Strap your COLOUR goggles on, this is how the game is played:

Colors and palettes will be posted for you to match whatever from the web or your own camera.

Rules:

2. Hex values must match as closely as possible to the colors posted.
3. You must submit images in the comments.
4. You do NOT need to link/reference your finds.
5. To win, you must be the first to submit on that color or palette (must be a finished palette).
6. You must attach/link the Badge (only ones used in this post count) along with the image of the item in the comments submission.
7. Single Color Hunt earns you a COLOURlovers Swag Button.
8. Palette Hunt earns you a COLOURlovers T-Shirt!

ONLY ONE WINNER PER BADGE.

Single Color Hunt

Find a single item or group of items for a color swatch. Winner will get a COLOURlovers Swag Button!

We're throwing a contest for the best Mothers Day Floral Pattern Template design. Winner will receive $15 - ImageKind.com Bucks!

ImageKind is a community for artists to create and sell their work in many forms of print. Their goal is to develop an online art experience that provides both consumers and artists with an outlet for sharing, creating and buying art (from a digital file).

COLOURlovers is linked up with imagekind which allows you to easily import your COLOURlovers.com colors, palettes and patterns over to imagekind with the click of a button.

You MUST be the original creator of any colors, palettes and patterns in the COLOURlovers.com system to be able to import them to imagekind. If you are the original creator and are allowed to upload them to imagekind, you will see the section, BUY THIS PATTERN, on your item profile (fabric goes to Spoonflower.com, Artwork to imagekind.com).

It's a pretty neat deal! You can get your lovely patterns printed on canvas, posters or even framed prints.

Contest Details

Design a brand spank'n new Floral Template - Must be dated on or after today, May 3rd, 2011. Designing a template is not the same as coloring a template. You will need to use Seamless (COLOURlovers Pattern Maker).

You may submit as many new templates OR variations of your colored template as you would like (sometimes the paint-job makes a difference).

Add the finished and colored badge(s) to the comments - if you don't know how, ask me via love notes.

Get as many LOVES as you can before the end of day (11:59 AM PM PST) Saturday, May 7th, 2011. Winning colored template will receive $15 at ImageKind.com.

Floral - Can be display anything with: vines, flowers, buds, leaves, garden (am I missing anything here?). Can be abstract, mosaic or traditional as long as it pertains to some sort of floral appeal.

Clarification Updates (May 5th, 2011):

To try to eliminate some confusion I have answered some of these questions in the comments...

1.) I will add up ALL LOVES from both the Pattern Template AND the Colored Templates (your's or otherwise related to THAT template). Anything under that template will count.

2.) Post your submissions HERE in the COMMENTS section (below post)

3.) You must be the original creator of the Template.

*Thanks and maybe I'll run our next challenge a little smoother! :) You have until Saturday at midnight (PST) to contribute!*

Header Pattern and Palette:

Sample Pattern (in post screenshot):

Probably one of the most common criticisms we hear at COLOURlovers is "OMG, there are just so many wonderful colors to love!!!" and in an effort to help you find the perfect colors, we're making it easier by limiting the number of colors from 16 Million to 256 Shades of Gray. Don't worry though, there are still tens of thousands of combinations of grays that can be made into awesome palettes.

Helpful New Color Wheel

The below color wheel will help you use the new COLOURlovers site with all its wonderful gray colors.

Gray: A Huge Energy Saver

As a growing company we also have to think about costs... and displaying 16 Million colors cost a lot more money than displaying 256 shades of gray. With the huge amount of savings we'll make, we'll be able to hire more developers to build some awesome new features we have planned, like 1 color palettes. If you didn't know... the way computer screens make colors is to add light. And light is color.

One of the key arguments in favor of black screens is a 2002 research study produced by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory entitled "Energy Use and Power Levels in New Monitors and Personal Computers." The report indicates that "a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen." Indeed, that study reports that black screens consistently require less energy than white screens, regardless of whether the monitor is a CRT or LCD.
[source]

Some Gray Inspiration to Get Your Going

So, now that you know why Grays are so awesome. Here is some inspiration to help you usher in the new and very grayful COLOURlovers!

