Who says the neon colour family must always be distractingly bright? I love the soft, almost washed neon look used in this Las Palabras Pintadas branding by Buenos Aires designer Lucía Izco. Add in the perfect neutral brown/grey background, one tone photography and some fabulous typography? The recipe for print design that makes neon feel fresh and sophisticated…

(image via lucía izco/behance)

The neon trend doesn’t seem to be going anywhere and I am excited to see some diversity in the hues explored. Often, the term “neon” is focused on four or five colours but there is actually a wide spectrum to consider within the vibrant hue family. I love this old neon thread card on the design center at philadelphia university blog as it highlights just how many directions one colour (like “neon pink”) can go in…

(image via the design center at philadelphia university)

Bold typography, bright colour AND a handcrafted one-of-a-kind soul? Now that is the recipe for great print design. I love this simple but striking flyer design by Amsterdam studio OK200 for The Amsterdam New York Pop Up Show. Using the pink poster designs they hand-silkscreened for the event, the duo added a navy blue layer of flyer information on top. They sliced through the now chaotic surface to create 16 beautiful and unique flyers. I love the abstract typography crops and smashing mix of hot pink and navy blue…

(photographs via OK200)   

HOT+TEA, also known as Eric Rieger, is an American street artist who uses vibrant yarn as his medium of choice. I love so many of his installations including this marvelous piece called Lost+Found. HOT+TEA spotted a vacant Minneapolis tennis court with no net for the locals to use (a lost space). He decided to create a net using nothing but neon yarn so the court could be returned to its original purpose (found). I love how it mixes vibrant art with something that enhances a community and brings people together…

(photographs via / screencaps created from a video on unurth )  

Fantastic posters for Kibon ice cream by designer Renata El Dib. Love the clever rolled edge hinting at ice cream cones. It’s amazing what a two-sided print and some iconic neapolitan colours can do…

(images via renata el dib)

Every plate is a colour palette to me and this Rainbow Radish And Purple Kale Salad by Sneh at Cook Republic is no exception. What a beautiful mix of hot pink, chartreuse, black-purple and white. I’m not a radish fan but now that I know rainbow radishes exist, I may just change my mind…

(photographs via cook republic)

I have always been Olympic Games obsessed but, after spending a few years working on design for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, I am full on bonkers about all things Olympic from sports to design to cultural events. One of my favourite facets is how the “Look of the Games” comes to life and dresses the event from tiny keychain to massive building. I particularly like when this design breaks tradition and changes the look of a sport. Case in point? London 2012′s Riverbank Arena where, for the first time ever, the Hockey competition will be played on a colour that isn’t traditional grass green. Instead, the pitch will be vibrant cobalt blue with hot pink edges and, in another Olympic first, the ball will be yellow instead of white. CMYK dreaminess, no? The palette was created in response to a request from the International Hockey Federation to help raise interest in the sport and is the final product of copious testing. Both the warm-up pitch and competition field are bold, modern and sure to catch the eye of many new hockey fans. The cobalt field will help the yellow ball be seen and overall, the vibrant colour trio will be beautifully telegenic and bright. Great abstract pattern in the spectator seating as well. I love when sports experiment with modern hues and design. Can’t wait to see this field in action as I may have just found my favourite London 2012 piece of colour…

(photographs via creative review, anglotopia, telegraph, teamgb, guardian and the big picture)

I am a big fan of Canadian landscape architect Claude Cormier and when I saw the photographs of his Les Boules Roses installation in Montreal, I almost immediately booked a ticket East. Created for the Aires Libres summer celebration which turns Sainte-Catherine Street East into an art-loving pedestrian zone, the piece features 200,000 resin balls in three sizes and five tones of pink. Using bracing wire, the rows of balls are laced through the trees in nine different suspension patterns and at varying heights. The final product is a magical canopy stretching over 1km between St. Hubert and Papineau streets. The different tones of pink and levels of suspension bring dimension-rich, joyful texture to the streetscape. You can see this gorgeous temporary rooftop from now until September 16th. The world needs more colourful street canopies methinks…

(photographs via claude cormier, archdaily and arthitectural)

I’m a big fan of bold branding and the recent trend of more flexible, customizable features like stickers, stamps and tape. The identity for Round Hill Music, a boutique music rights company with a catalogue including The Beatles, marries creative-focused detail with a slick, trustworthy corporate feel. New York studio Established NYC focused on the necessity of tape in so many facets of the music industry “from notes on a grand piano to markings on a recording studio’s mixing board to taping plectrums on the microphones during a live gig or damping snare drums”. Tape became not only the central logo feature but is used as an bold branding detail across the identity suite. It’s instantly recognizable (always the mission) and I love the mix of hot pink, silver foil and black and white. Elegant and artistic – the best combination possible…

(photographs/quote via september industry)

The Kringel-Kari Notice Board by Mikael Nilsson is a looker. The 30 inch braid of gorgeous magenta is made of soft foam, an intriguing bulletin board material that can be molded into different shapes. I’m thinking adding it to your office or studio wall is an instant style upgrade…

There seems to be two sides to the red and pink debate – those who believe the colours clash and should only be featured together on Valentine’s Day versus those who believe the colours are meant to appear together in brilliant harmony all year long. I am firmly in the second camp but more so when the vibrancies of the hues match (I don’t love soft pastels and bright red together as much although there are plenty of examples of them combining handsomely). Crimson paired with fuschia or perhaps scarlet intertwined with magenta – I love when the boldest shades of red and pink meet. They pair so beautifully in nature so why not fashion, interiors and design? Love the combination with pops of other hues such as camel, emerald, pure white, saffron or royal purple. Oh, the possibilities of a red and pink pairing… What do you think? Do the hues clash or work together?

(photographs via peggy wong, sterling style and jamie beck)

German artist Frank Hülsbömer has a portfolio overflowing with intriguing studies of colour, form and rethinking everyday objects. Some of my favourite pieces are his tapestacks. Have you ever seen a stack of tape look so artful? I love the reflections he plays with (especially in that blue and foil image). My other favourite is his “Extroverted Disco Ball” and “Introverted Disco Ball” pairing. The idea is so very clever and witty. A long time fan of the mirrored spheres, I can honestly say I will never look at a disco ball the same way again. (p.s. how beautiful would that black matte “introverted” ball look in a white loft with bold pops of colour? Sigh. Back to daydreaming…)