Today we are chatting with Matthew Smith, currently the creative director of Zaarly. Known for his online persona as "whale," Matt has proven himself as a great designer and influencer in the field.

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Zaarly is a marketplace where you can ask for anything, set the price, and keep the community rooted by building local economy and helping each other out.

Follow Matthew on Dribbble and Twitter.

First up, why don't you tell the community a bit about who you are, what you do, how long you have been doing it. 

I'm the Creative Director at Zaarly, a place that's bringing business back to neighborhoods again, because life is better when you talk face to face, when you're not just a number. I've been drinking this kool aid for a little less than a year. Before that I owned Squared Eye for about 4 years. Before that I worked at a thrift store.

Poster design is a really fun, inexpensive and unique way to explore your creative side. From the 1,000's of fonts, variety of poster sizes, and layouts, sometimes, it's difficult to know where to start!

Once you master your design techniques visit Next Day Flyers for fast poster printing at great prices.

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Today we are interviewing Jessica Sprague, design guru and owner of JessicaSprague.com. In February, Jessica is heading off a four week Poster Design course. She is also giving away not one, but TWO seats to this really awesome class! I couldn't be more excited about the class after taking Jessica's Subway Art class. I'm a busy mom, so I don't have a whole lot of time to join in a live class, which is why I love Jessica's classes- they are self-paced and available forever!

Follow Jessica: Twitter & Facebook

Can you tell us about yourself, how long have you been designing? Teaching? Do you have a job outside of JS.com?

In my former life I was a web & user interface designer for a software company, so I've been designing in some form or another for about 14 years. I started teaching digital scrapbooking, Photoshop, and graphic design in 2007 when I opened  JessicaSprague.com. Since then it is my full-time job, and I love it!

What three (or less) singular colors do you most identify with, why?

My favorite color is green - I love it in almost all of its shades from lime to olive. It's the color of growth and regeneration, of calm energy, of prosperity, learning, balance, and harmony.

If you had to describe yourself [currently] as a five color palette, what colors would they be? Could you provide me with HEX codes so I can create a JS palette for you? :)

I feel like I am a blue, two greens, and a red, coupled with a dark grey. Hex: aed835, d9ea65, 81c9c0, a90c19, a90c19

The greens I've already described. The blue is an ocean representing responsibility, stability, trustworthiness. The red represents fire and emotion, and the dark grey brings some gravity, but also represents the dark that balances the lighter, fresher colors.

If you could be a shape, what shape would you be? (i.e. a polygon = triangle, hexagon etc...)

I would be a 5-pointed star. :)

For those of you following Leatrice Eisemen's training schedule, her 4-Day Color Training Program is off to a start this very morning in Burbank, CA. LindaHolt and ModernMuse (aka Michelle Stroescu), the two COLOURlovers who won full and half scholarship for the class back in November are excitedly enjoying their first day of learning and meeting Leatrice.

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To tide you all over until we get to do a followup with both Linda and Michelle about the class experience, Leatrice kindly took the time to answer the intriguing questions each winner had asked at the time of receiving the announcement that they had won.

Q & A From LindaHolt

Linda: I would love to know what the process is and what goes into choosing the Color of The Year? 

Leatrice: I literally travel the world looking for clues.  If I see a color that I think is ascending in importance, I make special note of it and then look for evidence in it gaining momentum.  Fashion is always a good indicator, but it is not the only design area that must be examined.  There are so much creative design areas that must be considered including graphics, the world of art, product design, home furnishings and so on .  Another very important part of the choice is tapping into the “zeitgeist ‘ of the world around us and the emotional message that the color imparts.  For example, with the that big gray elephant  (the economy) still looming large and the concern that is being felt internationally, we would not want to choose a color that could be a “downer’.  Instead we listen to people’s aspirations and try to give them a color that, at least symbolically, satisfies and encourages their needs and hopes.

Winter weddings are fabulous in their own right, and seeing as we are now in the thick of these winter months, you brides are some of the luckiest there are. Sure you don't get sunshine and hot days, but you get the chance of snow and creating a darn right cozy spot.

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Sparkles, snow, candles and blankets adorn these weddings to create a romantic space during these cold months. Oh and the color palettes, I can't get enough of these color palettes.

Source: Bridge, Pears

For ceremony spaces, a cozy fireplace is the perfect backdrop to tie the knot. Details such as cotton and candles are perfect details to add to this space. Sparkly accessories are a fun way to add a little festive decor to any spot. And you can't go wrong with a little bit of sparkle every now and again.

