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Archive for January, 2007

Blue Food

Published by
valentina
at January 29, 2007 in news. 0 Comments

This weekend I ate too much. This is why I am going to start my blue food diet! Why?

Because as Color Mattes (the useful website where I also found this picture of ‘musubi’) reports , of all the colours in the spectrum blue is an appetite suppressant. Weight loss plans suggest putting your food on a blue plate. Or even better than that, put a blue light in your refrigerator and watch your munchies disappear. Or here’s another tip: Dye your food blue! Dramatic results can also be achieved by using a blue light bulb for your dining area.

Blue food is a rare occurrence in nature. Aside from blueberries and a few blue-purple potatoes from remote spots on the globe, blue just doesn’t exist in any significant quantity as a natural food colour. Consequently, we don’t have an automatic appetite response to blue. Furthermore, our primal nature avoids foods that are poisonous. A million years ago, when our earliest ancestors were foraging for food, blue, purple and black were “color warning signs” of potentially lethal food. Blue is often associated with alkaline conditions, whereas most organic life is mildly acidic. Food scientists have conceded that there are no natural food dyes of a blue colour1, and yet psychological research has concluded that blue is a relaxing colour with a positive influence on mental and physical performance. Nevertheless, there are a few brave foodstuffs that daringly cross the boundaries and promote themselves, bravely, as blue. Check the list in this article Continue reading ‘Blue Food’

Travels through colour

Published by
giovanna
at January 27, 2007 in news. 0 Comments

Finlay V., ColourJanuary has been the month of books, so let’s close it with a volume on ‘travels through the Paintbox’. Colour (2002), by Victoria Finlay, is an extensive investigation of the origins and histories of colours and hues through Europe, Asia, Australia, America. Finley, expert journalist and traveller, has an intriguing way of linking different experiences jumping from a continent to the other without loosing the reader’s interest. Raw and beautiful ochre from remote Australia, the mysteries of black and toxic white, red, orange, yellow, green and more.

The following is a passage from the third chapter, White:

It took 100 tonnes of lime to allow the world’s most famous white-coloured house to breathe, and it covered it in style. By 1800, when the new President’s House was opened, it was the talk of the newly named city of Washington. It was the greatest home in America, and workmen were constantly being diverted by members of the public wandering in to watch the place being finished. It was to be a classical building, the freemason founders of America has decided - and should therefore be white like the ancient Greek buildings they so admired. Continue reading ‘Travels through colour’

American Apparel

Published by
valentina
at January 25, 2007 in news. 0 Comments

When I am off work today I am going to buy some t-shirts. Even if it’s against my ‘2007 save money’ project, I will probably go to American Apparel ®.

I might say that the choice is due to the store being very close to my office, to their quality fabrics or their policy.

The truth is that I have a craving for the colours they use. Continue reading ‘American Apparel’

New Pantone book

Published by
giovanna
at January 24, 2007 in asides. 1 Comment

Pantone book 2007

A new book on colour published by Pantone will be out February 23. Written by well-known colour consultant Leatrice Eiseman (head of Color Expert) Colour: messages and meanings is a follow up to her previous book Pantone guide to communicating with color (2000). Sounds like a good new entry for my colour library, which is growing steadily. Will post a proper review!

Jody Turner: Design and Color Trends

Published by
valentina
at January 23, 2007 in news. 0 Comments

Jody Turner is CEO of Culture of Future a trend and design culture consultancy in Los Angeles. She works with strategic trend partners Kathy Baylor in NYC, Reinier Evers in Amsterdam and Style Vision in France.
Culture of Future is currently working with Liz Fried in NYC and Paul Bennett in London on a “brand is dead” business and trend handbook.

Thanks to Vronili, as usual, I found this article published on Apple website about ‘Design Color Trends’.
I do agree with Jodi when she says that brand ideals are shifting from a primary focus on iconographic hierarchy to a sideways, organic relationship with consumers.

Copied and pasted below.

“Culture is moving from homogeneous expressions to an era of overlapping influences, creating a “co-creation culture.” As trends move out of focus, consumers are not discarding them as new trends move in. Rather, they are keeping bits, discarding others and redefining them on their own terms. Consumer choices are influencing design and color industries in brand new ways.

Continue reading ‘Jody Turner: Design and Color Trends’

Blue book

Published by
giovanna
at January 22, 2007 in news. 0 Comments

Blue, history

Written by Michel Pastoureau and published in 2001 by Princeton University Press, the book Blue, the history of a color is a fascinating study on meaning, symbolism and traditions associated with blue. This colour can represent purity, sophistication, power, authority. Coming from a Catholic country, I tend to identify a specific hue of blue with the Virgin Mary, at least when thinking about religious iconography. In the tradition Mary was always portrayed wearing blue robes, symbol of virtue and majesty. One of the most interesting aspects of colour theories is the study of how colours are perceived by different cultures and religions.
Also, I found out that Pastoureau wrote a book titled The Devil’s Cloth: A History of Stripes and Striped Fabric which was recently suggested to me. Sounds like an interesting read!

