Allegedly we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but let's be honest, when you're browsing a bookstore (online or off) it's the good designs that catch your eye and draw you in for further investigation. And when it comes to catching people's attention, what better way than with a little bit of color.

While there may not be one definitive "best of" list of books, there's still a lot of smart people out there that put out their own lists, so we decided to take a few of these and compile them into one colorful literary collection. Let's take a look at some of the best books from 2012 and the colors of their cover designs.

If we're looking for trends, the vast majority of these covers utilize earth tones like browns, tans, blues, greens, and oranges. Such palettes are pleasing to the eye and viewed easily. They feel natural, friendly, and less intimidating for potential readers. So really, earth tones make a lot of sense in an industry where you have but a brief moment to catch someone's attention. Perhaps Hollywood poster designers could take a few cues from the publishing world on embracing color and give us a break from the drab posters of late. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking.

What were some of your favorite books this year?

As we ease into the holiday weekend, it's starting to feel more festive than ever. Around this time, some people like to drive around and look at Christmas decorations. Internet nerds like myself like to browse around and see what awesome things people are creating online.

When it comes to holiday patterns, there's lots of goodies to be found. Patterns are especially fun because you can use them as wallpapers or backgrounds or, heck, even as your own gift wrap. Some of these are just great inspiration, others are great foundations for your own designs, and all are sure to put you in the holiday spirit.

Agente Xmas Pattern by Vladimir Gorz & Xmas Pattern by Greg Christman

Seasoned Greetings Pattern by Kara Bigelow & Stocking Stuffer Xmas Pack by Nicky Laatz

Holiday by Nicole Martinez & Holiday Pattern by Cambria Kline

>xmas vector patterns by tomadachi & Holiday Patterns by The Surfer

Christmas pattern collection by Rachel Gresham Design & Christmas Card by Will Bryant

Classic Tartan Patterns by shonachica & Seamless Snowflakes Pattern by Penina

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Have a great holiday everyone!

**Header image created using Stocking Stuffer Xmas Pack**

Recently we shared a project that visualized the history of colors in movie posters from 1914 to present. Those visualizations showed a striking shift as blue has been feature more and more prominently over the years. It also highlights Hollywood's love of those complementary colors orange and blue. This is something that gets brought up and ranted about every so often, and when I went to browse through the movie posters of films released this year, I fully expected to see the usual orange and blue trends. What I saw was a little different.

Yes, there are still a lot of blue posters out there, but we know blue is nothing new.

What struck me in particular about 2012 was how gray everything looked. Everywhere I saw dark, subdued posters, steely black & white images, and heck, there's even a film called The Grey. Just take a look at some of the of posters from this year.

What is it about gray?

It's a masculine color, and as you probably noticed, these are action-driven films appealing to male audiences. Even the films starring women. Gray is also considered dark and mysterious, so perhaps its use is meant to entice, to draw you in so you can find out why it's so dark and mysterious.

On it's own, gray can be quite dull, but when smartly combined with more vibrant colors, boy do those details pop. Red is used to great effect to make titles, dates, and violence stand out. The singed orange jumps off of The Expendables poster and screams ACTION MOVIE. Liam Neeson's deep blue eyes pierce right into your soul. You get the point.

Personally, I find this trend a little boring and gloomy. I'm more of a fan of the brilliantly colored posters of yesteryear, but I suppose that's another post for another time. What do you guys think?

What would it be like to be able to browse all of the world's colors with your fingertips? Artist Tauba Auerbach has helped answer that question in a really creative way.

Auerbach, in collaboration with Daniel E. Kelm, has taken every color there is and placed them in three amazing 8 x 8 x 8-inch case bound books called the RGB Colorspace Atlas. Each volume contains a different color scheme and they were created with digital offset print on paper, while the cloth covers and page edges were airbrushed.

Feast your eyes on their colorful, cubic creations.

How'd you like to have one of those on your shelf? If you want to get an idea what it's like to browse the colors of the books, check out these simulations from each of the different color axes.

Cheers!

(Hat tip: Freshome)

J.J. Grandville was a French caricaturist known for his satirical illustrations. He often featured parahuman and anthropomorphic characters to emphasize his political commentary and satire.

Published posthumously in 1847, Les Fleurs Animées (The Flowers Personified) is both a satirical and poetic collection of botanical illustrations. Considered by many to be a masterpiece, the original book featured 54 etched and hand-colored illustrations depicting the enchanting world of floral maidens. While the Victorian societal references may not mean that much to us now, the amazing color and character detail have definitely retained their magic after all these years.

These particular illustrations are from an 1867 edition of the book and are available in the public domain.

If you're interested in browsing all 54 illustrations and perhaps beefing up your French, both Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the 1867 edition are available to view and/or download at the Internet Archive. Scans of the original etched illustrations can be viewed online at the New York Public Library website. Cheers!