+Sky in Portland Oregon+

+Old Mustache & Beard+

+Elephant Butt+

Let Us Know What You Think

For some really weird reason, you might not love the idea of COLOURlovers without any color... if that's the case you can click here to turn off our little April Fools joke :)

Clients From Hell, the perfect follow-up book to our more recent giveaway the Smashing Book #2. For any of you in the design industry be it graphic, print or web - you will truly appreciate the contents of this book with tears of laughter. I do hope they make a desk calendar next, it would make an excellent stocking suffer!

Having worked in the design industry, encompassing all of the above, both in the office and freelancing, I can truly find a place in my heart and a special spot on my desk for this book. I can't put it down actually. It brings back those memories at the office where my boss's most frequent design direction was, "Just make it fabulous!" the sad thing is, I learned how to design around that comment. I learned to put more gold, more frill and use fancy nonsense words in our designs for a cruddy product I didn't truly believe in - at least with the way the company was directing it.

At this point in my career, my brother and I were the website and design team - he was the programmer/coder/tech support guy (as do all small companies swamp their "computer guy") and I was the font-end designer of web, print and graphics. We shared an office and could probably write our own hilarious novel re-capping the many ridiculous meetings we came out of from that place. Yes, we even got the,"I want you guys to create a MySpace, Facebook combination, BUT for sports! This is going to be such a big hit! Google will want to buy it from us!" I believe this is about the time (2006-2007ish) when Google and Yahoo were buying out popular web apps and people were going crazy trying to develop the next big thing... I'm sure my bosses were not the only ones thinking they would have the next big thing.

"We’re going to leave Zuckerberg in the dust and think about how much he makes every year. Are you in or out?" - clientsfromhell.net

So I'm on a tangent with my story, but this book brings back the reality of those days - chocolate covered in laughter and makes me question how I kept my sanity working for those guys. Some of you may have similar memories of the things your bosses or clients may have said. Some of you are probably living it daily or still get those types of clients if you're a freelancer. It's never-ending.

"Isn’t it as simple as putting in a button to select different languages? Just look at Facebook." - clientsfromhell.net

CONTEST: Design a Pattern From Hell

Did I mention that I have THREE (3) books to do with what I please? Yep! I begged for 3 extra copies (not like I'm giving up mine!) to do a contest with. So without further adieu...

To honor all those design veterans and those of you still being tortured by clients and bosses similar to the ones from this book, we are going to do a fun contest! The rules are simple:

1. Design a NEW PATTERN using the COLOURlovers Seamless Pattern Maker (you must be the creator of the pattern).

2. Color it using the Clients From Hell color palette (consisting of red, black and white ONLY).

3. Submit your entry by copy/pasting your pattern badge in to the comments - code is located on the right side under SHARE THIS PALETTE when you are viewing your pattern (or palette or color swatch). It is REALLY important that you follow this step, as you need votes (aka LOVES) to win and I need to be able to link to your contest entry pattern.

4. Include your own client from hell experience and/or find a favorite from clientsfromhell.net (make sure if you use one from CFH.net that you let us know by linking or mention please).

And the winner...needs to get the most LOVES!

A winner will be picked with the most LOVES on their pattern. So make a really super cool pattern, make all of your friends and family cookies (if you need bribery) and tweet, facebook or whatever you need to about your pattern. Get some love!! Hey you could even paste it on your fellow lovers profiles to ask for loves... just saying.

The contest will run 7 days - Tuesday to Tuesday. That would be Today, Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011 - midnight Tuesday, March 29th, 2011. Results should be posted no later than Wednesday, March 30th. You must be a user to play (so SIGN UP if you need to), make sure your email notifications are on as I will need to contact you to collect your address to send you your book. Feel free to send me a love note if you have any specific questions on using the Seamless Pattern maker, etc.

update: Let me clarify.... you don't literally have to make this a pattern FROM Hell. :) Just make a super cool pattern limited to the color palette.

If you must have this book now, you can also order it on Amazon.com here (available in both print and on the kindle)...annnnd if having the book just isn't enough, there are a few other funnies you can get from the CHF store here.

And just because I can't get enough of these...