Add colour to light

Published by
giovanna
at January 18, 2007 in news. 1 Comment

metacolor artemide tian xia artemide

Light is a cardinal element for any environment, from habitation to work, from museums to shops. The introduction of colour in lightning aims to create a specific atmosphere, e.g. to stimulate creativity or reduce stress. Also, shaping a space with coloured light could be a perfect way to improve a dull and minimal room. Architects and designers have lately been focusing on the use of colour, as shown by a very interesting issue of the Italian magazine Area, (’Colors’, no.85, March/April 2006). An example of such interest is the production of multi-coloured lights by Artemide, which came up with pieces like ‘Metacolor’ (by Ernesto Gismondi, 2001) and ‘Tian Xia’ (by Carlotta de Bevilacqua, 2004). Metacolor is part of Artemide’s My White Light series (2006), a project which “allows users to pass from the world of white light to the world of colour (…) by turning the remote control around” (via Artemide). Basically the idea is to give the choice of modulating colours according to one’s mood, or specific use. Something similar to ‘Mediterraneo‘, multicolored chandelier designed by Gaetano Pesce.

[Pictured on left ‘Metacolor’, right ‘Tian Xia’, by Artemide]

Is Pantone a Monopoly?

Published by
valentina
at January 16, 2007 in news. 1 Comment

I know I know I have already posted twice about Pantone. In those occasions (1 and 2) admitted that their website is a massive source of inputs.

However I don’t want to be misunderstood and look too enthusiast about it. Thus I am posting an article written by J.C. Hertz and published on Wired in 2002 (it’s not the most recent I am afraid). It’s about Pantone as a monopoly and it looks into what Chromophlia project was intended to explain: colour forecasting process.

Living Color by J.C. Hertz

“The Pantone factory is to color what Willy Wonka’s is to candy. Rising up from the New Jersey marshlands, the 80,000-square-foot plant turns out millions of paint chips and fabric swatches a year. In the testing lab, a mad-science contraption pumps rainbows of liquid through dozens of clear tubes into shiny steel canisters. On the factory floor, 30-yard bolts of fabric churn in steaming baths of orange, purple, and blue. A printing press squirts 72 inks at once onto seemingly endless reams of paper, which emerge brilliantly striped, each hue stamped with its number and ink-mixing formula in tiny black type.

Bound into flip books and binders and decks of swatch cards, these reference strips are the color genome of consumer culture. Pantone codes define the shade of every car, sneaker, and corporate logo. Starbucks green, Gap blue, and Barbie pink are the same everywhere for a reason. Pantone’s system ensures that 16-1359 Orange Peel in Germany is identical to 16-1359 Orange Peel in Brazil, that an ad campaign launched on Madison Avenue color-matches the cell phones manufactured in China. If color is a language, Pantone is the Oxford English Dictionary — thousands of shades, from almond blossom to walnut, that can be printed, woven, or extruded anywhere in the world. Continue reading ‘Is Pantone a Monopoly?’

Add colour to ads

Published by
giovanna
at January 16, 2007 in news. 0 Comments

Bravia ad stillEveryone’s talking about it and I’m quite frustrated because I don’t own a TV set and it’s been a while since I went to the cinema. What am I talking about? The new Sony Bravia ad, of course. They even set up a whole website celebrating this monumental explosion of colours. And there’s a game that mimics the set of the ad. It’s fun, but I still find it difficult to colour 20% of the tower!

Colorstrology

Published by
valentina
at January 15, 2007 in news. 3 Comments

According to Colorstrology, a tool developed by Pantone and written by Michele Bernhardt, my personal colour is Sky Blue (Pantone 14-4318). This is why I am an instrument of light and love. I am a highly principled with a refined nature and anything that is crude or base is antagonistic to my sytem. I have a strong sense of fair play and find it difficult to associate with people who are unscrupulous. Whether I am viewing works of art or creating them myself, I have a good eye for detail. My personal colour embodies the qualities of peace and calm. Wearing, meditating or surrounding myself with Sky Blue helps my pierce through hurt and anger and aligns with vision and possibility. Continue reading ‘Colorstrology’

S Y N C H R O M Y

Published by
valentina
at January 14, 2007 in asides. 0 Comments

S Y N C H R O M Y by Olivier Ruellet

From 9 - 23 January 2007 on show at Watermans Lower Gallery is second work in series Sense Detectives developed in collaboration with Thames Valley University.

