Diem Chau carves crayons (and sometimes pencils) with mind-boggling artistry and attention to detail. She turns everyday crayons into tiny, exquisite sculptures. Diem creates custom pieces for anyone seeking a crayon version of their family, friends or animals. I love her commissioned word currency and chinese zodiac sets and their corresponding colour choices. Diem also created one-of-a-kind metallic crayon cravings of iconic World Cup athletes for Nike. I love the way they were packaged and displayed in an engraved wood stand. I just love Diem’s work and would love to go to an artist or designer’s wedding and see her crayons as the cake topper!

(images via diem chau)

The colour lavender has always confused me. In fabric, products and furniture, it is almost always a pastel or light shade of violet. In nature, its namesake flower lavender is brilliant royal purple. The description on wikipedia doesn’t clarify much – “a wide range of pale, light, medium, or greyish violet colours, as well as some pale or light pinkish, magenta, or purple colours as well as some pale or light blueish-indigo colours.” That definitely doesn’t help! In any case, it is a beautiful shade in all of its many forms. In particular, lavender fields are stunning expanses of bright purple that must be incredible to see in person.

(images via national geographic, travel vista, charlie waite)

It is a known fact that Mexico is an incredibly vibrant place but Guanajuato, a central Mexican state, seems to be particularly enthusiastic about colour. Yet another location for the soon to be created ‘plenty of colour travel tour’ to visit!

(images via nadsart, greg phipps, aspiazu, jordi angrill, lucy nieto, roberto bojorquez, eric lovelin, aspiazu)

I love how Oliver Schwarzwald injects colour into the everyday with such imagination. He creates a completely unique colour palette by adding just a small dash of colour to nature. I especially love his use of colour when applied to ugly urban life. Those balloons add so much joy to an uninspired industrial wall. It remind me of the rainbow graffiti I mentioned yesterday. How can you not love artists who bring happiness and life to eyesores?

(images via behance)

The DLA Piper office, designed by Dutch architecture firm Hofman Dujardin, has a carpet colour gradient that reflects and compensates for how much sunlight affects the space during a working day. The warm colours were used where there is the least sun and the cooler colours were used where there is the most. If you have ever worked in a large corporate office with kilometres of beige carpet and fluorescent lighting, this idea is just plain brilliant as it allows a cookie cutter office to become a happy, creative and stimulating workspace.

One of the biggest bonuses of this idea is that the gradient of colour becomes instant wayfinding. In large offices of this nature, you often find yourself turning corners that look identical and losing any sense of direction. That certainly wouldn’t happen this office! (I imagine something like, “Let’s meet in Fred’s office. He’s in purple.”) What I also love about this design is that it is bright but not over-the-top. By using white and neutral furniture and accessories, each office space remains sophisticated and modern. The carpet is glowing bright from below but the eye won’t become tired or overwhelmed by red walls or a yellow desk. I know this vibrancy of colour is unthinkable for most of the corporate world but I would love to see workspaces use colour more. Particularly in offices where windows are at a premium, colour can improve moods, stimulate creativity and create a distinct and easy to navigate space.

(images via 2modern)

I have always loved the word Patagonia because it sounds so regal, majestic and otherworldly. After seeing a photo of the glaciers where Argentina and Chile meet, I realize that my vision was pretty accurate. Breathtaking is the only way to describe the blue palettes created by the spectacular sculptures of ice. Patagonia is definitely added to the top of my “must see” travel list.

(images via dids, daveleb, dave curtis, ingekuhn, nigel craig)

An anonymous street artist in Albuquerque, New Mexico spills paint over the edge of neglected buildings and ends up mixing graffiti and art into a beautiful illegal rainbow. The appearance of these rainbows has generated a lot of controversy with people either loving or hating them (there has even been a police investigation and arrest.) Personally, I love them and their specific application to urban eyesores. I am not sure how someone can compare these joyful, dripping rainbows to standard fare graffiti lazily scrawled on the side of a convenience store. Alibi did an interview with the anonymous artist pre-arrest and I found that one of the most intriguing thoughts was what the rainbow made you see beyond vibrant paint: “part of the reason I do the rainbows instead of typical lettering is because every sign we see is left to right, and this is up and down. Automatically, your eye wants to follow the line, so you look from the ground up to the sky… when they see that, maybe they’re having a rough day or a rough year or life and they can just look at it and find peace for a second and remember what rainbows meant when they were a kid, or when they could look up at the sky and see one.”

