Be the next GelaSkins artist! Gelaskins works with some of the world's finest talent to bring stunning art to any device. You could be the next artist to be featured on GelaSkins and have your pattern available worldwide!

GelaSkins is passionate about great design which is why you'll find some of world's most creative minds gracing their pages. A portion of each skin, case or print sold goes directly to the creator, helping to support and promote independent artists everywhere. Pretty neat, right?

The HardCase is the newest addition to the product family. It is a tough polycarbonate case made to protect iPhones and impact damage and everyday wear-and-tear. Simple to install and remove, the one-piece snap-on construction holds tight for maximum protection. The HardCase allows for easy access to buttons and is compatible with charging cables and screen protectors.

So let's get down to business! Here are the details to enter our contest and possibly win the fabulous prices below.

How to enter:

Submit one of your patterns here. Just select a pattern template that you designed and colored and apply it to the hardcase... Easy as that! Give it a try.

Prizes:

1st place prize: Winner will become the next GelaSkins artist, and will collect royalties on the sale of their design to our customers.

Runners Up: The 2nd-5th runners up will receive $100 gift card towards custom GelaSkins featuring your pattern.

The 1st place winner will be chosen by GelaSkins but the 2nd-5th place winners will be chosen via voting by your community. Once you create your submission, make sure to check out the other submissions and vote for your favorites.

Submissions will close June 4th and we will be announcing the winner on June 5! Good luck!

View all the entries here: Gelaskins Hardcase Entries.

Contest Rules:
All designs entered stay owned by the creators. The grand prize winner agrees to share their design rights with Geleskins, and participate as one of their designers. They will earn a part of all sales of their design.

Our friends at HOW have their grand event planned for next month in Boston. This creative conference is one of the biggest I've ever been to and brings in fine people from all over the world. Not only will we be there, we'll be providing a little colorful entertainment with our Palettes in Real Life interactive exhibit. Come join us and a few thousands other creative people for an awesome time! (I'll also be there signing copies of Color Inspirations, and I'd love to have you sign mine!)

Register for HOW Design Live using the code "COLOUR" and get $100 of the admission price.

HOW Design Live - Boston
In 2012, Boston is the meeting point for the biggest gathering of designers, freelancers, creative team managers, and other creative professionals in the country. That much creative energy under one roof? It’s a recipe for revolutionary ideas and life-changing inspiration. You’ll rethink your approach to work and life, connect with like-minded allies, hear from creative visionaries, and discover new tools to make your job more satisfying and productive than ever before.

Real Life Color Palettes!

We'd had the pleasure of making palettes in real life with our members a few times, and each time we do it we're impressed with your creativity and energy. We're excited to bring the experience to the weekend fun at HOW Design Live. Find us and make a palette with us! Some photos from our last palette making experience can be viewed below:

Bubs | "Readyforlove" | COLOURlover | @Bubs 

Aaron Epstein | "let there be light" | aepstein | 

Molly Bermea | "Ooga Booga"  | mollybermea @mollybermea

Serafina Bermea | "Goo Goo, Ga Ga" 

Greg Hennes, COLOURlovers Official Photographer | "pink parts are punk" | Greg Hennes

Toti | "Ligero" | @patrullaverde

Gail Towey | "Sorbet" | Martha Stewart

Alice Fisk MacKenzie | "Orange Reality"

See the rest of the Palettes in Real Life from the Color Conference here.

Register for HOW Design Live using the code "COLOUR" and get $100 of the admission price.

It has been quite a fun week over here at COLOURlovers. Between our iPad contest with Zazzle, book review on the new Smashing Magazine book, Redesign The Web and so much more!

FAVORITE BLOG POSTS:

Some of our favorite blog posts from this week are crafty projects you can do with magazine pages and some fabulously colorful digital art by Andy Gilmore! Also, Zazzle is hosting a COLOURlovers iPad Design contest! If you haven't entered, now is the chance, the winner will receive a $500 cash prize.

