Since the first comic was printed in 1933, many colorful stories have been told... and don't let the name distract you, not all of them are funny. Comics have had moving, adventurous, dark & serious stories that have entertained young and old for almost a century. The comic industry might be changing, but business is still huge... Comic-Con 2010 was attended by 130,00 people! And the surge of comics-to-blockbuster movie trend thats been happening the past decade is making sure the world of comics continues to be a big part of our modern pop culture.

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Paying homage to the colorful world of comic books, superheroes and villains... we wanted to take a closer look at the colors in comics and see if they too can tell a story...

Who Is Your Favorite Colorful Comic Book Character?

Good, bad... primary, secondary... Who's your favorite character and what colors are they? Do their colors stay true to some of the "rules" above?

As a kid, the Punisher was always my favorite character, although he's not a very colorful guy. :)

Comic Book Colors from the CL Community

We've known developer/designer Sahil Lavingia for a while now and have continued to be impressed with the apps and services he puts out. One app in particular we've had our eye on is his color app Color Stream, an iPhone app that helps create & save color palettes... Something near and dear to our hearts.

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So when the opportunity came along to acquire the app and provide continued color inspiration to the tens of thousands of Color Stream users, we jumped at the chance. And one of the reasons we made our iPhone app free is so all Color Stream users could switch over to our ColorSchemer app without having to re-buy anything. They'll be joining the nearly 100,000 users of the ColorSchemer app and can continue to get the updates for our top color app at no extra cost.

If you're a Color Stream user, now's a great time to join the family and get the free ColorSchemer app to continue to receive updates with the latest and greatest features and integration with the COLOURlovers community.

The Color Stream app was a well-designed and built app that worked great for creating palettes from scratch, or from a photo... but the biggest thing it was missing was an awesome community of creative people to share those palettes with, and now that's changing! We're excited to extend our community to more and more creative people and we look forward to even more inspirations that this growing and diverse mix of new users will create.

Download ColorSchemer for iPhone Now.

When I first built COLOURlovers as a weekend project I had no idea it would become this amazing community. At the time, I threw together a terms of use and privacy policy modified from some of the big sites on the web... and the language used about who owned the content you uploaded here was WAY too aggressive. Basically, it said we "owned" anything you uploaded. It may have said that in small print somewhere, but that's never how we thought about or treated your creations.

Recently we took the time and the budget to update the terms to appropriate language clearly stating that you own everything you create here... but that you give us a commercial license to also use your content (without this we couldn't run the site or showcase your work in things like the Color Inspirations book).

BUT... Updating the terms weren't enough, as we want to fully hand over control of your content to you. Today we're launching two new features that hand the rest of the control of content here at COLOURlovers to you, our awesome and creative members.

Rights Management for all COLOURlovers Content

Can I use this pattern as the background for my blog? Is it free to use this? I don't understand the license you provide for the content on COLOURlovers... We get questions like this all the time. And although we've had a Creative Commons license on the bottom of every page... It hasn't been very clear what people can or can't do with the content shared on COLOURlovers.

License Display Area
So we've added a new section in the right column of each creation page to clearly show the license for that content. There are icons and bullet-points to explain what is allowed with each specific license, as well as a link to the Creative Commons site to learn more about the license terms.

Changing Your Content Licenses
To change the license for a specific color/palette/pattern/etc. you can click the "Edit" link above the license box in the right column. A window will open and allow you to change the license for that specific creation.

Default License Settings
The default license for all content on COLOURlovers is a By Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share Alike license. (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

You can change your default license for all future creations in your account settings area (Set Default License). You can also update the license for all your existing content on this page. There is a checkbox at the bottom of the form to "Change All Existing" which will do a big bulk update for all your creations... ie, would you like to allow commercial usage of all of your existing content? You can do that here.

What Each License Means

There are a few different ways you can specify what people can and can't do with the content you share here on COLOURlovers.

All Rights Reserved
Nobody can use your creation without first getting your permission. This is the most protective license option. Ie, Selecting this license on a pattern template you've designed means that nobody else can color the template in. The license area for a creation with this license will link people to a page to send you a love-note to ask for permission to use the content.

Creative Commons
The Creative Commons is a non-profit that aims to "give everyone from individual creators to large companies and institutions a simple, standardized way to keep their copyright while allowing certain uses of their work — a “some rights reserved” approach to copyright — which makes their creative, educational, and scientific content instantly more compatible with the full potential of the internet."

All creative commons license options include "By Attribution"... meaning people can use it as long as they credit you for the original creation.

Additional options under the CC license are:

Allow commercial use.
Selecting this license option will allow other people to use your creation in work that they sell or market commercial services with. It could be an Etsy seller using a pattern as part of a gift wrap paper package they sell, or a real estate agent using your pattern as the background of their website.

