From the Magazine Publishers of America and Amazon, here are the winners of the best magazine covers of 2009. Which, by the looks of it, are mostly blue.

Inspired by looking at maps & atlases as kids, OddHero has created a set of prints capturing the color palettes of three oceans: Mediterranean, Pacific Ocean & Indian Ocean.

Bathymetery Prints

"The first in our series for those who, in school, were mesmerized by old atlases and maps. And in particular, the ocean depths. The Mediterranean is warm and shallow, but treacherous and its bed is littered with thousands of wrecks."

M. Night Shyamalan is known for, among other things, his use of color symbolism. In his first major hit, The Sixth Sense, the color red was used to indicate a connection to the dead and forewarn that something was about to happen. This was viewer's first taste of the kind of color symbolism that would continue to saturate his work. Ever since then, viewers have been paying close attention to every reoccurring hue, theorizing of its meaning and importance in Shyamalan's films.

Below, we take a look at some of the color symbolism used in his films with the help of discussions, interviews and essays on his use of color.

The Sixth Sense

In his classic The Sixth Sense he intentionally inserted bright red objects as a symbol that something ominous was about to happen. - irregural.com

His systematic use of red in The Sixth Sense to indicate some connection with the world of the dead. - Senses of Cinema

Suzane Smith sent over the ink to her post 25 Best Places to Find Knitting Patterns Online to share with the community, and we're glad she did. If you like to nod your head to the knitting beat then you might want to check it out. And even if you're a non-knitter there is plenty of color inspiration to be found in the yarns and patterns on these sites.

Below is a selection of sites and descriptions picked from her list. You can see the complete list and reviews here.

Few online communities are as welcoming and open to beginners as those devoted to the ancient craft of knitting. In order to promote an appreciation and love of the utilitarian art, they provide thousands of free patterns for personal, charitable, and occasionally commercial use. Ranging in skill level from the very basic to the masterful, they all provide an excellent service for those seeking to personally craft their own wardrobe and home, give a highly personal gift, or donate to a beloved charity.

Ravelry

raverly.com

Ravely easily exists as the most bustling knitting community on the internet, where hobbyists and professionals alike gather to share their projects and experiences, show off their yarn stash, and – of course – post knitting and crochet patterns. Every skill level of every possible project imaginable can be found on the 500 pages dedicated solely to completely free instructions. Even more are available directly from the designers for a fee. Smaller special interest groups have sprung up within the larger site as well, making it even easier to look for patterns conforming to highly specific needs and interests.

Plenty of color inspiration even for non-knitters, as you can see from the winners of Ravelry's Dye For Glory Competition.

Photography

Caribbean Colors

Link

A great blog that captures the unique and inspiring colors of the Caribbean taken from the lens of an "anonymous mom living in the Caribbean (who) takes beautiful photos."

Fun

Color Quizes

Squido

Via @COLOURlovers

Industrial Design

Shelving by Imeüble

Imeüble

Imeüble is Bjørn Jørund Blikstad who has been working with the concept of storage by "looking at it, not as a practical issue involving the storage of known objects, but in sync with our memory; comparing the mental storage capacity with the actual."

Music Video

WTF? by OK Go

OK Go

like a live action kaleidoscope....

Art

Web Service Book Prints By Stéphane Massa-Bidal

RetroFuturs | Flickr

With the holidays quickly approaching, I have been seeing a lot of metallic silvers and golds. Interestingly enough, I have not actually seen them as much as I used to when I was little. I guess individuals are trying to modernize the feel and look of Christmas decor. I miss them. So, here are some pretty interesting silver and gold items.

chairs | trays | bowl | boxes | bags | lego speakers | pillow | pen set

In color tradition, green & red is a forbidden color combination, yet it is front and center every year around Christmas. Of course, this is perfectly acceptable as we believe you can do no wrong with color. But seeing the same two shades paired together year after year can get a bit drab. So, maybe these palettes from the COLOURlovers groups Christmas Palettes & Ouch! will inspire you to create your own christmas palette in years to come.

This is a guest post by Speakin_Colors.