CMYLK by DESIGN MILK

Design Milk (one of our fave blogs over here at COLOURlovers) has created a brand new column called "CMYLK". Each week, they round up some images – products, interiors, and art – and their associated COLOURlovers color palettes to inspire and delight. This week, features some fabulous paintings by Kristy Gammill. Check out the blog post for more palettes!

Do you "like" us on Facebook? Well you should be because we post awesome photos like those below all week long!

A few weeks back we held a Betabrand sock design contest! The 3 winning designs are now listed for pre-order on the Betabrand website! Pre-order your pack now!

LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB

LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB:

• The entire process of creating and building this colorful little room is posted on Design Milk Megan Geckler for Bobble.
• House Beattiful shows us 6 Cheery Yellow Bathrooms. This is great inspiration for those of you looking to spruce up your bathroom for the summer.
• If you haven't had the chance to get yourself a few Pantone Coffee Mugs, now might be a good time to go grab them.

Have any colorful posts you have seen yourself? Share them in the comments below! See you next week with some more colorful round-ups!

We are very excited to review the brand new Smashing Magazine book, REDESIGN THE WEB.  I'll start by saying that I would not only recommend this book to every designer, but it is a must for any person who is in the position to make decisions about their website. Why do I think this? Understanding the how and why behind design allows you to learn the types of questions you should be asking about your website and will help the entire design process immensely.

Let's start by taking a look at the table of contents:

Chapter 1, The Business Side of Redesign, was my favorite chapter in the book. Focusing on the business of design is by far the most important part. This concept can sometimes be overlooked when you get caught up in "making it pretty". "The most powerful defense against fashion is simple: we must ask why." Great tip to try next time your clients wants a "make my website look like that" design.

Another great point brought up in this chapter is the designer-client relationship. I agree that many of these relationships are broken. Without the client understanding the how and why behind your work they tend to focus on the looks, not the purpose. Here are some pointers to create a better relationship.

Chapter 2 dives into the technical needs of a company and offers some basic advice for clients when it comes to exercising their options and choosing the right platforms for their needs. This includes everything from choosing the right content management system to your commerce platform.

The following chapters cover the basics of HTML5, the great advantages of using CSS3, and some of the new features and benefits both of these languages have to offer. It also touches upon Javascript and some tricks to replace complex JQuery. If you are familiar with both HTML + CSS, you will understand the tips and pointers these chapters have to offer. Here is just an example of what you will find:

Source: Page 107

Chapter 7 goes over a variety of Photoshop tools at your disposal. Most of these techniques are pretty basic if you are a Photoshop know-it-all, however there might be a few that you didn't know about. If you are new to photoshop, this chapter is a perfect way to learn some new techniques. Here is an example of  from the book:

The chapter, Designing With Personality, was another stand out chapter of this book. Personality really is what sets brands apart. Below are some examples listed of the benefits of creating a personality.

The concept below is extremely valuable. Copywriting isn't always taken into account in design, but in terms of building a brand with personality, it is a very key element that must be given some thought.

A great example quoted from Chapter 10: "GE made its giant corporation feel more humanly by sharing the individual personality of its workforce. It showed us the passion and pride it has for its craft. and we felt it.

There is a landing page strategy that can absolutely benefit you, further than getting early access sign-ups, that is brought up in this book. This is known as the "hidden survey". You can gauge interest and demand of a product that hasn't even been built yet just by monitoring the number of early-access sign ups. Another great way is offering a short "Help Us Build Something You Want" survey asking them a few short questions geared toward getting valuable information that you can use. Getting to know the people that use your product is the best way to build a product.

If you are just starting in the field of design, this book is definitely for you. It will quickly get you up to speed and give you some great pointers that will most improve your current workflow.

If you are well into the field of design this book might not offer entirely new concepts. Still, there is always an opportunity to learn and overall, it is definitely worth reading to see what new ideas you can take away from it.

Get your copy of the new Smashing Magazine book, Redesign The Web.