Allow derivative works to be created.
Selecting this license will allow users to remix & modify your original creation. For example, if you have created a pattern template that you would like others to be able to color in... it needs to be licensed with a derivative license.

Derivative works must be shared with the same license you’ve selected.
Selecting this option will require all derivative works to be shared with the same license as the original creation. If this option is set for a pattern template, there is no option to change the license terms of colored-in patterns. They must retain the original pattern template license.

License for Colors & Palettes

It's easier to understand these licenses in the context of pattern templates, but it's a little trickier when talking about named colors & palettes.

Colors
Technically you can't own the rights to a color (despite some large corporations trying to copyright their specific branding colors). All 16 million colors already exist, we're just allowing you all to come up with clever names to associate with those colors. For now, all color names on COLOURlovers will continue to have our default (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.

Palettes
You also can't technically own the rights to the usage of certain colors together... ie, if you make a palette with Red, White & Blue... you can't prevent the US from printing more flags. What you can own the rights to is the combination of the colors in a specific order, and or the amount of colors presented as a 5 color palette like the way we do here on COLOURlovers. Ie, if you select an All Rights Reserved license for your palette: Somebody else can't present your palette anywhere else the way it is presented here on COLOURlovers. Even with an All Rights Reserved license though, they could still use that color combination to draw an illustration or design a logo.

We'll be adding a section to the site to explain the licenses better moving forward, so if you have any questions or think we should better explain something, please let us know.

Deleting Creations from COLOURlovers

If you really own all your creations, then you should be able to remove them from COLOURlovers too... and now you can. There is a new OPTIONS button in the About header for all creations. You're able to Edit & Delete your creations from here.

It's rare, but we know that sometimes people want to remove something they've shared on COLOURlovers... a palette they no longer love, a template they messed up on, etc. You're now able to delete all your creations, but the way we handle how things are deleted is a little different depending on what's being deleted. Here's a little more about what happens when you delete your different kinds of creations:

Colors. When you delete a color it will remove the color from your creations list, it will clear out the name, description, loves, faves, comments and all other associated information. The color will now be available for another member to name and list as one of their creations. A deleted color will still show in any palette or pattern, but will no longer have a name and will simply display the HEX value.

Palettes. When you delete a palette it will remove the palette from your creations list, it will clear out the name, description, loves, faves, comments and all other associated information.

Patterns. When you delete a pattern it will remove the pattern from your creations list, it will clear out the name, description, loves, faves, comments and all other associated information.

Templates. When you delete a pattern template it will remove the template from your creations list, it will clear out the name, description, loves, faves, comments and all other associated information. Any patterns colored in by other members will still exist on the site even after you delete the template, but no new version will be allowed to be created with the template.

*Gone But Never Forgotten*
Deleted content might still show up in search results in COLOURlovers for a brief time until our database runs it's regular updates to clear it out. Badges for your deleted creations will still exist, but the badge will be updated to show that the content has been removed, and the page for the creation will show that the creation has gone missing.

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OMG RGB/CMYK NYC! We're very excited to be partnering with Print, Pantone & the Art Directors Club on the brand new Color Conference, Oct. 4-6 in NYC. Yours truly will be co-emceeing the conference with Jude Stewart.

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About the Color Conference

The rules for color aren't black and white. We each experience the world uniquely and that creates an awesome opportunity for each of us to share our own perspective with others. We're really excited about being together with so many creative folks to share the color love. This event isn't just hearing about the color work of top industry professionals... but also interacting with color, networking with other colorful folks and sharing your ideas about color in workshops and panels.

NEW YORK – August 22, 2011 – Print Magazine today announced the first-ever Print Color Conference, taking place October 4-6, in New York City. Presented in partnership with Pantone and COLOURlovers, and hosted by The Art Directors Club, the event is an exploration of color by leaders in the graphic design, art, fashion, lighting, and interior design industries. The focus of Print’s Color Conference is to illuminate and elevate the discussion of color; its usefulness and impact on society, its importance as a communication tool; and its impact on the worlds of art, design, politics, branding, and everyday lives. Full program details – including speakers, interactive demos, and networking opportunities – and conference registration is available now at printcolorconference.com.

Peppered throughout the event will be interactive demonstrations in which attendees have the opportunity to experiment with color, thanks to our sponsor, 3rd Ward. Recognized as an incubator for innovation and possibility, 3rd Ward members enjoy a supportive community and top-of-the-line creative resources, including photo studios, media lab, jewelry studio, wood & metal shops, and a huge education program.

Use the COLOURlovers Promo Code "LOVE" for $75 OFF
www.printcolorconference.com

Speakers include...
Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute.
Gael Towey, Chief Creative and Editorial Director at Martha Stewart.
Darius Monsef, Founder & CEO of COLOURlovers (That's me! :) )
Jude Stewart, Print Contributing Editor
...And More! full speaker list here.

