This joyful video is making plenty of news today and for good reason. It is a happy maker! A few months ago, I posted a stop-motion video by Canadian designers Lisa Blonder Ohlenkamp and Sean Ohlenkamp featuring a colourful bookshelf re-organization. Well, the talented pair took things to the next level in their latest piece, “The Joy of Books”. With the setting of Type bookstore in Toronto and a whimsical score composed by Grayson Matthews, Sean and Lisa (and many volunteers) spent sleepless nights turning the shop into a truly magical world. I love the patterns and colours of flickering book spines, the two dancing book covers and the ending when all of the supplies pop back into their spots. I couldn’t agree with the last frame more – ”there is nothing like a real book”. I just know this is what shops do while we are sleeping…

(thanks Jen and Catriana!)

Until last week, I had no idea what the Department of Philosophy building at New York University looked like. When I came across an image while doing research, I was stunned. Jaw-dropped, eyes insanely large, stunned. How was this done four years ago but I had never seen it? Good Lord. While the exterior of the 1890 corner building is protected and thus remains untouched, Steven Holl Architects did a complete 30,000 square foot interior renovation. The concept “organizes the new spaces around light and phenomenal properties of materials” and it is hard to see the space as anything but enlightening. The skylight and 6-level stair shaft are awash in beautiful shapes and constantly change with the seasonal light. The upper level floors feature “different shades and textures of black and white, according to the texts in Ludwig Wittgenstein’s book ‘Remarks on Colour’“. Oh and those flickers of rainbow on the gorgeous textures of rich white? Prismatic film was installed on some of the stairwell windows which allowed sunlight to occasionally place a piece of rainbow onto the clean interior. It feels modern, spiritual and simply peaceful. Can you think of a better place to ponder philosophy? Easily one of the most beautiful pieces of interior designs I have laid eyes on and so very perfect for its subject. Hmm, time to google NYU philosophy program applications…

(all images © andy ryan via steven holl architects, dezeen and architizer)

From updating the traditional open/closed sign to picking a new photo styling look, there are so many elements to retail design that are inspiring and full of possibilities. As it is the New Year, it is the perfect time to update your retail or personal branding and design. Or just ponder some shop and design eye candy! I wrote a post on Rena Tom’s blog on some unique facets of retail design plump with inspiring images so take a look if you are interested. If possible, writing it has made me dream of creating a shop even more…

(images via portland garment factory, stilleben, is creative studio, magpie studio, joanna reutter, september industry, behance, the dieline and iiiinspired)

I love great wayfinding and signage design. The Tate Modern visitor maps and dispenser by London design studio Cartlidge Levene is an example of simple but pitch perfect wayfinding. Maps are vital tools in a gallery and in a space as expansive and visually stimulating as the Tate Modern, it would be easy for a display to get lost. A large clunky dispenser or oversize typography would be a distracting eyesore especially for an iconic gallery. What I love about Cartlidge Levene’s design is not only its strong looks but how it showcases the vital role of colour in wayfinding and design overall. The neon pink is essential in catching the eye of visitors as the hue vibrates off the black background. Instead of displaying hundreds of maps, the five columns of maps are carefully and handsomely placed at one end of the black dispenser. Even the integration of the cash box is great with its subtle rectangular shape and small £1 typography. This piece is an example of how even the most functional item can be be on-brand and very beautiful.

You know traditional letter banners that often appear at birthday parties and other standard occasions? The static wording means the sad banner must be tucked away until an event it fits comes along. But wait, Make Your Own Banner from The Pippa & Ike Show comes with 83 letters so you can put up a banner for any reason under the sun and even personalize it with a name. I love how this flexible banner can make any regular day a reason to celebrate. Why shouldn’t you festoon the small victories of life? Love the colour palette of black, fuchsia, light blue, lemon yellow, green and light pink too. Yep, this banner is an instant party in a box. Just add cake and sparkling beverages…

Happy New Year to all my colour-loving friends! My apologies for the unexpected spotty posting over December. Time to get back in the colourful swing of things. While I am a bit sad the holidays are wrapped up, I am thrilled to be in 2012 – a fresh year sure to be full of evolution, inspiration gathering and lot’s of colour. January is the inevitable month of calendar selling and while there are lots of stylish and covetable versions out there, I love the 2012 Accordion Calendar by the very talented Erin Jang of Indigo Bunting. Always a sucker for an accordion fold, I also love the cozy colour palette and simple mix of hand-lettering and clean typography. Throw in some lovely packaging and I am smitten. There are lot’s of ornate and highly-patterned calendars filling shop shelves but this one reminds me of what I want 2012 to be – full of good design and limitless possibilities that can’t be contained by a standard datebook box. (you can buy Erin’s calendar here)

I admit it, I am slightly Christmas bonkers. It’s hard not to be inspired and full of joy in a season bursting with colour. One of my very favourite parts of the holidays is advent calendars. They are just so full of design possibilities from the traditional windowed illustration calendars to the most contemporary parcel-a-day designs. Advent calendars make the lead-up to Christmas special and full of anticipation while also creating some fantastic design avenues to explore. I could post a hundred photos but these are a few that have caught my eye over the last few weeks. A paper forest, a watercolour spectrum, an office window showcase – advent calendars are beautiful in their traditional meaning and ability to make the holidays even more magical.

