I really like this identity for Imagine 8, a video production and sound design company. Designed by Ken Lo, the branding was inspired by television test patterns. Filling two circles with the vibrant colours, an abstract “8″ is formed to reference the company name. I like the bold geometry and use of such a famous pattern and colour scheme. Without any introduction, you instantly know this is a video/television company!

(via bpando)

I can’t seem to stop watching this stop-motion video so I thought I should finally post it! Canadian designers Lisa Blonder Ohlenkamp and Sean Ohlenkamp created this amazing piece of film magic. I can’t imagine how many hours it must have taken to arrange single books and take photo after photo. Well, you can kind of see how much time it took from the hands of the clock spinning around! On a side note, when I visited Sean’s website I discovered he is also the genius behind the Toronto Zoo Polar Bear Colouring Book that I posted about a while ago. What a talent. I am convinced that this is what bookshelves do when they are alone. A truly joyful, colour-happy film.

When I was little, I would watch The Wonderful World of Disney almost purely in the hopes of seeing Donald Duck’s uncle, Ludwig Von Drake, sing The Spectrum Song. I’m not sure why I was convinced that the colours would be different every week. I later found out that the cartoon was a good 30 years old and came out in celebration of colour television! No luck finding a high quality version of the cartoon on YouTube but this video is pretty good mood-enhancing colour therapy for a grey day in Vancouver (minus the short but slightly eye burning tie-dye section…)

You know that flight safety video that plays before every plane trip? You know, the one most people are ignoring as they rummage in their carry-ons or wonder where the drink cart is? Well Air New Zealand has insured that not one person will be distracted from their video screens. An explosion of colour, sparkle and spandex, this safety video is nothing short of hilarious. It is also surprisingly effective! I don’t think I have ever retained so much safety information. Kudos to Air New Zealand for taking a dry element of airline travel and infusing it with so much creativity.

(thanks Catriana for the inspiration!)

I love how Gold Panda (one of the best band names ever by the way) have used colour in their new music video. Filmed while the band was on tour in countries such as India, Germany and Israel, the video features the people and places met along the way. Director Ronni Shendar hoped to “simply focus on people and the notion of something shared, regardless of place, situation or climate zone.” I love how colourful lanterns become the symbol for what is shared – linking each person through the sparkling objects. In a sea of mindless, product placement laden music videos, it is inspiring to see a video that feels humble and hopeful. Everyday life is infused with vibrant pops of colour that unite us all and the result is a beautiful mini film.

(thanks to music guru Mélanie for the inspiration!)

If you have ever seen Pixar’s animated film Up, you can recall the wonder filled visuals of a house floating through the sky with thousands of brilliantly coloured balloons attached. National Geographic brought that beautiful image out of animation and into the real world for an episode of their new show, How Hard Can It Be? On March 5th, on a private airfield in Los Angeles, the National Geographic team launched a 16′ x 16′ x 18′ house with 300 8′ weather balloons attached into the air. The house flew for about an hour and reached an altitude of over 10,000 feet. The photos of the event are truly magical and really capture the colourful wonder of the film. I am hoping National Geographic recreates other famous animated film scenes. Perhaps those ballerina hippos from Fantasia are next?

(via my modern met)

Raging Bull (1980)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Bambi (1942)

The Matrix (1999)

Black Swan (2010)

The King’s Speech (2010)

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Jaws (1975)

Many films have a specific colour palette that creates a mood, highlights change in time or viewpoint and overall, creates a creative vision for how the story plays out. My new fascination is a blog called movie barcode that takes every frame of a film, compresses it into a sliver of colour and puts them next to each other. The result? A movie barcode. It is quite incredible how these barcodes capture the colours that dominate a film. From the examples above you can see the gritty brown of Pulp Fiction, the bright colours of animated films Alice in Wonderland and Bambi, the blue hues of ocean-focused Jaws, the dominating green of The Matrix and the teal opulence of The King’s Speech. It is amazing that one can follow the plot through the shifts in colour. I can’t wait to see what film movie barcode captures next!

(via flowing data)

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 love watching the Oscars and especially the Oscar fashion. Among the hundreds of gowns, there always seem to be colour trends that emerge. Last night was no exception as bright red, shades of purple and sparkling metallics took centre stage. While a black dress will always be an elegant Hollywood classic, it was nice to see so much vibrant colour showcased. My favourites colours and gowns on the red carpet were Natalie Portman in fuschia Rodarte, Sandra Bullock in scarlet Vera Wang, Cate Blanchett in lilac Givenchy, Mila Kunis in lavender Elie Saab, Helen Mirren in metallic taupe Vivienne Westwood, Halle Berry in sparkly champagne Marchesa and Hilary Swank in silver ombré Gucci. I loved the mix of lilac and yellow leather pearls and crystals on Cate Blanchett’s high fashion gown. In addition to an unexpectedly gorgeous colour palette, it really stands out as a work of art. What were your favourites?

(images via elle, styleite & just jared)

This post is a bit late coming. Betty White was the host of Saturday Night Live eight or nine months ago. After that show, I grabbed these photos of the show bumpers and used them as inspiration in building plenty of colour. Albeit a bit late, I still wanted to post these colourful shots of her. Why? Because Betty White looks flipping fabulous bathed in bright hues. I am also a longtime fan of Saturday Night Live’s between skit photography style. It is fun, glossy and colourful. Love the vibrant colour palette used and I am happy they highlight what we all know – Betty White rocks.

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)

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)