Yes, I am a broken record of coloured smoke gushing (see here, here and here). I admit I am a tad obsessed. There is just something beautiful about an eyesore or neutral landscape suddenly bursting with colour. Until now, I have admired this mini-movement in still images only but then I spied this sublime video by New York based studio floto+warner (photography/director team Jeremy Floto and Cassandra Warner). The photographs are gorgeous but the video captures the dreamy way coloured smoke suddenly and vibrantly fills spaces while dancing and dispersing in the wind. I sure hope I see a fuchsia plume of smoke cross my path one day…

(photographs and video via floto+warner)

I saw Swedish designer Pernilla Jansson’s ‘A New Proposal’ for the first time yesterday and have completely fallen in love with it. Building on a desire to “disturb the established order”, Pernilla lets the standard office fluorescent light become a playful installation of beautiful neon. Simple and so very beautiful. I would love to see an office embrace this idea. One hanging over a reception desk or main studio table would certainly showcase a culture of breaking through the standard way of doing things…

(images via pernilla jansson and dezeen; spotted on rena tom’s pinterest)

During her 60 year reign, Queen Elizabeth II’s wardrobe has never lost its youthful and vibrant focus on colour. PANTONE and Leo Burnett London created this limited edition colour guide of the Queen’s ensembles in honour of her Diamond Jubilee. The guide features some of the Queen’s most notable colour choices including Primrose Yellow (the colour of her dress for William and Kate’s wedding last year) or Crystal Blue (her most frequently worn colour group). Pantone noted that perhaps the Queen dresses monochromatically to add a more stately height to her 5’4″ frame. With this book and Vogue magazine’s feature, the Queen has cemented her role as a true colour tastemaker… (I haven’t quite figured out if this book is for sale yet? I would love to see it in person. I am hoping it features both the pastel shades and stronger, more jewel tone colours that anchor The Queen’s wardrobe)

(photographs via pantone & leo burnett london via yatzer)

Chalk pastels are one of my favourite art supplies. Sure, they’re messy but that’s the beauty of them! The different layers of colourful dust mixing across a box layered with vibrant sticks and shards of hue… There is a new palette each time you pull them out of your drawer. This shot by Elsie Larson highlights some mingling chalk pastel colours and brings a big dash of bright to a rather grey day.

(photograph by elsie larson)

Photographer Joshua Scott created this fantastic toy typography for a youth-focused feature in BULLETT Magazine. The layers of vibrant objects create a playful yet artful texture that works wonderfully with the modern type shapes (the result of perfectly selected colour, shape and scale). I always knew something brilliant could be done with those bright Barbie brushes…

I have a thing for coloured metallics lately so this packaging for Amelia Rope Chocolate caught my eye. I love the simple but fun mix of vibrant metallics and kraft paper. Oh and how about Amelia’s Chocolate Cube Collections? A bit like a box of colour swatches, these little shiny cubes are too handsome to eat…

(photographs by mary wadsworth via amelia rope)

Animals are longtime fixtures of the design world and seem limitless in their ability to inspire home objects, fashion and so much more. Specific animals move in and out of the spotlight and some become the focus of massive trends. Case in point, owls who are critter rockstars at this point! In my latest post for Rena Tom’s site, I focused on animal trends and who could take the throne from owls as the next “it” creature. My money is on foxes but there are many other contenders. Foxes, giraffes, whales, llamas and even snails – will any of these animals reach owl-level popularity? To read my post, please take a look here.

(images via lucky pony, bongo design, madewell, j.crew, rue mag and anthropologie)

Casa Tissue Box Cover from Urban Outfitters. I think every home may need a house with tissue plumes of smoke…

In my final guest post for yellowtrace, I showcased the fabulous styling of HAY, a Danish furniture company. The HAY 2012 Catalogue has a behind-the-scenes, raw cement type of vibe mixed with play-like sets of interior design. Their product shots are equally great (check out those artful stacks of boxes). I just love that end shot of all of the catalogue pieces taking a final “bow” in colour-coded sections. I wouldn’t mind framing that photograph! HAY’s 2012 Catalogue is sure to become one of my favourite examples of brilliant styling. To see all of the photographs and read my whole post, please pop over to yellowtrace.

(photographs via HAY)

I am mesmerized by ‘Bubblegum‘, a whimsical and colourful installation by Merijn Hos and Renée Reijnders. The piece features 50 balloons around one metre in diameter that “shine, float and bubble” across the large water expanse Weerwater in Almere, Netherlands. At night, LED lights are inserted into the balloons to create a magical hue-filled glow. I love that no photograph of this installation will ever be the same twice as the balloons dance across the water in a million different ways…

(photographs via merijn hos and renée reijnders)

One of my favourite things about colour is that stunning combinations often appear in the strangest places and an inspiring palette can truly be found anywhere. I recently came across this chart for washi tape and decided it made a perfect tropical colour palette with pastels, mid-tones and neons working seamlessly together in saturated summer brilliance…

(photograph via organdie)

A beautiful campaign for Artisan Make Up Paris captured by French photographer Ludovic Taillandier. Fingers crossed the campaign expands with more images as I just love the burst of brilliant powder against a face with neutral make-up. Colourful cosmetics are a rather inspiring medium, don’t you think? If only this was how they were applied on a daily basis…

(photographs via ludovic taillandier)