As we open the final advent calendar window/parcel, I want to wish you (each and every person who kindly reads plenty of colour!) a very happy holiday season and all the very best in 2012. I can’t believe that I started this blog exactly 11 months ago today. I am beyond grateful for the tremendous support I have received from all over the world. I started this blog because I saw a void in colour-focused design blogs and was hoping to just toss some hue-filled inspiration onto the Internet and maybe get a handful of visitors. I had no idea I would meet so many colour-loving, creative and supportive people. All of your emails, tweets and support in general has been amazing. Creating/running this blog has been a dream come true and I am so thankful for all of you who pop by for a bit of colour inspiration. Thank you. There are some changes on the horizon so expect bigger, better and more colourful things in 2012! – Chloé

(images via snug., fry dog design, inspiration overdose, snug., brigg, style cookie, anthology, griottes, a simple nest, happy mundane, house to home, the marion house book, creative review, cirkus, sheenalu, a few things from my life, country living, brigitte, ohdeedoh, french by design and the eclectic life)

I love these Crayon Rocks, available in 16 colours and made from non-toxic soy/beeswax tinted with natural mineral powders. In addition to being handsome nuggets of design, they actually develop children’s motor skills and allow for a better grip. They have a magic bean feeling, don’t you think?

Seeing these images of Toy Atlas Rainbow by artist David T. Waller on Colossal this morning made me want to run to the nearest antique store and look for intriguing shades of vintage cars. The rainbow installation features 2,500 old toy cars and showcases some lovely vintage paint hues. They say blue sells and that seems more than true in the toy car world! I am fascinated by the gradient of hues in the close-up shot as well as the small but mighty purple and pink centre. Explain to me again why real cars don’t come in such awesome colours?

(spotted on colossal via fasels suppe)

Artist Lee Baker used 10 thousand metres (or 32,808 feet) of colourful yarn to create his fascinating work ‘Refractive Monolith’. Commissioned by The Future Tense for its SPECTRA I exhibition, the piece utilizes the corner of the gallery to showcase vibrant acrylic strands pulling across a grey gradient pyramid and stylized graffiti-like clouds. A three dimensional reaction to his paintings, Baker explains the installation as the quest to use “vivid colour and extreme perspectives to ‘build’ fantastical meta-cities against a stormy backdrop of ashen clouds and pending darkness”. I love the up-close images of piles of yarn and how the strings intertwine to create different palettes from different perspectives. I imagine “Refractive Monolith” is one of those works of art that you see something new in upon each and every viewing. I would love to see Lee take this idea to the street and bring his grey illustration/bright yarn combination to urban art installation…

(thank you tabara!)
(images via lee baker and ma cup of t)

It’s that time of year when new calendars and agendas fill shops and blogs. Sure, they are helpful tools of organization but I like calendars mostly for their design possibilities. The Cut Out Number Calendars at Present & Correct are so simple but oh so elegant with their thick paper board, cut-out design and contrasting primary or netural hues. While I would gladly hang these handsome devils above my desk, I almost like them more in a stack. There is just something about that jumble of overlapping numbers that makes me happy…

How awesome is that long shot of a studio desk? Thin slices of Mac computers, handwritten notes, strange snacks and Pantone guides – it’s design studio heaven. Oneighty Creative, a design studio in the UK, directed a series of shots in the hopes of “unveiling the process” of creativity and brand creation to their clients (as well as a piece of self-promotion). Photographed beautifully by Adrian Ray, I think that fantastic long photograph and the additional images more than capture the process, tools, steps and overall beauty of studio life. There is no design key on computers! Oh and Oneighty had a great description of the shot and goal: “[a] visualised physical timeline of our brand process which creates a sort of mad hatter’s tea party feel”. I really love seeing the desks and studios of creatives so I can only dream that this overhead photography approach to those spaces becomes an entire book one day…

This is probably the longest I have gone without posting since I started plenty of colour 10 months ago! Some decidedly uncolourful things have sprung up but have no fear, I will be posting an avalanche of hue-filled items soon. There are few seasons as colour-inspiring as Christmas.

