A theme of chalk street art seemed to pop up in my posts this week which, while totally unplanned, does reflect a style of art I really love. Chalk is probably the cheapest and most accessible art material which is likely why it’s the medium of choice for many kids and artists. I love the powdery and richly pigmented colour chalk creates and how its non-permanent nature allows for chalk to spring up on every surface imaginable (legal or not). There are artists who use the medium in fairly serious styles of art but I find myself enjoying the more casual and random pieces of chalk art that often pop up on streets and embrace its youthful and joyful spirit. This week’s colour me happy celebrates the quirky side of chalk and of course, the vibrance of its colours. There is nothing better than the palette created by a box or pile of brilliant pieces of chalk. This summer, buy some sidewalk chalk – you will find it impossible to not be coloured happy!

(images via goro watari, essimar, steven de sousa, jill allyn stafford, padraic, daddyw, jamin hoyle, john cachero, robert stribley, mark watson, michel, alice)

These photos are part of a project called ‘Sound Sculptures’ created by photographer Linden Gledhill. Using tiny drops of paint, a stereo speaker and high-speed macro photography, Linden captures absolutely stunning photos of the paint reacting to music being played. Several of the final photographs anchored Canon’s Pixma Printer ad campaign. While the images have been around for a bit, I find myself returning to stare at them often. The shapes are mesmerizing as the paint dances to music and the colour combinations are dazzling. I hope to see more of this beautiful technique.

(check out a behind the scenes video of how the innovative images came to life)

I am always intrigued by Pantone’s Colour of the Year selections. They are almost always great indicators of colour trends ahead. Pantone’s ‘Blue Iris’ in 2008 was an insanely popular colour. I remember sitting in a meeting with seven other people wearing that exact hue! It wasn’t until I saw this image of the last 10 years worth of colour choices together that I realized how many have been similar. The shades selected for 2003, 2005 and 2010 are very alike but understandably so considering the popularity of turquoise-based colours. Pantone’s Colour of 2011, Honeysuckle, is a major departure from what has been selected in the past. It is a bold choice given some people’s automatic feelings about pink-based colours. However it is undeniably captivating and uplifting and I really love its tropical warmth. Hopefully Pantone keeps up the unique, inspiring and outside the box colour selections! (p.s. love this chart made by Pantone. It is interesting to read a little bit about the thoughts behind each choice.)

This installation by artist and urban planner Candy Chang is so creative and impossible not to love. Candy turned the side of an abandoned house in her New Orleans neighbourhood into a giant strip of chalkboard where residents could take a piece of coloured chalk and asked themselves, “before I die I want to…” What a positive way to turn a rundown, eyesore of a building into something beautiful and uplifting. The responses range from poignant to sad to silly to hopeful. I love the way the coloured responses look against the distressed black chalkboard paint. The answers are meant to be rubbed off and rewritten by new visitors – allowing the installation to constantly evolve. I just love this and hope it inspires others to find creative and optimistic solutions to the eyesores in their neighbourhoods.

I really love Living etc. magazine, a modern interior design magazine based in London. Unlike many home magazines that feel overdone, cold or outrageously expensive, Living etc. is accessible, fun and colourful. I love the magazine’s layout design, whimsical but modern British sense of design and the fearless mix of pattern and bold colour. They also have a fantastic blog Living.Style.Etc. that contains tons of inspiring design ideas. I think it is time to splurge on an international subscription!

(images via living etc.)

The Boston Globe’s Big Picture is one of my often visited bookmarks as it tells a news story through incredible photography sets. Their recent feature behind the scenes of New York Fashion Week has some great shots of how such a massive scale event comes to life. I love the photos with striking bits of colour. In particular, I have always wondered how runway shows are organized so I was excited to see the photos of fashion designer Jason Wu’s seating and model charts. Love how the model charts use colour coding to ensure all pieces come together (writing specific style names on top of blue dot for belts, yellow dot for handbags, red dot for necklaces, green dot for sunglasses and purple strips for bracelets or pins.) A strange detail but I really do enjoy colour coding! I recommend checking out the whole set here.

Burano is a centuries old island in the Venice Lagoon famous for its intricate lacework and fascinatingly colourful homes. In my research I found many different reasons for the use of vibrant paint colours including enabling fishermen to identify their homes in the fog, to act as a street address legend as Burano does not use house numbers, to indicate a specific family and finally, that the different shades corresponded to owner’s fishing boats. Whatever the reason, Burano looks like another brilliant colour mecca place to add to my ‘must-visit’ travel list!

(images via stefano, david cunningham, fsa99999, stefano, roberto marinoni, barbanna, barbara piancastelli, alberto, pete beck, david romagnoli)

Love these handsome silkscreen prints by brainstorm print & design. Using bold colour palettes and design, they feature the layers that make-up the ocean, earth and atmosphere. Such a brilliant and bold poster for any science, nature or design lover.

(via bancroft and ivy)

Yesterday marked the official month anniversary of plenty of colour! As a result, I thought confetti should be the theme for this week’s colour me happy feature. I love confetti and how its vibrance and motion makes for fabulous photography. Tossing pieces of bright paper in the air and letting them fall where they may? That has to colour you happy. (p.s. the top photo is of Times Square New Year’s Eve confetti testers checking their product. How do you get a job like that?!)

(images via msnbc, the sweet occasion, sophie wilson, nyc, willow osborn, lolita, joshua scott, ashley dzingle, the selby, youngna park)

How can you not love a pop-up book? This series by graphic designer Daisy Lew is a unique type of pop-up book as it takes advantage of every angle. Each spread features New York’s famous cityscape from the sideview and a famous New York icon such as the Big Apple, the Chrysler Building and taxi cab from the top view. Such a fantastic piece of paper art.

Over the last couple of years I have come across quite a few photos of chalk and graffiti colour wheels in various parts of Paris. I love the idea of such a bright, design-focused wheel popping up among the streets of the City of Light. The manhole covers are fantastic! I have tried researching their origin and/or if they are still being created but there appears to be almost no information anywhere The only specific spot I know one of these happy features was placed is Parc de la Villette. Maybe some Paris dwellers/experts are reading and can shed some light? In any case, the colour wheels bring joy and life to plain grey concrete so perhaps that is all the information needed?

(images via claire evans, rob meertens, molly steenson, clotilde dusoulier, maggie kaisser)

I really love business cards. Especially when they are unique and attention grabbing. Canadian designer James Prunean created these business cards when his brother needed new marketing for his painting business. I have seen other colour swatch based business cards but these have such great letterpress details and typography. Love the blind emboss ‘painter’ in the colour swatch and all of the hue options too!

(via lovely stationery)