With the official start of fall (September 22nd) quickly approaching, we thought it was time to check out this year’s fall color predictions from a few different sources, and watch to see what color actually appear this upcoming season.

So, today were going to take a look at the colors from the Pantone Fashion Color Report fall 2008, the current top colors on COLOURlovers, along with mother nature’s picks.

Pantone Color Report fall 2008 vs Current CL Top Colors

They may have been officially decided during fashion week back in February by some of the top designers and Pantone’s experts, but we all know that fashion designers are not the only ones picking the colors. Surprises from the streets, pulled from thrift and vintage shops, along with those forgotten colors buried in the back of unorganized closets, and others, pulled from the pile you swore three months ago you were going to donate, all reemerge bringing unexpected colors to the season.

Here at COLOURlovers we decide when fall actually roles around and we can look to see what everyone thinks are the current best colors. And since the fall is technically not here yet, maybe we can assume that the current top CL colors are still a little warm, and we’ll see some of these colors cool down while others emerge on top as September 22nd roles around.

“Serving as a wonderful base color, Shady Glade delivers a natural elegance to the fall palette. Taking green in an interesting direction with its true green characteristics, this hue is a departure from greens of seasons past, which have had distinctively yellow undertones.”

Nothing says love like the green surgical gloves of a doctor going inside you body holding a very sharp tool.

“Twilight Blue, a twist on a classic navy, shows the transitional aspect of spring segueing into fall.”

The perfect color for hiding from any sort of witch on a cold fall night. Just make sure you know which witch is which.

“Blue Iris, a beautifully balanced blue with an undertone of purple, is a favorite among designers, as it combines the calming aspects of blue with the mystical and spiritual qualities of purple.”

It’s close to blue iris, but a little bolder, like if the ball rolled over the blue irises.

“Reds are a steadfast favorite for fall and Aurora Red is no exception. Versatile and universally appealing, this true red adds a splash of energy to the palette.”

It’s close to a mix of Aurora Red and Burnt Orange but maybe with a little Barry White, a fireplace and a chilly fall evening thrown in.

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Another lovely flickr set from Joe Kral inspired this post (the last one can be seen here). This time we’re taking a look at classic book design from his Penguin & Pelican Collection set.

From the outset, design was essential to the success of the Penguin brand. Eschewing the illustrated gaudiness of other paperback publishers, Penguin opted for the simple appearance of three horizontal bands, the upper and lower of which were colour coded according to which series the title belonged to; this is sometimes referred to as the horizontal grid. In the central white panel, the author and title were printed in Eric Gill’s sans serif and in the upper band was a cartouche with the legend “Penguin Books”. The initial design was created by the then twenty-one-year-old office junior Edward Young, who also drew the first version of the Penguin logo.

The color schemes included: orange and white for general fiction, green and white for crime fiction, red and white for travel and adventure, blue and white for biographies; and the rarer purple and white for essays and belles lettres and grey and white for world affairs. Lane actively resisted the introduction of cover images for several years. Some recent publications of literature from that time have duplicated the original look.

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Often when we think of commercial design work, we imagine 3 color logos and simple illustrations… but not all commercial work is so plain. Here are 20 commercial designers who create stunningly colorful work.

Matthew Curry | Imagefed

imagefed.com

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Oh, the palette possibilities.

Bringing to life yet another, on an already very long list of euphemism for something located in the happy-time-fun-zone, things which already have perfectly fine names, is Betty, a hair dye for those such areas; your pubic hair.

Betty products are, according to the company’s website, “specially formulated color dyes for the hair down there.” You can get your Betty in Blonde, Brown, Aurburn and Black, as well as colors called Malibu, Fun and Starburst.

An article in Advertising Age (must be registered on AdAge to read, or find it in the press section of bettybeauty.com) describes how Betty came to be: the creator, Nanci Jarecki, first had the idea when visiting a salon in Rome where she witnessed female customers being handed little brown bags, with “such delight,” as they left the salon. In those bags, dye to match their Bettys to their Wilmas. From there, the research and development began with casual studies by a gynecologist, who reported that not one person had matching hair down there, and salon workers, who reported that many customers were interested but had “sensitivity” concerns.

Story Related Section of René Magritte’s The Eternally Obvious; photo by wallyg

Currently Betty is available at 300 retail salons and online, and with its highly interesting subject matter, Betty has picked up a bit of press with mentions from DailyCandy.com, Vogue, Vanity Fair, and The Oprah Magazine.