In the meantime and if you are interested in retail branding, take a peek at a post I wrote for Rena Tom’s website on the topic of gift certificates. So many shops and makers use boring plastic swipe cards or fill-in templates which is a missed creative and branding opportunity in my mind. There are a million small but impactful details that can make the buyer feel like their purchase is important to the seller and make the recipient feel like they got a really special gift. Oh and make your shop or company become a beacon of gift certificate attractiveness and fantastic branding! Take a look here if you are interested…

(images via hyperkit, boomkat, september industry, habit of art, present and correct, ncf studio, creature comforts, sweet paul, rie elise larsen and martha stewart)

Today is a bit like the Academy Awards for colour as Pantone announced their Colour of the Year for 2012. Who took home the top prize? Meet ‘Tangerine Tango‘ otherwise known as PANTONE 17-1463. An exotic and provocative reddish-orange with what feels like a pink undertone, this hue is anything but subtle. The inspiration for Pantone’s Colour of the Year is found across every avenue of design, technology, style, sport and world events. The economic and world uncertainty was captured in a series of more dark and muted colours over the last decade but in 2009, more optimistic hues took the spotlight as consumers looked for positivity and encouragement in products and clothing. Last year the colour was a summery coral-pink named ‘Honeysuckle’ that “encouraged us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor” and this year’s Tangerine Tango continues the trend of warm, uplifting hues with a tropical soul that is meant to “provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward”.

Orange in general has grown wildly in popularity and the Spring 2012 Fashion Weeks demonstrated that trend as it was a focal point in many collections. Orange seems to be all over furniture, branding, retail design and homewares as well. I’ve never met a boring person who’s favourite colour is orange. They have been, without exception, the most creative and intriguing individuals you could ever come across. Do a short ‘favourite colour’ survey at your upcoming holiday parties – I guarantee the orange-lover will be the most interesting! My grandmother had a completely Tangerine Tango apartment and I thought it was the most magical place ever. According to colour theory, orange is the hue of creativity and stimulates creative thought. That might explain why so many innovators and creative types love it so much (and why I could have sat and coloured in my grandmother’s apartment for days on end). It looks like she was about 20 years ahead of her time with her obsession with Tangerine Tango!

Oops – I digress from the Pantone Colour of the Year. I think Tangerine Tango is a bold choice and a great one. It is not a safe pick as orange is a pretty polarizing hue – you either love it or hate it. But I think it captures the recent trend and love affair with orange perfectly. It truly has been ubiquitous and it looks like that will continue far into summer. It is undeniably uplifting and positive. I love how designers have mixed the colour with neutrals, neons, and bold dashes of jewel tones. I also love the Tangerine Tango seems to have a pink element undertone to it. It can easily be softened into a sherbet colour or kept bold and neon-like. You may have preconceived notions about orange but maybe give it a try in 2012. Perhaps we won’t all be rocking a Tangerine Tango dress or lipstick shade but you could try a bag, shirt with an orange collar, throw cushion, jar of flowers or maybe just a random desk accessory. It’s a happy-inducing and creative colour and that’s pretty good goal for the year ahead.

Oh, I also love Pantone’s description of their Colour of the Year: “Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it. Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

(photographs from top left: Derek Lam Spring/Summer 2012, Matthew Williamson Spring/Summer 2012, Nanette Lepore Spring/Summer 2012, Elie Tahari Spring/Summer 2012 and Matthew Williamson Spring/Summer 2012 all via style.com; all quotes via Pantone)

That fireplace. Good Lord. A large expanse of fuchsia that will be in my dreams indefinitely and is only one colourful detail at newly opened The Saguaro Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona. The space was “inspired by the contemporary architecture of Mexico and the Arizona desert… designed around the color and light of the surrounding landscape.” Doesn’t it feel like you are in the middle of a desert sunset? A really inspiring palette including tangerine, fuchsia, grape, coral, saffron and a host of other warm hues. I love those bold pops of colour mixed with varying shades of natural wood. The bedrooms feel airy, vibrant and modern yet still calm. If I am missing in Scottsdale, you can definitely find me sitting by that beautiful fireplace…

(photographs via saguaro & knstrct)

I recently came across these Pantone Pots by Serax and now can’t stop thinking of all the places I could use one (or twelve). I wouldn’t mind a patio full of colour swatch pots with plants of contrasting hue (maybe some bright blue flowers growing out of that honeysuckle-hued pot?). How about using the pot as a hint of what colour will eventually grow from some planted seeds? For example, some lavender planted in that light purple vessel. Love the thought of one as a kitchen utensil or design supply container. From the Pantone Postcards I posted about before to these Pantone Pots, my Christmas wish list has two official pieces of delightful colour nerdiness.