If you’re like me, you might have double digit browser windows open at any given time. Don’t even get me started on the number of tabs I manage to create. The dramatic minimizing of browser window to dock on a Mac has always intrigued me and Emilio Gomariz explores this effect in his fascinating video, ‘Spectrum Cube’. Layer upon layer of perfectly organized browser windows form a beautiful study of colour and a dynamically shaded cube. How great is that end bit when all of the squares minimize together? After seeing this, I will never look at browser windows the same way again!

(thank you joseph)

Watching the Oscars and its red carpet of fashion has to be a high point of February. What colour trends emerged victorious on Hollywood’s biggest night of the year? I would say winter white was the runaway style choice. Other trends focused on various shades of red, blue, green, neutral and gold. I can’t remember an award show with less black! To be honest, I was a tad disappointed with Oscar 2012′s sartorial showing. I guess I just loved the fashion of last year’s show and wasn’t overly enamoured with many of the dresses selected this time around. That being said, I loved Emma Stone’s raspberry-crimson Giambattista Valli, Michele William’s coral-red Louis Vuitton, Penelope Cruz’s blue-grey Armani Privé, Tina Fey’s deep blue Carolina Herrera, Viola Davis’ emerald Vera Wang, Maya Rudolph’s plum Johanna Jonson, Cameron Diaz’s buff Gucci, Octavia Spencer’s white Tadashi Shoji, Meryl Streep’s golden Lanvin and Milla Jovovich’s sparkling Elie Saab. There were plenty of fashionable gents (and a mini-trend of navy tuxedos) but my very favourite was Christopher Plummer’s dapper midnight blue tuxedo complete with black trimming and a handsome Order of Canada pin. Now that’s true style. What was your favourite?

(photographs via harper’s bazaar, elle, the province and instyle)

As you may know, I am more than a little in love with bits of art in unexpected places. I find this piece of street art in Bergen, Norway to be simply magical. A dainty, elegant stencil on a rough, industrial surface…

(photograph by cicilie fagerlid via monique)

It may be for children but I would love a copy of The Color-Play Coloring Book created for MOMA by Pascale Estellon. The oversized book is full of colour-focused activities that allow kids (and awesome adults) to play with colour mixing, light and dark shades, warm and cool hues and so much more. I can’t wait to see more spreads of this handsome book of colour learning. Many look frame-worthy!

A colourful troupe runs around town infusing hue into interiors, wardrobes, cosmetics and mundane corners of life? Yep, I love this commercial for Target by director Filip Engstrom. Featuring the French-Canadian children’s song “Alouette“, the spot has a beautiful colour palette (love the costumes!) and is just plain fantastic. I especially love how a bounce on a couch results in bright throw cushions and the overhead visual of a grey intersection filling with colourful runners. Anyone want to form a similarly well-styled colour gang who travels by hot air ballon and frolics around adding dashes of hue to life? I’ll send out membership details soon…

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)

I recently came across the headquarters of Ziba Design, a design consultancy in Portland. The lobby features an installation of employee names laser-cut from wafers of Styrofoam and hung vertically according to date hired. As a vital prototyping material used by industrial designers and one that happens to be cheap and light, the use of Styrofoam is brilliant. Even better? The cluster of names is positioned across from large windows with a view of Portland’s waterfront. As weather and light changes, the wall will showcase different patterns of colours and shadows dancing across the typography. The piece will also constantly evolve as new Ziba employees are added to the piece (really highlighting people as the soul of any company). I love this installation not only for its beauty but as a example of fantastic material selection and, more than anything, how design need not be expensive to be stunning.