Synchromy is an interactive video installation relying on motion tracking technology to place the spectator at the heart of a creative process: akin to a painting that would react to the level of motion expressed by spectators, Synchromy adapts its own visual dynamics to therhythm shown by the audience, who develops in real-time a pictorial work of which they can start to understand the working and own it by becoming progressively more conscious of their gestures in front of the work, and thus explore new sorts of reaction between motion and image.

Sonia’s colours

Published by
giovanna
at January 12, 2007 in news. 2 Comments

Skira, SoniaThis year Father Christmas (actually Mother Christmas!) brought me a very interesting book on Sonia Delaunay (1885-1979), Ukrainian artist who explored the potential of colour using various media. Sonia Delaunay, Atelier Simultané 1923-34 focuses on her textile designs, which are considered among the most influential contributes in the sector. Together with her husband Robert, Sonia founded the movement known as Orphism, characterised by the use of strong colours and contrasts, which inspired her in the creation of beautiful garments. The book, published by Skira and curated by Annette Malochet and Matteo Bianchi, is the catalogue of the homonymous exhibition held at Museo Villa dei Cedri (Bellinzona) between April and June 2006.

Photography: colour vs. b&w

Published by
giovanna
at January 12, 2007 in asides. 0 Comments

Russell LeeLast chance to see Bound for Glory, America in Colour 1939-1943 at the Photographer’s Gallery (until 28 January).

“Taken over sixty years ago, these colour photographs offer a fresh perspective on one of the most important periods of recent photographic and social history. In 1930s & 40s America one third of the population were ‘ill clothed, ill housed and ill-fed’. Until now the grinding poverty of the time has been epitomised by the iconic black and white images of Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans and others, so these colour images by Marion Post Wolcott, Russell Lee and Jack Delano have an almost shocking immediacy and freshness bringing to life the human cost of the Depression. During this time, photographers were employed by the FSA (Farm Security Administration) to garner support for President Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal by revealing the poverty of primarily rural America. The initial black and white images were intended to educate the wider population about the problem. Then from 1939 colour photographs were taken to show the improvements the New Deal had made, whilst acknowledging that there was still work to be done. These startling images were made possible by the newly developed Kodachrome colour film.” (via Photographer’s Gallery, photo: Russell Lee, 1940, Faro and Doris Caudill, homesteaders, Pie Town, New Mexico)

Have a look at the history of Kodachrome colour film.

The names of colours

Published by
valentina
at January 12, 2007 in news. 0 Comments

There is a blog I sometimes read since I moved to London in order to improve my English vocabulary. It is World Wide Words by Michael Quinion. This morning I was reading an article about … guess what? Colours of course!

The title is The Fugitive Names of hues and it’s about shifting colour names.

” Words for colours are slippery things. This came particularly to mind when I was reading through some fashion pages the other day as part of my eternal search for new vocabulary. One piece of clothing, whose coloured illustration showed it to be a sort of dull pastel green, was described as being khaki in colour. Now I am old enough to remember the colour of British army uniforms just after the Second World War. Their uniforms were also said to be khaki (so much so that to be in khaki meant to be in the Army), but they were most certainly also a sandy brown with no hint of green. This fitted the etymology of the word — a legacy of British rule in India — which comes from an Urdu word meaning “dusty” (no connection with the ancient informal English term cacky, though the implied colours are, or were, similar).

If a word so recent and apparently so clearly defined can change meaning, almost without anyone noticing, perhaps it is not so surprising that other colour words have done the same through history, even those for the primary colours that you would think too well-grounded in nature to suffer much change. Continue reading ‘The names of colours’

Giant coloured jellyfish

Published by
giovanna
at January 12, 2007 in asides. 2 Comments

Mediterraneo by Pesce 1
Wallpaper’s February issue is entirely dedicated to the Best Design Awards. Included in the categories there’s the Best Oddity, which was won by ‘Mediterraneo’, a chandelier created by Italian designer/artist Gaetano Pesce for Swarovski Crystal Palace. Nick Compton writes in Wallpaper: “Given Pesce’s long passion for primary colours and wild plasticity, his offering was never going to glow gently into that good night. And so it turned out. At first glance, ‘Mediterraneo’ looks like a rather traditional chandelier. But then it starts to shift, move, breathe, dance, talk and even give off aquatic scents. It has 140 strands, each made up of 87 LED-illuminated Swarovski crystals that change in colour and radiance, and it can be remotely instructed to ebb, flow, glow, bulge and balloon, as you, the entranced viewer, gaze up at the giant jellyfish of your dreams, or nightmares.”

Mediterraneo by Pesce 2

[’Mediterraneo’ as seen at the Crystal Palace show, photos via designboom]