The Colour For 2013

Almost as much of a tradition as Christmas itself, it is during the cold December months that a colourful glimmer of what to expect next year is announced.

As I’ve covered previously (here and here), Pantone have made their annual announcement and I give you the colour for 2013: Emerald (or Pantone 17-5641, if you prefer).

After not really seeing that much of this year’s recommended Tangerine Tango, Pantone note that ”the prevalence of green has been steadily rising for several seasons now”, already reinforcing that that this year’s selection is a more accomplished one.

Lively. Radiant. Lush… A color of elegance and beauty that enhances our sense of well-being, balance and harmony.

Executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute, Leatrice Eiseman, explains the choice as the most abundant hue in nature: “the human eye sees more green than any other colour in the spectrum. Symbolically, Emerald brings a sense of clarity, renewal and rejuvenation, which is so important in today’s complex world. This powerful and universally-appealing tone translates easily to both fashion and home interiors.”

So, grab yourself  a limited edition Emerald mug to sip your morning brew, or a 17-5641 iPhone 5 case to be be sure you start the new year right on trend.

All information (including RGB, CMYK, and HTML match values) can be found here.

E. Chromi

Three years ago a group of seven Cambridge University undergraduates embarked on a summer of genetic engineering, specifically at a bacterial level.

The multi-disciplinary group of designers and scientists designed DNA sequences that encouraged the bacteria to secrete coloured pigments at wavelengths within the spectrum of visible light, meaning that us humans can see them.

This synthetic biology of a single DNA sequence is known as a BioBrick, a mix of designed genes from existing organisms that enable certain types of bacteria to be even more useful.

For example, programming the bacteria to produce a warning colour if toxins are present in what would otherwise be unsafe drinking water.  Indicator potential such as this led to E. chromi winning the Grand Prize at the 2009 International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM).

E. chromi – living colour from bacteria.  Really fascinating stuff.

Follow @echromi on Twitter for their latest project updates.

The Obliteration Room

An extremely simple installation opened at Queensland Gallery Of Modern Art in December - The Obliteration Room by Yayoi Kusama.

Comprising of a typical home environment set up and painted uniformly in a glaringly pristine white, it offered a literal blank canvas to all visitors to the exhibition, and in the two weeks that followed every child that turned up got a handful of coloured stickers and was invited to contribute by decorating the room.

With the time almost measurable based on sticker density alone, a wonderful feeling of freedom transpires.   No pattern, no restrictions, no guidelines, just complete and utter indulgence to splash colour about as you feel.  Perfectly suited to a child’s mind and creativity.

The transformation is the vivid and colourful explosion of dots you see here, a kind of child-friendly version of that Sony advert from a few years ago.

Photo by Stupie.  Used with permission.

Thousands and thousands of stickers later the ‘obliteration’ is complete.

Photo by Stupie.  Used with permission.

The bold, block colours are reminiscent of childhood, and add a wonderfully fun dimension to the exhibit with a a real human and interactive element.

If you’re in Queensland you can experience the room for yourself as part of the Look Now, See Forever exhibition at GOMA until March 11 2012.

The Colour For 2012

As the end of year draws ever closer we can look forward to 2012 and all the colours that come with it, and who better to turn to than Pantone, the globally recognised, industry standard of colour matching.

Honeysuckle has had it’s day, and now we embrace 17-1463, or Tangerine Tango if you prefer a much more memorable name!

We’re told that this “spirited reddish orange continues to provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward” – a refreshingly optimistic outlook for the new year.

“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®, and as someone who is a big fan of 021 C I’d be inclined to agree.

“Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

If you intend on using 17-1463 all relevant colour data can be found on the Pantone website here, or if you simply want to add a splash of colour to your next meeting then ditch your black Moleskine and take one of these along.

Pyramid IV

I’m a particular fan of projection mapping as many a post in the Inspirational Geek archives will attest, whether a car projected onto itself or an interactive advert, I even got to attend Pryda’s EPIC where he projection mapped Brixton Academy in its entirety!

The work of Dev Harlan, however, takes a different stance on light projections and the end result is really quite a wondrous effect.  Here is his Pyramid IV, an energetic and creative installation.

It’s utterly enthralling, particularly when the camera angle changes and the same transitions take on a completely new perspective.  You really can’t help but be entirely absorbed, and then slightly disappointed when it’s over.  To prolong the disappointment check out his equally fascinating Suffolk Deluxe Electric Bicycle for some knitted projection goodness.

Crayon Maker

What can you do with old crayons?  All those waxy crumbs and colourful stumps, too small to hold in your chubby childhood hands, that used to collect in the bottom of your pencil case.

Well, you can now use Crayola‘s own Crayon Maker to “mix, melt and mould” your own wild colour combinations.

I wish this had been around when I was a kid, watching crayons melt before my very eyes to make unique swirling wax crayon creations.  Awesome.  See it in action on the Crayola commercial site here.

Children of today you have no excuse, get drawing!

Drawing Machine

To follow on from my previous post, here’s another on a similarly colourful theme. I give you Joseph Griffiths’ Drawing Machine.

It’s simple, no nonsense name coupled with the Wallace-and-Gromit-esque styling and assembly is exactly what the concept is about.  Deliberately not over engineered, and being still a little rough around the edges, plays right into the method and final execution of the art.

You really don’t need too many words to convey the simplistic beauty of this product, if any at all, so I’ll just leave it there and let you imagine the artistic mischief you could get up to on those plain white walls in your hallway, whilst casually toning your calf muscles.

Art as you exercise has started a whole host of ideas streaming in my head, just imagine a whole peloton of these lined up in front of freshly white-washed walls and armed with Sharpies and Pantone markers.  Amazing.

 

Bring Colour To Life

Sony have colour like.no.other and now Canon are well and truly putting that to the test with “Bring Colour To Life”.

Having been asked to reinvigorate the Canon PIXMA brand, creative agency Dentsu London joined forces with photographer and biochemist (what an extraordinary combination!) Linden Gledhill and fused some serious colours and creativity to capture tiny dancing droplets of paint in extreme macro detail.

The self-titled “sound sculptures” are created from tiny drops of paint vibrating on a rubber membance pulled taught over a speaker.  A single sharp note was then played through the speaker “causing the paint to erupt for just a fraction of a second”.  Organic design at its finest.

Beautiful and mesmerising.  Enjoy.  Your eyes can thank me later.

Now the technical stuff: Everything was shot on a Canon 5D Mark II, with a Canon EF 100mm Macro IS USM lens, captured at 5,400 frames per second (yes, 5,400!).  The rig set up to record it all needed to spin “ridiculously fast,” which can be seen over here (around the 1min35 mark) along with the rest of the ‘making of’.

More enchanting and exquisite photos here, and videos over here.