Hello again! Today is the exciting day that we get to announce the winners of the Betabrand Argyle Sock Design Contest!

First of all, we want to thank Betabrand for allowing COLOURlovers to design the next product on their website. As I am sure you know by now, Betabrand has some pretty awesome clothes to choose from. The question to yourself won't be whether to buy, but instead, which color or pattern should you pick.

As you know, Betabrand chose 9 finalists and for the past week we have left it up to you guys to vote for your favorite design. Now comes the time when we announce  which designs had the most votes. First, let's refresh you all on the prizes for the winners:

The Prizes:

The Betabrand design team will select three winners, who'll receive the following:

• $100 Gift Card to Betabrand
• Recognition on the Betabrand website (photos/video/optional) & COLOURlover username printed on the sock packaging
• Five Three Packs of the COLOURlover socks bundles for free

So now, let's get down to business and announce the brand new COLOURlovers sock collection!

Congrats to Magg, Michaelann3, Faith4faith! Thanks to everyone who entered and voted in this contest. We hope to have Betabrand here again soon as you COLOURlovers can help them create something else just as awesome!

We are back with an update on the Betabrand Sock Design contest we have been running on our blog for the past week. Submissions are officially closed for the contest, and it is time to get your vote on and help us pick the winning designs.

Betabrand is one of those really cool clothing companies that is sure to keep the men dapper and the women trendy at all times. Their latest release is a cool pair of shorts with a black & white design (with a hint of turquoise) that I think is pretty awesome. And in case you haven't heard this enough, COLOURlovers even has a collection of our own on the Betabrand website.

So let's get down to business. Submissions are now closed for the Betabrand contest. Thank you to everyone who has entered and voted!

Out the top 30 most-loved palettes Betabrand chose 9 design finalists and from there 3 will triumph as winners. The three winners will be bundled into a 3-pack and sold on the Betabrand website.

Voting is incredibly easy. All you have to do is head over to the Betabrand Contest Page and click to vote. You can only choose 1 to vote for, so make sure your choose your favorite. And to make things even more fun, 5 lucky voters will be randomly selected to win a free 3-pack of socks as well!

Good luck to all and happy voting! We will be back on Monday to announce the winners!

Ready to put your color-matching talents to good use? Betabrand is offering you a chance to design their next set of socks. They have created the argyle design, and you get the chance to color the coolest sock you can and possibly have YOUR creation sold by Betabrand. How cool is that?

Betabrand is an online-only clothing company based in San Francisco that produces unique designs in limited-edition batches every week. They make tons of hip clothes for both men and women. And look, there is even a batch of COLOURlovers pieces including 2 flannel shirts (here and here) and some cool sock designs created by COLOURlovers.

The Prizes:

The Betabrand design team will select three winners, who'll receive the following:

• $100 Gift Card to Betabrand
• Recognition on the Betabrand website (photos/video/optional) & COLOURlover username printed on the sock packaging
• Five Three Packs of the COLOURlover socks bundles for free

How It Works:

Create an entry: Get creative and make a palette to design this argyle sock however you choose. You may create up to 3 submissions.

Once you have created the coolest palette, time to get votes. Share your entry with your friends and try your best to get lots of love on your sock. The 30 most-loved submissions with be considered for the top 9 finalist spots. Check back on Tuesday April 24, to see the top 9 finalists and to vote for you the one you want to win.

Once you have created your entry, check out the designs other people are creating and vote for your favorite. Good luck and happy coloring!

When I first started this site 7 years ago, it was a quick and easy decision to call it COLOURlovers: It was all about color for people who loved it. But now with 1.5M members from around the world who have loved, err, liked more than 10,000,000 pieces of shared content... I think we can all agree, that's just too much love!

It's also worth noting that in the current state of the world with ongoing wars, political tension, financial implosions... What the world really doesn't need is more love. That's why I'm super excited to share with you the new & waaaay better COLOURlikers!

It's just like the old COLOURlovers, but now without any of the love. What has love ever done anyway?! You're all probably used to liking things on Facebook anyway, so this should be an easy transition.

