Given some of my previous post subjects, it seems I'm definitely attracted to immensely colorful and heavily patterned artwork. Perhaps it's because it differs so much from my own comparatively minimal & restrained design work? Regardless, I think it's the irrepressible energy of this type of work that keeps me coming back for more. Young Brooklyn artist Morgan Blair is no different with patterns-a-plenty, rainbow colors, and style that easily traverses from illustration to painting to grafitti. She cites Legos, Maya Hayuk, nostalgia and forts (agreed, who doesn't love a good fort?!) as a few of her influences. If you're nerding out over this like I am, frankly, you should drop what you're doing read this interview with Morgan over at Doodler's Annonymous. She actually drew the answers to their interview questions. What a clever monkey.

On first glance Buff Monster and his art present a picture that's the opposite of your typical "grown-up". Giant Mohawk, heavy metal music, graffiti, heck--even a installation of porn-related art. But there's a chink in that facade though, and it comes in the most exuberant shade of pink. It's the kind of color that's hard to hate and it dominates Buff Monster's work. Loud, cartoonish, and fun, even Mohawk-haters would have to agree. So when Buff's rep emailed me to get some press out for his fall openings, I was happy to probe a little more into this interesting artist.

Wandering the streets with her camera Jitka Kopejtkova captures the graphic decay of Prague's event, product and political posters. The fragmented and juxtaposed images in her work reveal not only unexpected color combinations but the age rings of visual communication and the consumer market itself. The indiscriminate combinations of color, shape and form raise curiosities of each individual designer's original intent, and the event(s) which lead to the current state of these ever-evolving public canvases.

"In the ‘Sunset’ series, the spectrum colors were originally printed from one single negative. This image has no real object to provide an anchoring point for true grey. Therefore no substantial evident to what was ‘true’. The result is whole spectrum of colors being printed in a desperate attempt to circumscribe the truth within a mass of imagery."

Found through Golden Age, Ann Woo's 'Sunset' series is simply stunning. Those subtle gradients just wrap my color lovin' heart with warmth. For more about Ann Woo check out her PS1 Studio Tour.

Palette Challenge

Step right up and take a shot at capturing the colors of Ann Woo. The best palette will forever be remembered and praised in this blog post :) you can see a few of mine accompanying the images.

Much loved the world over, Ed Emberley has been inspiring illustrators, young and old, since the 1970s. Either with crayon and a coloring book, or a more formal artistic approach, his incredible influence is clear.

Fun thing! Courtesy of our bff The Internet, where nothing is lost, I just discovered that there are entire blogs dedicated to archiving vintage album art. Project Thirty Three, Groove is in the Art, and Stereo Sack are three such sites run by Seattle used vinyl shop, Jive Time Records. Everything from jazz to classical to psychedelic abound with a rainbow of colors and cheeky typography, all of which I am filing away as design inspiration fodder.

It's just amazing how well these have aged, design-wise.

Whether it's with graphic design or business planning in general, the tendency to add lots of features, color, graphic elements, bells, whistles, and whizzbangs is incredibly common. It's an irresistible and misleading strategy for people who want their product or project to stand out and aren't really sure how. More often than not it will distract the audience and is going to be more expensive to produce.

So how to cut the fat without the impact? Start by hiring a great graphic designer, limit color choices, and use high quality printing. That will get you there every time. Better still, explore printing alternatives like screenprinting or letterpress. Often times they are on par with traditional offset printing, and in some cases, cheaper if it's a small enough run of prints. Not to mention it affords the obvious wow-factor that just ain't happening over at Ye Olde Copy Center Plus. Plus it supports an age-old craft, and the person behind it.

Still not convinced? Take a look at these beautiful printed pieces, all designed with just one or two colors. Budgets are included for the projects that listed those details.

Single-color offset printed poster by Jude Landry produced for Mississippi State University, total budget $200. More on the design and production costs here.

If something art-related has gone viral, then it would be these geometric patterns. Such a simple colorful idea can be translated into a kaleidoscope of ways, it's no wonder it's contagious. Painting, illustration, collage, branding, and even traditional Nesting Dolls get a modern spin. And yes, there's a bounty of geometric COLOURlovers patterns for drooling over too.

Richard Colman