The Robin Redbreast

Among the many animals associated with Christmas, there is one which features extensively on cards, wrapping paper, cake decorations and crackers: the Robin Redbreast. The robin appears in many Christmas motifs even though it is extremely rare to see a robin at Christmastime since it is not precisely a winter animal. So why is it so popular? The answer lies in its red breast:

foxypar4

”The robin has become strongly associated with Christmas, taking a starring role on many a Christmas card since the mid-19th century. The Robin has also appeared on many Christmas postage stamps. An old British folk tale seeks to explain the Robin's distinctive breast. Legend has it that when Jesus was dying on the cross, the Robin, then simply brown in colour, flew to his side and sang into his ear in order to comfort him in his pain. The blood from his wounds stained the Robin's breast, and thereafter all Robins got the mark of Christ's blood upon them. An alternate legend has it that its breast was scorched fetching water for souls in Purgatory. The association with Christmas, however, more probably arises from the fact that postmen in Victorian Britain wore red uniforms and were nicknamed "Robin"; the Robin featured on the Christmas card is an emblem of the postman delivering the card”. - wikipedia

Every year color experts announce their opinions on what the next year's hot color will be... This year PANTONE® named theirs Turquoise. Benjamin Moore thinks "Cedar Green is looking to be the "it" color. Hermine Mariaux included "mustard tones; reds in the orange and brown families; deep, inky blues and blacks; and silver" in her colors. ...Looks like we'll have a wide range of hot colors in 2010 and we love that because we think there is a color of the year for each of us.

Can the leading color authorities really forecast a color trend anyway? I mean, if you're the most influential voice in a field and you forecast something... You're not really forecasting, you're telling people what they want. We don't think people want to be told what they want. We want you to tell us what you want.

Announcing a single color to represent the entire year is a lot like announcing a single song to represent the entire year. Yes, there will be a clear top grossing or breakout song of 2010, but that song can't really speak for every person. Nor can a single color. BUT, every person can speak for their own color of 2010... and that's what we want you to do.

Name Your Color of the Year 2010

It’s easy! Do some word association, choose your hue, pick your color and give it a name and description as your Color of the Year 2010. Then share it with your friends and let them know you set the trends for the new year.

Give Your Favorite Colors Your Vote

Even if you don't name your own color of the year, you can still help choose the color that best represents 2010. Check out the most popular colors and the new colors, and give your favorites your vote.

Share Your Colors of the Year

On every color of the year page, we've added some buttons to help you share your favorite colors. There are also two HTML codes you can grab to put a Color of the Year badge anywhere on the web.

The Rules for Color are Not Black and White

We all have some common connections and associations to color based on cultural influences and popular theories, but color is ultimately a unique experience for all of us. And because of that, there is not one set of rules for how to think about and use color.

We live in a global community with tools that allow us to create something independently and share it with the masses. This interconnected environment generates a much wider spectrum of color ideas and color applications.

We live in an Etsy world where indie creators can reach a global audience of customers. Where a few kids in college can create a global technology juggernaut with little to no thought in their branding decisions. When an artist's work can reach people all over the world without it leaving the easel, or a girl walking down the street can immediately appear on a blog in front of the next generation of fashion designers -- it is clear that influence has become democratized. When individuals can not only reach, but influence the masses; the power shifts away from the small groups of experts and into the hands of the people. There will always be some value in a person with depth of knowledge in a field helping to understand the raw data being generated and complied with technology... but the world is changing. Especially the digital world. And old companies failing to embrace and understand the new emerging digital world will find surviving tough in the years to come.

We're forging a color democracy and you get your own vote.

We believe in color like we believe in spiritual enlightenment. It isn’t something that can be given to you, but, rather, something that with the right inspiration, information, exploration and practice…you can discover on your own. We'll continue to try and help you find a bit of color enlightenment that has meaning to you.

Find your color enlightenment and share the love.

+Darius
COLOURlover

This is a guest post by Speakin_colors.

The magic of the Christmas season is reflected in the warmth of the family gatherings and the strong impact of tradition. More and more people, however, are growing increasingly tired of the conventional customary Christmas decor. The following ideas offer original variants while retaining the Christmas spirit:

The minimalist option

Both simplicity and functionality are highlighted in the minimalist tendency. A metal fruit holder filled just with nuts and placed on a table made of glass and metal can achieve the perfect minimalist festive atmosphere. White lillies, gardenias and white orchids floating in a crystal vase, red and green crystal wine glasses and red and white ceramic spheres on a red tablecloth complement this option in which unpretentiousness is the key element.

Viri G

The natural option

Nature acquires a predominant presence by using natural elements: glamorous apples decorated with red ribbons hanging from the Christmas tree, centrepieces full of dried flowers and fruits, ornaments having unexpected colours (turquoise, lime green, fuchsia, kiwi green, ocean blue and watermelon pink), sea-inspired designs and starfish of different sizes instead of traditional baubles…