Start Sharing the Like!

So go check out the profiles of other likers. Go like some palettes or patterns. Share the like!

Don't worry, we're kidding. Happy April Fools. We still love you.

Life is a fragile thing and it always hurts the heart when somebody passes well before their time. We're deeply saddened by the loss of one of our active, loving, creative & supportive members; sunmeadow. She leaves many friends here in our community and we're incredibly honored to have the privilege to continue hosting & sharing her creations with the world. We may have 1.5 million members now, but every single one is important to me and is greatly appreciated. We love you sunmeadow and thank you for all you shared with us and all the inspiration you will continue to share.

A close friend of hers let me know of the sad news. They also noted that she was a very private person and that she would appreciate her personal details not be shared here. I will respect her wishes and ask you to do the same.

Her last palette randomly created was entitled "Wings To Fly" and I believe she has them now. I can't possibly honor all that she shared here with us in one post, but I'll share some of her most popular creations below... and please feel free to share yours in the comments.

Sunmeadow: Colors | Palettes | Patterns | Templates

Sunmeadow also created hundreds of beautiful pattern templates. Here are just some of them:

Thank you Sunmeadow. Rest in peace.

Spring is hitting some of us big time! Are you feeling the soft pastels or bursting-budding colors? Have you gotten the bug to create even more flowery floral patterns and shapes?

This week I'd like to highlight an amazing piece of artwork in the shapes division...

HeringDevotee created this beautiful lotus flower using Seamless Lite - a true piece of art and must have taken some amount of dedication. Her commentary about creating this in Seamless Lite:

I just kinda "sculpted" this using circles, triangles and lines in Seamless Lite. 

Although she doesn't necessarily recommend this method, because it creates such a large "file" type to do a repeat load from your saved shapes, it's still amazing! I think it's a great example of not limiting yourself with the tools you have at hand. By squishing, bending, mashing, rotating and a good eye, HeringDevotee was able challenge what she had to work with to create a work of sketch-like art. Quite impressive!

Speaking of challenges, the CreateMixedMedia Template Challenge came to a close last week with some great submissions. I will Love Note all winners, participants and commenters on April 1st announcing live showcase. Winning templates will be showcased on the homepage during the first week of April (days 1 through 7) over at CreateMixedMedia.com.

Suggestions for the next survey: Contests & Voting

Another big, congratulations to COLOURlovers OrigamiMei and Pennington for winning the FLOR contest! I am interested in ideas from you guys on how we can run contests where it doesn't feel that the most popular COLOURlover(s) seem to win.

I honestly don't feel that either winner won because they might be popular (as they both have attested), but we do see that you may want more attention to how the voting is filtered and submissions displayed on such large-scale contests. You recall a previous contest with Betabrand (lisadale69 and her plaid shirt palette) where a new COLOURlover won (new in that she registered in order to play in the contest), so such is the balance of the matter.

I have to admit, both winners are fantastic, active members of our community and are very talented and well deserving - Maybe next weeks survey?! Give me some ideas on how to make voting more fair and/or easier. I see some great suggestions in the FLOR winners post.

Lastly, our community surveys are getting some nice feedback showing us what you guys feel and think as a majority. The last survey really showed the need for some Seamless Studio (and Seamless Lite) tutorials and a huge interest in those tools. So thank you for the feedback and the extra little comments have also been helpful, I read each and every one.

This week I decided to keep it simple and find out how mobile some of you are as I've suddenly received an amount of questions about the COLOURlovers site and using it mobile, both for contests like we recently ran with FLOR and with creating pattern templates using Seamless Lite. Interesting feedback so let's find out how everyone else uses COLOURlovers, I am curious how many of you are trying it out on the iPad, iPhone, Android devices and such.

Last weeks T-Shirt winner is NorthShoreShells, COLOURlovin since December 2011. Congratulations and thanks for the survey entry and extra input!

Fill out the Community Survey #3

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