Real Life Color Palettes!

The whole COLOURlovers team will be in the house mingling with fellow lovers of color and running a "Making Color Palettes in Real Life" interactive project where you'll be able to make and share physical big palettes. (We've done this before at our previous launch events... and in NYC we'll have even more colors to choose from!)

Colorful Conversations... A Panel You Can Help Lead!

I'll be helping to moderate some panels with the world's most talented color professionals... What do you think should be part of our colorful conversation? What questions do you think I should ask them? What's the most exciting, frustrating thing about color for you? ...? I'll give you a shout-out when I ask any questions you suggest.

We look forward to coloring with you in NYC! And don't forget to use the COLOURlovers Promo Code "LOVE" for $75 OFF!
www.printcolorconference.com

The business world of app development is huge. With so many tools at our fingertips, I am constantly discovering new apps. Be it for iPhone, iPad, iTouch, Android, Blackberry and so on, I'm sure you're all like me when find I would be lost without some of my favorites.

I'll be researching and picking (at random) an app I feel is worth mentioning each month. This month's selection is by Dear Future Astronaut AB and a bunch of fun so far. What initially caught my eye was their color-wheel style logo. I love the colors and layout of the finished infographic too! Very clean and fun to look at. Kudo's to the developers!

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PHOTO STATS APP - 1st Infographic Creator for iPhone.

If you use your phone to take a lot of your point-and-shoot photos, and you really like to take photos, this is definitely for you! I've recently been playing around with it and it's pretty fun! At a base, .99 - totally worth the fun.

photostatsapp.com

If you haven't caught wind already, 'Elements' by Lisa Clair (lisadale69) is our winner of the Color-A-Plaid Shirt Contest by Betabrand + COLOURlovers. 

To be noted: I [mollybermea] am not responsible for Lisa's palette combination. I simply needed it in palette form for a badge in this post.

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Congratulations to Lisa for her fantastic design!

Here's what she gets:

- A $100 Betabrand gift certificate.
- Recognition on our Web site.
- A Betabrand plaid flannel shirt based on her design — the very first of the batch that we're selling this Fall! Each shirt will have her name on the label (see below).

 WOW, 5,000+ Submissions!

Betabrand wants to thank the COLOURlovers community for the more than 5,000 design submissions they received as well as a big thanks to everyone who voted - five (5) voters also won something special.  Check out Betabrand's announcement here.

"We love collaborating in order to bring new expertise and fresh perspective to Betabrand's daily commitment to invention and this has been one of the most satisfying collaborations we've been involved with to date. We can't wait to see the finished flannel shirts this Fall and we're looking forward to keeping in touch with the COLOURlovers community." - Jared :: Head of Design at Betabrand

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If you're just now tuning in, check out the initial contest post, plus here were our nine (9) finalists. That about covers it. Looking forward to the next one!

A few months ago, we released ColorSchemer Touch, the official COLOURlovers iPhone app, on the Apple App Store. We spent a lot of time making it super-simple to create palettes, sync creations with your COLOURlovers account, and take the incredible COLOURlovers community with you wherever you go. And thousands of downloads later, we've been blown away by the positive response we've received from everyone who's used it so far.

But that's still not enough! We want everyone - even people that have never visited COLOURlovers before - to see how easy it is to share their colorful ideas and inspirations from a coffee shop, a car, or even a hiking trail in the middle of nature.

That's why starting today, the ColorSchemer iPhone app is now FREE in the App Store!

So what are you waiting for? Download it today to see why thousands of other COLOURlovers think it's the best way to browse, comment, Love, Fave and interact with the COLOURlovers community at home and on the go.

(And we haven't forgot about you Android users. We're talking with and looking for a great developer to port the app over. If you know somebody we should be talking to, let us know.)

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Getting Started: Create a Palette in a Snap!

One of my favorite features is the PhotoSchemer tool within the ColorSchemer App. Take a picture (or use one from your image library) and start picking colors for a palette. Super fast!

Betabrand, an online-only clothing company that produces limited-edition batches of clothing and accessories, recently paired up with COLOURlovers in the contest, Color-A-Plaid Shirt Contest by Betabrand + COLOURlovers. The contest turned out to be a huge success with over 5,000 entries!

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To enter the contest, COLOURlovers simply had to color a pre-picked plaid pattern - Betabrand2, which had been created by one of our very own Lovers, sec9586. After coloring the pattern it produced a plaid shirt mockup of the finished product.

VOTE HERE AT BETABRAND

The contest is closed and nine finalists were chosen by the Betabrand design team. Voting on these nine selections will be open until NOON (12pm PST) Monday, August 22, 2011.