"I’m not trying to be cheap, I just don’t have that much money." - clientsfromhell.net

“I want the visitors to have a fresh experience each time they visit. So, I want you to design atleast 25 different websites so that every time they visit they will get a new experience.”  - clientsfromhell.net

“In the interests of working together, I would appreciate it if you could do this free of charge.”  - clientsfromhell.net

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What an amazing opportunity for you! One of our great partners, Spoonflower.com is joining forces with Michael Miller Fabrics to find their next license designer for the Michael Miller Fabrics' line. This is an opportunity of a lifetime! Check the full details on projectselvage.com. CONTEST ENDS MARCH 24th

There will be 10 finalists not to mention an ultimate WINNER. Finalists get some great goodies!

• * $100 Spoonflower Credit
• * 10-yards of Michael Miller Fabric (chosen by finalist)

While you might be sitting there thinking, well I don't have design software at my fingertips, actually, you do...and for free to boot. If you don't already know about it, COLOURlovers.com has it's very own Seamless Pattern maker on hand, on site. Just go to Create > Pattern > Design a Pattern (see below image).

While you are probably going to find it a tough competition if you've never used this type of design tool before, this is an opportunity for COLOURlovers who already create some pretty fantastic work with this tool to utilize their talents and maybe win big. Do make sure you read the rules to enter throughly.

We would love to see any design you submit, so please by all means post it in the comments. Good Luck!

If you don't plan on submitting anything, please feel free to post your own Michael Miller inspirations related to the contest.

In every sense of the word, Tears of the Black Tiger (Fah talai jone) very well could be the most colorful film ever created.

With its loud acting style, exuberant sets and stunning shots in pastel colours, this Thai cult film is as much a parody as an homage to the Western and the romantic tearjerker.

The fearless, color obsessed folks at Hair Crazy display their love for color conspicuously on top of their heads, and are leading the way for color expression on the fringe.

Even if you're not all about alternative, extreme, unnatural hair colors, and you're not about to walk into the office with Napalm Orange hair, the community provides information about all sorts of hair dyeing matters, such as: application techniques, styling guides, informational how-to's, as well as product (hair dye) reviews, and various other tips & tricks. Information any hair chameleon, natural or not, might find useful. Of course, if you are ready to make the eccentric leap to 'super colorful', then this is definitely the place to visit. You people might want to start with the member photo timelines or the gallery organized by color to find inspiration of the possibilities, devour the beginner guides then order yourself some hair dye.

You can check out the community's boldest and brightest hair colors and palettes in their hair color hall of fame, and keep up with the founder, Jude, as she works her way through every color combination she can think of on her willing test subject Adam.

Finally, for those who are perfectly happy with their natural brunette hair and wouldn't think of becoming a 'bluenette', the community offers plenty of old fashioned color inspiration for other applications. Here are few images from Adam's adventures and the most recent roundup of hair color hall of famers for color inspiration.

Silencing is a new illusion that shows it's hard to notice when moving objects change.

Cambridge, MA – Scientists at Harvard have found that people are remarkably bad at noticing when moving objects change in brightness, color, size, or shape. In a paper published in Current Biology, the researchers present a new visual illusion that "causes objects that had once been obviously dynamic to suddenly appear static," and that "demonstrates the tight coupling of motion and object appearance." The results have implications for everything from video game design to the training of pilots. Several videos demonstrating this striking effect can be found here.

SILENCING demonstrates the tight coupling of motion and object appearance. Simply by changing the retinotopic coordinates—moving the object or the eyes—it is possible to silence awareness of visual change, causing objects that had once been obviously dynamic to suddenly appear static.

Color Changes

Instructions: Play the movie while looking at the small white speck in the center of the ring. At first, the ring is motionless and it's easy to tell that the dots are changing color. When the ring begins to rotate, the dots suddenly appear to stop changing. But in reality they are changing the entire time. Take a look.

Photographs of cocktails through the microscope... Mixing up our perspective on our favorite cocktails, the photomicrography work of Michael Davidson shows different types of liquor and mixed drinks magnified over 1,000 times. His work has found a place in the "bar art" world selling prints through the company BevShots, and thanks to @spigumus and this Daily Mail article we find some interesting color compositions.

BevShot images are made by first crystallizing the drink of choice on a lab slide. Using a standard light microscope with a camera attached, the light source is polarized and passed through the crystal. This creates the colors we see featured.