Happy Valentines Day! Our community has created and named millions of user-named colors that help us create, innovate, and celebrate the joy of color itself.

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Some of the “most loved” include "Dutch Teal" by Skyblue2u, "Haunted milk" by alpen, "Vitamin C" by GreenLantern, "Chartreuse" by oeln, and "Juicy Pink" by MetteBB. It is almost too obvious to say that WE LOVE COLOR!

Color is infused into every aspect of our lives, especially those in our color bubble, so we thought it was time to devote a big Valentine to Color itself! Although we couldn’t include all the colors in the rainbow, here are some colors that really touch our hearts on Valentine’s Day.

So many great things have happened on COLOURlovers in 2011, but one major, behind the scenes project that only a very small portion of members have been aware of was a quilt project straight from the heart of the Group: COLOURlovers on Spoonflower.

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Group administrator, leader and very involved COLOURlover, Penina, wanted her group to be something more than just a group of people who loved the idea of fabric. So one fine day back in July 2011, after coordinating ideas to make a digital quilt from the group member creations, she had the thought, “What’s stopping us from making a real quilt?!”

Penina wanted this quilt project to have purpose and to involve as many group members as possible. This also meant that the final piece would need to have a good home at a single location; so who would get the quilt?

Can you remember a time when people used to write letters—by hand! Or, read books made of paper, glue and ink? As our increasingly digital world seems to be moving farther and farther away from traditional print media, companies like Paperlux step in to remind us that nothing can replace the touch, smell, weight, and color of a real hold-it-in-your-hands magazine.

Today's article is presented by the leading magazine and glossy booklet printing company, Next Day Flyers. Check them out for fast turnarounds and amazing prices.

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When the graphic design magazine Novum commissioned Paperlux to come up with an innovative magazine cover, the creative juices kicked into overdrive and the result is truly something spectacular to see and feel.

Paperlux, a design studio based in Hamburg, Germany, was seeking a way to focus on the palpable nature of paper. The result was a very tactile approach as a way to draw people to a colorful product sporting a geometric design that makes you ache to just reach out and feel it for yourself.

Geodesic sphere at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World (left - source)

The design was fashioned after what is called a geodesic dome (source). Although the magazine represents a much flatter version of the dome, it still has the texture and look of the real thing.

Understanding color can be a daunting task with many dead ends. Have you ever taken a color theory class only to be left feeling like it didn’t teach you anything to do with applying color in the real world?

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Maybe you have an awesome natural instinct for putting together cohesive palettes or colorizing fabulous patterns perfectly, but why are you so good at it? Validating the why, where and when of color will change your entire outlook on color and what it can do to your personal or professional life.

Color opportunities exist in many industries. Companies need color design expertise to guide them through the many choices they have to make as a successful business. Choices they must make involving color range from advertising, product design, branding and many more. You need credible, verifiable information to back up your decisions as a consultant or designer and you need more than a simple love for color to get you there.

Imagine a world where anything is possible—where dogs sport a luscious coat of pink fur, green cats preen themselves with zebra striped tongues, ruby red snakes have glowing purple polka dots, and rainbow spotted elephants spray orange slices from a mile long trunk. This is the world that Eric Carle dares his readers to imagine.

This article is presented by the leader in business card printing with fast turnaround times, Next Day Flyers.

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Eric Carle was born June 25, 1929 in Syracuse, New York. When he was six years old, he and his parents moved to Germany where he grew up and eventually graduated from Akademie der bildenden Künste, a prestigious art school in Stuttgart. He never forgot his American roots and returned to the place of his happiest childhood memories in 1952.

Eric Carle | Books

 

With the advent of the internet the accessibility of information has never been more readily available than it is right now. All the answers are mere clicks away. But rather than stare at endless streams of data, creative minds have taken it upon themselves to reinvigorate the way information is displayed by transforming it into visual art.

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Today's infographic may very well put the pie chart to shame but this is by no means a modern marvel. The infographic has existed for as long as humans have sought to express themselves. With the rapid pace at which technology is advancing there has also been an artistic movement brewing within digital seams. We are building a bridge between an inherent need to be imaginative and seek creativity all while living in an age dominated by computers.

Here I give you a medley of infographics with perhaps an overstated pop of color because, as you know, we can all appreciate that here.

 

When you come home with empty pockets you know you had a great vacation and while the days ahead may have you regretting the whole thing ever happened the folks over at Bundle created the infographic: "America's Most Expensive Towns" so that in the future you will be armed with the information necessary to choose wisely!

For the past decade, the libraries we knew as children with the Dewy Decimal System and the Card Catalogue have been approaching the brink of extinction. We live in an era where the Kindle and the iPad challenge the need for physical books, and libraries and bookstores face the daunting task of attracting the readers’ attention just to stay in business.