The Finalists

Betabrand chose the finalists not by the amount of LOVES each pattern/palette got. Simply because this would have been unfair. COLOURlovers had added the ability to LOVE the designs and share them for the fun of the contest.

"Our design team narrowed it down to 9 finalists not based on the number of loves on Colourlovers - because patterns that were created at the beginning of the contest would have an unfair advantage to those created toward the end. As for not picking a winner, but rather narrowing it down to 9, we decided to do that because we were so thrilled with the volume and quality of submissions that we wanted to keep the love going!" - Jared @ Betabrand

The nine finalists in no particular order...

Hipster Plaid by bcrider

cloud nine by martino

*colour hunter* by Sunny21327

 

Using patterns in print design can really punch up a project. It's nothing new, but I'd like to point out a few different variations you might see as key benefits.

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Single Use Design Pieces

Simplify a project by using patterns. In this design, the abstract pattern with the perfect color palette, truly resembles a feel for the arts. It doesn't restrict the design to a certain type of art where the festival might cover anything from painting, sculpting, fiber arts and more. Using an artistically geared pattern keeps that visual open.

Print Magazine's, Color in Design Awards (2011) / Poster Design by Dave Whitley

Coordinating Design Pieces

Using patterns in coordinating print projects can easily lend a hand in matching sets of items such as wedding invitations which usually contain a main element, the invitation - plus response cards, enclosure cards, save the date cards and thank you cards. Not to mention possibly following through with the design on wedding day programs, seat placement cards, etc.

autumn textile by weddingpaperdivas.com

Reusable & Customizable Design Pieces

When working with products you want buyers to customize, simple two-color patterns make it easy to do so. This makes it a snap for you to go in and adjust the pattern palette before shipping a digital file or physical product off to a client.

Tea Invitation by FLIPAWOO (customizable pattern invitations)

No matter what type of print project you have, these are a few benefits to using patterns to speed up your design or business process, not to mention a great way to add a ton of interest in your work.

Using COLOURlovers Patterns in your designs...

Here at COLOURlovers you can download an .SVG file of your pattern designs as long as you were the original Pattern Template creator. Additionally, if you have Seamless Studio, you can export designs as: .SVG, .JPG or .PNG to be able to use in other graphics software for design.

The Giveaway - How to Earn Your $75

This is a random giveaway picked from those who leave a comment. You have two choices:

Link to and place an image of a project you have designed with patterns. This can be from a yesterday or today, real or fake and must be a complete looking project. Does it fall under one of the three examples above?

OR

Link to and place an image of a print piece or pieces (such as a wedding invitation set) you adore and think is a prime example of one of the above three examples.

In addition, I'd love to know why you like using patterns in your design or why you like seeing patterns in design.

Entries will be collected through Sunday, August 28th, 2011 (by midnight PST). 

Next Day Flyers, the postcard printing specialists will be providing gift a credit of $75 to the randomly selected winner!

***THIS CONTEST IS OVER***

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Businesses large and small have embraced big color full force. Commercial Artist, Chuck Anderson, is a Photographer and Digital Artist. He has been a unique resource for many businesses since 2004, breaking the rules and becoming a design phenomenon. In more recent years, you might have seen Chuck appear in interviews as the Windows 7 brand designer for Microsoft.

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'humanlike' - on Npandco.com

"I don't honestly think I ever actually decided to become a designer. I've just always been an artist - since I was a child. It's always been a part of me to create things." - interview from mocoloco.com

photos from interview with rapidgrowthmedia.com

What I've learned about Chuck is that he's just a regular guy and he was a regular kid (starting at 17) with a strong passion for creating, using color to the max and experimenting outside the box. Many interviews ask him how he got where he's at and he would answer that he still doesn't really know. From what I can see, hard work, being unique and obviously having a super cool personality has taken him a long way. We've pulled together some questions for Chuck that might help you, as an aspiring or even seasoned creative find inspiration and resources from. Enjoy!

The Interview

COLOURlovers: At the age of 17 you defined your image as NO PATTERN to give yourself some flexibility in who you were as an artist and what type of work you did. You are currently known for your freeness of style and expressive work with photography, light and color - do you still consider yourself as undefined as you were when you were 17 or 18?

NoPattern / Chuck: Yes and no. On one hand it's clear I've developed a distinctive style that I've come to be most recognized and hired for. I don't deny that, but I don't think it's in any way a bad thing. When I was just starting out at 17, 18 years old, I was so raw and completely still finding what it was I was going to be most drawn to, which meant a lot more in the way of experimenting. Now that I've hit a sort of groove and found what it is I'm generally best at, I just do my best to continually evolve that style and continue to develop it. However, the name NoPattern, at it's core, is the idea of always being in flux, never staying exactly the same and continuing to grow. I think that's something that I try to hold to in every project I do.