I love this wood block typeface created by province studio. Using blocks of all different widths and heights creates a texture and dimension that would not have been achieved if all the blocks were equal sizes. I especially love the bright colour palette of aqua, azure, bright blue, yellow, purple, magenta and brown!

(images via behance)

A2 is a Swedish furniture company that makes bold, colourful and unique designs. Unlike a lot of furniture companies that rely heavily on neutrals, I like that A2 isn’t afraid of using bright colour. I especially love their textured and patterned chest of drawers and cabinet pieces. They would bring a fun pop of colour to any room!

I always knew the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador was a colourful place but when my friend David sent me a link to the province’s tourism commercial, I was stunned! It is a gorgeous video and it inspired me to research more of Newfoundland and Labrador’s incredible colour palette. Focusing on bright primary and secondary colours, the hues interact masterfully with the rocky coastline and vibrant blue ocean. I particularly love the colourful neighbourhoods in St. John’s, Newfoundland nicknamed “Jelly Bean Row”. St. John’s is a historic fishing city and when sea captains returned from their voyages, they were faced with rows and rows of identical Victorian houses. In order to make these houses standout from one another and insure a quick return home, each house was painted a different vibrant colour. This tradition continued on and as a result, Newfoundland and Labrador is one of the most colourful, striking and beautiful parts of Canada.

(I highly recommend watching the Newfoundland and Labrador tourism video. Thanks David for the inspiration!)

(images via brian carey, g.luff, jonathan penney, dr hostel, joanne dale, joanne dale, liyen, 13fridaymjf and elisabeth charmley)

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)

The Toronto Zoo used their beloved polar bears to lead an ad campaign and, rather than simply show photos of the animals, they decided to focus on polar bears’ ability to completely disappear into their snowy native environment (except for black noses and eyes of course). In addition to a television campaign featuring a white screen and black features, The Toronto Zoo created this ingenious colouring book and puzzle. I just love that the colouring book features only six crayons – arctic white, frost white, igloo white, polar white and snowball white (a.k.a. the colours of polar bear camouflage!) The whole campaign is so clever. I imagine this colour book would really expand the imagination of children while also highlighting something amazing about polar bears and their habitat. All of that being said, I am not sure if I would be able to stick to those white crayons for very long!

(images via ads of the world)

This is such a brilliant movie poster for “Coffee and Cigarettes” by Viktor Hertz. I love how the ampersand is the bold focal point with simple but strong details that suggest the title features – cigarette filter lines and a coffee cup in the negative space of the bottom ampersand loop. Most modern movie posters feature glossy photos of movie stars or animations so this clever, typography-focused poster is a refreshing change I would love to see explored more often.

(image via designspiration)

Ever stare at the paint chip wall at the hardware store and think that it looks like a piece of art? Canadian artist Peter Combe took that idea a step further by shredding designer size paint swatches and hole punching paint chips to create large art installations. I love the fringe-like texture of the shredded swatches and the reptile skin look of the layers of hole punches. It is really impressive how Peter finds the perfect colour swatches to create such detailed portraits. I think paint chips should be used as an artistic medium more often!

(images via peter combe)

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)

Italian designer Alberto Seveso took high-speed photographs of colourful ink mixing with water and the results are beautiful, billowing fabric-like shapes. I would love to see this project continue across the whole spectrum of ink colours!

(images via behance)

Sarah Illenberger is a Berlin-based artist and photographer that constructs such whimsical and joyful pieces. Watermelon, with its bright green exterior, hot pink interior and striking black seeds, is the perfect medium for this colourful photo. A piece of melon becomes a happy pink raincloud. I love it!

(image via sarah hillenberger)

One of the most vibrant holidays, Valentine’s Day is bursting with bright shades of red and pink. Red is the warmest of all colours. As such, it represents the height of every emotion – extreme anger, violence, passion and in this case, love. As pink is red with white added, it often represents a friendlier and sweeter approach to l-o-v-e. Roses are the traditional Valentine’s gift and what colour roses one is given has been used as a symbol in many plays, movies, books, songs, etc. Red roses are the ultimate symbol of romance and passion. They are an unmistakable symbol of “I love you” so buy them only if you mean it! The price and demand for red roses during Valentine’s Day increases every year – cementing their place as the true symbol of Valentine’s Day. Pink roses have several traditional meanings depending on the shade but overall, they convey gentler emotions than red roses including admiration, joy, grace and gratitude. Whether you are buying flowers or not, Valentine’s Day colours feel full of love and happiness because they are the warmest colours in the spectrum. It is a day full of red and pink eye candy for those who love colour!

(images via pj taylor, alex pinto, mayalee)

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)

It’s Friday so it is time for another edition of colour me happy! I still haven’t decided if this feature will always have a theme but for this week, I decided to focus on the vibrant colours of food and food styling. I think I was inspired when I saw a photo of that incredible pasta. From the unexpected brilliant magenta of beets to the bold yolk of an egg to the soft dusty white of baguettes, there is so much amazing colour in food. I hope to revisit this topic often!

(images via sarah drake, kiss my spatula, cannelle vanille, katie quinn davies, ellen silverman, béatrice pelter, the design files. katie quinn davies, maggie makes, a happy haven, katie quinn davies, bs in the kitchen)

Living in a coastal rainforest like Vancouver has immeasurable benefits including lush green surroundings, snow-capped mountains and mild winters. Sure, one too many grey days can cause mild frustration but it seems that a gloriously sunny stretch almost always follows a rainy one. Another side benefit? Those daily transitions of weather create beautiful light shows and rainbow patterns reflecting off of lingering raindrops. Have you ever walked into your living room and a chunk of random rainbow appears somewhere? I love when those bits of magic are captured like this photo by Catriana van Rijn. By reflecting on a rustically textured chair, the rainbow takes on new dimension and life. I kind of wish that pattern chair was sold somewhere…

(photography via catriana van rijn)

25,000 bouncy balls flying down the hills of San Francisco. Pure genius. Could there be a better location for such an idea? If you haven’t seen the commercial by Sony Bravia, you need to go here and watch the magic unfold. This is the first still photo I have seen of that ad and I just love the motion and colour it captures.

Breaking colour news! Pantone released their Fall 2011 Fashion Colour Report today. Twice a year, to complement the start of New York Fashion Week, Pantone releases the colours that will dominate that particular season. I have found it to be very accurate in predicting colour trends across fashion and all areas of design. Honeysuckle, a coral-pink that is Pantone’s Colour of 2011, makes an appearance in this list. Although an unorthodox Autumn hue, I think it will look incredible against the warm colours of Fall leaves.

A description of the palette inspiration from Pantone: “taking cues from the great masters, sepia tones of old Hollywood, Chinese opera, cityscapes and countryside, designers are paying close attention to texture, contrast and color for fall 2011 — pairing menswear with feminine twists, warm prints with cool metals, incorporating both old and new influences, and creating an intriguing balance between colors.

(read the report here)