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There is no better time to show off color than during the summer, and many designers are doing just that. Taking the cue of the summer season, designers are creating some very inspiring color palettes for us to enjoy.

Hats

Still Life

Since its inception in Fall 2006, the Still Life flagship store has been home to an eclectic range of original designs- envisioned and tailored to perfection-by creative director and owner, Frenel Morris. Located in the heart of the Lower East Side, Still Life provides each client with custom hand-crafted pieces. An on-site seamstress ensures that each product is carefully assembled in a timely manner with keen attention to detail.

Still Life

Still Life will vertically integrate its production model by opening its very own millinery factory located in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The Still Life Reserve will guarantee control and precision of all our products from sketch to finish. We hope that with this expansion, the brand’s visibility will continue to grow- gaining continued support from the local neighborhood, loyal clientele- and spur domestic and international interest.

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As any cool kid will tell you, the most important palette you can wear is on your sneakers. Luckily, most of the shoe industry is right on track with the newly developing long-tail, Limited Edition, Artist Series, Custom Designed and DIY markets, which includes any color lover who has the perfect palette to show off on the streets.

Custom Sneakers

Most of the major brands have jumped on the DIY sneaker design track, but not all the sites are the same. While I didn’t go through every shoe site, here are a few that even if you are not about to buy a new pair of shoes, will at least keep you busy and distracted as you go through all the colorway options available.

Converse

Link

• Shoes: 12 styles
• Materials: Canvas, Suede, Leather
• Colors: 30 colors and patterns
• Delivery Time: 2 to 4 weeks

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There is no better time to show off color than during the summer, and many designers are doing just that. Taking the cue of the summer season, designers are creating some very inspiring color palettes for us to enjoy. Here are a few of the more dramatic and bold color palettes that, if worn, will expose any true color lover.

Womans

Insight

Insight’s personality encompasses a lifestyle that surrounds everything surf, skate, art, music, fashion and popular culture. They just want to design clothing that they themselves would want to wear. It isn’t high science, however they do have good ideas and good ideas can be priceless and that is one (of the many) secrets behind the labels success.

Insight

Shoshanna

Classic, fun, feminine, and sexy are what Shoshanna is all about in creating her signature swimwear and apparel. So no matter what season it may be, dive into something new.

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We thought it was time to check in on our most loved Palettes, Colors and Patterns making their way around the community at the moment.

With 108,705 members who have created 1,196,974 Colors, 431,454 Palettes and 133,971 Patterns, we needed a way to divide up all the colors into a manageable post, as to avoid creating an overwhelming color explosion that might lead to the mind collapse of some poor blog reader. So, we are doing it by color, of course. Here are 50 of the top Palettes, Colors and Patterns from the community, starting with RED.

Red Palettes

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Graffiti has been balancing a fine line of public opinion between vandalism and art since its beginnings. Recently, with graffiti gaining more acceptance as a legitimate art form, many artist have seen their work taken from the streets and placed in galleries all over the world. Even though this shift has taken place, most graffiti artists still stick to the art form’s roots as public art, sharing color inspiration to all those who walk through our modern cities.

Though limited by the manufacturers of spray paint, the color palettes of contemporary graffiti artists are inspiring in many ways. In a lot of ways the palettes created on public walls change as each new piece is added, creating a completely unique, site specific color palette which evolves with time and through the generations of street artists. These palettes often include the surrounding colors and architecture of their location, adding even more depth to a piece and drawing in as much attention to the location of their work, as to the work itself.

The often bold and dynamic color palettes of today’s graffiti artists are becoming more and more technical with the increased use of gradients and blending. And are an amazing source of color inspiration.

Photo by otherthings


Photo by baldiri

Photo by otherthings


Photo by otherthings


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Today, more than ever, companies need to separate themselves from others that share the same crowded marketplaces, and it is being done with branding and creating a unique and easily recognizable visual identity. The visual identity of a business can be one of its most valuable intangible assets, and part of that visual identity is color.

Referring to Business Week’s ‘Best Global Brands 2007‘ (link to PDF) report, which ranks “brands which place high importance on managing the economic value of their intangible assets, and primary their brands, consistently out preform basic economic measures,” we selected what may be the most easily identifiable logos in the corporate world today, then stripped them of every line and gradient to pullout just the color palettes. See if they are just as strong without the logo itself.

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