(photographs via aiga)

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…

Pops of colour are a timeless and always enticing cornerstone of style. Many have declared 2012 “the year of colour” as hues from dreamy pastels to saturated tropicals have dominated every avenue of design. Does colour ever really go out of style though? No! From classic strong selling colours to the trendiest short-lived shade, splashes of colour will always be highly coveted and ripe for evolution. I wrote a post for Rena Tom’s site about how these pops can be applied to branding, shops and product design (or perhaps your next chic outfit and interior design project). Take a look here if you are interested in happy-making splashes of hue…

(photographs via km graphique, dingbat press, the dieline, yellows photography, teaching literacy, weekday carnival, best made, tetino-tete and seesaw)

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)

I have seen a lot of Spring interior design magazines popping up lately with a theme of colour and all of their cover designs seem to feature photography of vividly styled rooms. While the lush visuals are enticing, I find myself thinking about this 1948 cover of House & Garden designed by Herbert Matter. Featuring Fall hues from pastels to jewel tones, the illustrated palette really makes you wonder what lies inside. I would love to see a modern interior magazine follow a similar swatch idea or infuse it into a photography-focused cover.

(image via condé naste/art.com)

Close your eyes and imagine a mixture of joyful Holi pigment throwing and a healthy run/walk in the fresh air. Yes, this heaven exists and its name is The Color Run. With the slogan “5 kilometres of colour madness”, this awesome event is less about a race (it’s not timed) and more about spending the day celebrating colour, family and friends. The only requirement is wearing a white shirt and being game to be covered in vivid hues. Throughout the run, participants are doused in bright pigments (food grade cornstarch that is 100% natural and safe). Each kilometre is focused on a specific colour – 1k is yellow, 2k is blue, 3k is green, 4k is pink, and the 5k finish is a “Colour Extravaganza” where a rainbow of hues are thrown with joy. I can’t think of many public runs or events that could create such unbridled happiness, fabulous imagery opportunities and pure colour love. What an inspired idea. The 2012 Colour Run is currently touring through 20 U.S. cities (see the list here). My fingers are crossed that The Color Run heads to Vancouver and the rest of Canada soon. Actually, I hope it becomes a global phenomenon because I’m thinking a day spent throwing colour and getting fresh air might be a key to solving some world issues. Until then, I will be contemplating selling all of my belongings and travelling city to city as a Colour Run groupie…

(photographs/video via the color run)
(thank you joseph and christopher!)

I love the surreal and beautiful photography series ‘Bronson Caves’ by artist Brice Bischoff. In Los Angeles’s idyllic (and often used as a film set) Bronson Caves, Brice used long-exposure to capture movement and dance he performed with large sheets of colour paper. The result is a unique capture of time – from a dreamy mist of colour to very clear edges of hue. Brice experimented with the photography style for over a year and I like that he used the same sheets of paper for the entire series. The materials became ripped, worn and discoloured which only added to the intriguing hues and textures created. I like the thought of time going by in wisps of moving colour…

(spotted on designboom)

There’s something about the design of a cactus that is just plain intriguing – a mix of a modern architectural shape, sharp needles and paper-like vibrant flowers. Catherine Hope explores these qualities in her colourful photo study titled (much to my delight) ‘It’s a Bit of a Prick’. Sourcing unique examples from Columbia Road Flower Market in London, Catherine creates beautiful compositions of texture and colour that showcase the most dynamic facets of cactus. In addition to having an photograph adorn my wall, I would love a circular silk pillow featuring one of her gorgeous images. Follow Catherine’s study on tumblr for future cactus inspiration.

They might be for children but I wouldn’t mind a Stepped Pyramid Block Set for myself. Created in Germany, the collection features 100 hand painted blocks of varying sizes allowing wee ones to create endless unique structures while also learning important skills like spatial conception. I think they would look fantastic in a white design studio and allow for jolly exploration into patterns, typography and so much more…

(spotted at acorn toy shop)

I wrote a post today for Rena Tom’s site about the value art adds to shops and other retail spaces. From a huge Confetti System foil forest at J.Crew to a tiny selection of curated prints in a wee store, art not only adds visual appeal but also creates a community, brings people in the door and makes a shop buzz-worthy. A stationery shop holding a mini-show of paper craft, a clothing store hiring an artist to interpret their new collection in a large installation or a kitchen store throwing a party for a food illustrator – adding a dash of art to retail is beneficial for both the maker and the shop owner. Plus, 1800 colourful shoelaces hanging from a ceiling just looks plain awesome. Take a look at my post here if you are interested!

(images via hip shops, imagine these, simply pix, suppose, flowers by bornay, the design process, the village and confetti system)