Source: Ceremony Spot, Cotton

Erin Loechner is a writer, stylist and designer. She is a quirky girl with lots of style and a great swagger about her. Everything she publishes on her site, Design For Mankind, pushes the envelope just enough to keep you interested and excited about trends and styles. She has graced the pages of many magazines all the while keeping up with trends and colors on her HGTV.com segment.

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First up, why don't you tell the community a bit about who you are, what you do, how long you have been doing it, and your background. 

I'm Erin Loechner, a 28-year-old freelance design writer and blogger (DesignForMankind.com). I dabble into styling, consulting and rearranging the furniture of any willing party! I'm also an online personality for HGTV.com.

Recently, we spent some time reflecting over some beautiful home decor images in order to curate these ten beautiful palettes from the Martha Stewart paint line in a collaborative project titled, "Paint Palettes We Love."

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Peruse these lovely combinations and fancy what your space might become, reinvented with fantastically bold or mellow combinations that might pull your imagination strings. One thing I adore about Martha's paint line is that her and Kevin Sharkey dig in to their memories and whims when building a collection of color around them. You can literally see these things in the names of the paints themselves.

Inspiration: A Sunny & Sweet Flower Arrangement

source

This sunny flower arrangement was procured from the sweet tooth of Kevin Sharkey. A few of his favorite sweets happen to be lemon drops and raspberry rock candy.

"Consider things that never fail to make you happy -- a box of pastel crayons, macaroons from Paris, a beloved artist's paintings -- and make note of their colors. Then bring the palette to life by plucking it from nature: Arrange flowers, leaves, branches, fruits, or vegetables in the shades of your passions." - how kevin creates

We took this arrangement and furthered its use by adding a wonderful palette drawing from the strongest points, which could be a great base for an entire room.

At the beginning of every year I often wonder that the next big things are going to be in the wedding industry. It always excites me what crafty people can put together and bring to life. And every year I am more and more excited with where trends have taken us and where we are now.

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I wanted to share a look back at some of the biggest trends of 2011 as well as some of the up-and-comers for 2012.

2011: Ombre

Source: Cake, Dress, Flowers, Napkin, Escort Card

Ombre hit big in 2011! It seemed like all of the sudden these monochromatic details were just the thing needed to create a romantic and elegant look. Of course, this trend will continue to hit weddings for years to come, but the gorgeousness that is ombre will definitely be remembered as the up-and-comer detail to have of 2011.

2012: Color Blocking

Source: Dress, Invite, Table, Wedding Shot

Color blocking became popular right before the close of 2011. Every designer, especially Kate Spade, was embracing pairing one bold color to another until you created a well-executed look that made you pop. This trend is something that hasn't hit the wedding industry too hard just yet, but come 2012, we will see it in both subtle and obvious ways.

We bring you a great interview with Jason Allen, of Haft2.com, an intriguing firm that focuses on, yeah, you guessed it, color! The focal point today is to showcase their 2012 Haft2COLOUR Calendar Project, and absolutely amazing piece of quality!

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I was highly impressed with the presentation of the calendar. It was delivered in a nice silver tin with a branded paper wrap and a wonderful opening letter about the project and the Haft2 mission - I felt like I had just received a very nice gift!

Haft2 is giving away three calendars to some lucky winners on a fun challenge (see bottom of post). I would like to add that I just so happened to come across this project originally from the comments on our previous post about 2012 Calendar Print Trends. I just had to know more about it, see the real deal and get to know what Haft2 and Jason were all about. I'm sure glad I did.

Do you like making jewelry? Do you like playing with shrink plastic? Perfect—me too! Shrink plastic offers endless possibilities when it comes to creating personalized jewelry.

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When it’s in its final shrunken state, this plastic is incredibly durable and it can be sanded or drilled into just like wood, Plexiglas or metal. So, when you’re creating pendants, charms, or, in the example I’ll share with you here, “beads,” even if you forget to punch holes in it before you shrink it, you can always drill holes afterward.

Start with clear shrink plastic. It comes semi-clear or in several solid colors, but for this particular technique, clear works best. Drop alcohol ink (my favorites are Ranger Ink’s Adirondacks) onto scraps of the plastic, or, full sheets if you prefer. It’s fun to watch the ink blend and redistribute itself. This ink comes in a large assortment of colors, so it’s easy to find and use your favorite palette!