From the sketchbook of, Kelcey Beardsley Portland, OR, United States | "Things found on restaurant napkins"

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Granted, those who are surviving have found some sort of niche to keep the interest going. For example, the bookstore Barnes & Noble has always had a sort of coffee-house atmosphere where people actually go to enjoy an experience. Amazon.com, already online and a threat to physical bookstores, quickly became a source for digital media along with its physical media. So, how about the local library? What has changed to keep it in the running?

From the sketchbook of, Kelcey Beardsley Portland, OR, United States | "Things found on restaurant napkins"

The Brooklyn Art Library is not exactly a traditional library, but more of a co-op gallery. It does provide a library-type experience, but with so much more. The library acts as a physical extension of Art House Co-op, a library featuring artistic talent from around the globe encompassed in sketchbooks.

Folding Sketchbooks - source

Art House opened its doors in December of 2006 initially as a pay-to-play gallery, but it didn’t do so hot. Scrounging for ideas to keep the business going, the co-op started the first ever, “A Million Little Pictures,” meaning a million photographs and one cross-country exhibition.

“A Million Little Pictures is a community-supported exhibition of snapshots captured around the world. By joining together thousands of specific moments to create a single immersive environment, A Million Little Pictures imagines a communal story from the images of our lives.” - arthousecoop.com (A Million Little Pictures)

The exhibition did okay, but it didn’t help fully support Art House’s gallery. The one thing it did do was give birth to idea of “The Sketchbook Project”—a traveling library of artists’ journals that is open to anyone around the world. The Art House gallery has had three locations and finally resides in Brooklyn, NY, as the Brooklyn Art Gallery—the home of many sketchbooks from around the World.

Art House Co-op & The Library

The library acts as the physical extension of Art House and is home to the Sketchbook Project. The walls are lined with shelves of sketchbooks from The Sketchbook Project. Visitors can check out a pile of books or simply peruse sketchbooks from around the globe. How amazing it must be to sift through so many varied mediums and talent.

The Brooklyn Art Library

Sketchbooks are individually catalogued and bar-coded so that they can easily be found (by artist name, location and theme). Authors can also choose to have their books digitalized, which means they are scanned and become available online at the Art House Co-Op online in their Digital Library.

The physical library is also a storefront for, you guessed it, sketchbooks, notebooks, art supplies, stationary and vintage trinkets.

From the sketchbook of, Jackie Mangione Williston, VT, United States | Storybook

The library’s purpose is to connect artists from all over the world and encourage the Art House community to interact with one another face-to-face, while showcasing members’ artwork to the local Brooklyn audience. The library hosts readings, discussions, workshops and performances. (source)

A West Coast US location may be opening up in the San Francisco area. Participants in the 2012 exhibition would be included in the launch of the West Coast hub.

The Sketchbook Project

When you sign up for participation in The Sketchbook Project you will get to pick from 40 themes. Themes are there to give you a little boost in the creative direction of your sketchbook and are not restricted to any specific rules. Basic participation costs $25 (USD). This gets you a sketchbook and helps in the expense of the entire project overall. Other optional expenses include requesting that your book be scanned for online viewing ($20 USD) and/or a Sketchbook Project t-shirt ($20).

From the sketchbook of, Gení§ay Aytekin Istanbul, Fatih, Turkey | 

From the sketchbook of, Jackie Mangione Williston, VT, United States | Storybook

I signed up for the Category, Monochromatic and plan to either stick with a single color in many different mediums to create my sketchbook artwork as a whole or use a different hue in single color creations for each page. I am considering a way to incorporate COLOURlovers color swatches.

From the sketchbook of, Jane Kim Los Angeles, CA, United States | Coffee & Cigarettes

Unique Folded Sketchbook - source

Take note that these sketchbooks are not restricted to the format of a regular book either. Creative foldouts, popouts and any type of mixed media is acceptable with a warning to adhere things strongly since these will be handled and viewed from people all over the world. Your book will be well traveled.

source

What a great outlet to work on your creative style and promote your name as a creative individual be it Graphic Design, Illustrative Design, Mixed Media Artist and any type of singular art such as drawing, sketching, painting, inking, stamping and so on. I am looking forward to participating and experimenting in varied mediums.

source

Apparently themes fill up fast with over 10,000 people in participation. You must sign up no later than October 31, 2011 in order to participate for the 2012 exhibition. Deadline to turn in your finished sketchbook is January 31, 2012 (postmarked by) and the Tour starts in April 2012.

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

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.

Introducing...PLYWERK, an eco-conscious photo mounting and art panel company based in Portland Oregon. They work with professional artists, photographers, interior designers, point and shoot photographers, parents, and everyone in between!

Art pieces are a made up of your print adhered to a Plywerk Panel to create a beautifully natural piece of wall art. Gorgeous bamboo or maple are offered for the wood options.

Plywerk Anatomy 101

Bamboo & Maple Plywerk Panels

COLOURlovers has recently become a Pro Partner of PLYWERK. Why is this super notable to mention? Because you're going to get the best, most amazing deals ever when you create an account (which is free). These deals are customized to COLOURlovers Members Only under the Prodeal membership (which is also free). Pretty sweet huh?