(spotted on aesthetics of joy, images via mike kuniavsky, jiggs, nuart)

So I kind of cheated last week and posted The Black Book of Colours in this category. Well, consider this a formal introduction to the {in black & white} special feature! Many debate and many outright declare that black and white are not colours but rather, a shade and tint who only function to darken and lighten hues. That is just far too technical and clinical for my taste. I absolutely love the graphic strength of black and white especially when they are used in combination with bright punches of colour. Long story short? Black and white are full-fledged colours in these neck of the woods and are most deserving of a special feature devoted to their unrivalled style, power and possibilities. More to come in black and white!

(images via perry rubenstein, conundrum, mr.vilt, emmas designblogg, sketch 42, white on rice couple, A2, pinterest, sabahnur)

This is such a genius idea by artist Helmut Smit. Who knew acrylic paint blobs and a windshield wiper could create magic? You may have seen this spontaneous rainbow before but it begs repeating and might be the perfect solution to Monday morning!

(photo via helmut smit)

Call me a nerd but I find this chart created by Data Pointed fascinating. It captures the evolution of the number of crayons produced by Crayola over the last 107 years. At the heart of the chart is the original eight created in 1903 while the outer rim showcases how those colour categories grew into 133 crayon colours available today. The only thing missing is the intoxicating smell of opening a fresh box of crayons!

(image via data pointed. click the link to mouseover the crayon names)

Over the last week and a bit, I have been introducing some of the special features I hope to develop. I thought today would be the best day for colour me happy to appear for the first time. What is this feature? Right now, it is ten or more images that are full of colour and hopefully, inspiration. Future editions might have a theme and perhaps connect somehow. Regardless of how it evolves, I just hope it ends your week on a bright note and truly does colour you happy!

(photo sources from top: paul octavious, sfgirlbybay, landon nordeman, pinterest, abby powell, endless forms most beautiful, stefan ruiz, let’s colour project, let’s colour project, youngna park)

I love this take on Pantone colour chips by Matt Stevens. He created icons or used colours to represent notable or infamous events in specific years. I love the Janet Jackson Superbowl icon, the perfect colour for Monica Lewinsky’s dress and other clever takes on events like the introduction of the iPhone, the O.J. Simpson glove, the Dolly sheep cloning debate and the BP oil spill. I think the whole piece is just brilliant and I hope Matt expands it to reference the last 100 years!

(image via Matt Stevens)

I always wondered what was going on inside a Polaroid camera and this photo finally explains it – that each instant photo is being hand painted inside the camera! I love this shot by Juan Cruz Buenahora and how the rainbow graphic on the front of the camera compliments the colours poring out. After being briefly discontinued, Polaroid cameras are thankfully available again.

(photo by juan cruz buenahora)

Using their famous colour palettes and graphic elements, Illustrator Fabian Gonzalez created icons to depict famous comic book characters and superheros in their most simple form. It’s amazing how these striped down symbols really capture the essence of the characters. I love Batman, Spiderman and Wonder Woman but most of all, the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their colour-coded masks.

(Left to right, top to bottom: Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Superman, Supergirl, Barbarella, Mighty Mouse Ironman, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Cyclops, The Incredibles, Kick Ass, Radioactive Man, Fall Out Boy, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Captain Atom, Aeon Flux, El Santo, Wolverine, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Professor X, Chapulin Colorado, The Darkness, The Tick, Ben (FF), Hellboy, He-Man, Freakazoid, Silver Surfer, Witchblade, Metamorpho, Spiderman, Mandrake, Mighty Man, Green Lantern, Falcon, Atom Ant, Green Arrow, The Phantom, Storm (Xmen), Birdman, Aquaman, Iceman, Captain Marvel, Spawn, Space Ghost, Blade, Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, Flash Gordon, Bartman, The Vision (Avengers), TMNT Raphael, TMNT Leonardo, TMNT Donatello, TMNT Michelangelo, Plastic Man, Duffman, Scarlet Witch, The Punisher, Dare Devil, Hawkman, Black Vulcan, Zorro, Hawk & Dove, Sandman, Antman, Gambit, Wonder Twins, Marshal Bravestarr, Electra, Spider Woman)

(image via fabian gonzalez)

Denmark kitchen and tableware company rice dk creates such fantastic, vividly-coloured products. While they feature a zillion prints, it is the solid colour pieces that always catch my eye (especially when they are so gorgeously styled and photographed like above!) I just think everyone would be happier with a bright coloured spatula in their kitchen.

(images via rice dk)

There is just something about the colour of blueberries that I have always found magical and impossible to duplicate. A frost-covered midnight blue mixed with purple that has so much depth that it looks different in every light. My favourite part? Cut them open and they look almost clear but blend them up and a red-violet emerges out of nowhere. Now that is magical.

(image via tiny white daisies)