oxblood mixes with different colours from cornflower blue to vivid magenta to soft pastels! If you fancy a read plump with images, take a look at my post here.
(photographs via neapolitan, mjolk, samma, apartment therapy, designworklife, american prom, opening ceremony, euro style lighting and kleidersachen)
My second guest post on yellowtrace focuses on the most beautiful kindergarten I’ve ever seen – the Educational Centre En El Chaparral in Granada, Spain designed by Alejandro Muñoz Miranda. Colour windows were added to communal spaces like doorways (leaving classrooms with clear glass) so changing weather and seasons could inject the white space with gorgeous coloured light. Can you imagine going to kindergarden somewhere so magical? Check out my whole post and more images on yellowtrace.
(photographs by Fernando Alda via Dezeen)
