Berlin is a city of transformation and architecturally a work still in progress. New buildings replace the old. The Buchstabenmuseum (Museum of Letters) is specialised in saving, collection and documenting typographic signage.

You will enjoy letters of different sizes, colours and personality; Each letter telling its own compelling story of a time gone by. Some Letters were former landmarks have been rescued from demolition by alert neighbours and donated to the museum.

Some letters reflect the handwriting of the designer who created them: soft nostalgic shapes, bend in neon have now been respectfully restored  to former glory – and delight. Other signs are playful, almost childlike from a time where branding guidelines didn’t exist.

In the eastern part of Berlin (DDR) the freedom of expression was previously limited and restricted also within architecture, generating a more carefree attitude to the letter forms and signage placed onto the buildings.

The letters are effectfully organised and displayed in colour: the red room, the blue room, the yellow room etc.

This charming museum is a must see for anyone in love with typography and the visual history they represent.

http://www.buchstabenmuseum.de/

Pantone Announces Colour of The Year 2012

On pantone.com the rationale behinds this colour choice reads:

The 2011 color of the year, PANTONE 18-2120 Honeysuckle, encouraged us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. Tangerine Tango, a spirited reddish orange, continues to provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward.

“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®. “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.”

Tangerine Tango is a very visual word, although tango is traditionally associated with a deep red (combined with black), more so than an orange colour.

Off course this announcement works as a marketing stunt for Pantone it self, but never the less, the previous colours of the year have featured prominently in fashion and design thorughout that particular year. See for yourself!

The Italian Studio, Density Design, manages to show complexity of modern life in visually interesting ways, by using vibrant colours and elegant graphics. Never has city budgets looked more attractive!

2009 This is Living! The map defines the actors, the streams of responsibility, needs and bureaucracy through the citizens and the town council of Milan, with a specific focus on how the city budget is managed.

One of my favourite graphic design studios is HELMO located in France. They work with primary bold colurs in such a playfull manner – creating unique and stunning designs. Such as this series of posters for a stret art festival.

http://www.pronomades.org

Feeling Neutral

The last few years a lot of grey has appeared in clothing and design. Trend specialist will say it has to do with a collective feeling of uncertainty. With not wanting to make any bold statements. Grey is neutral! But it is also linked to the reappeareance of metalics in fashion – grey is  the simpler colour version of metal: Iron, steel, silver. Or with the connection to natures own grey colours found in rocks and stones.

Technical aspects of grey
Grey is termed neutral as it does not have any colour value as such. It does not give out any energy that way you can get energized from more saturated colurs i.e. Red og blue, green, yellow. This is why some find grey dull. Medium grey is traditionally used to measure the right light by photographers and also why a standard computer screen is medium grey.

Grey can be seen as degrees of black. The darker the grey, the ‘heavier’ it feels. But grey does not have the dramatic feel of black.

The same grey square appear different depending on it’s background colour:
This is because grey interacts with the colours that sounds it, generating what is called simultaneous contrast. A physiological phenomenon of the human vison, where by our brain will add the complementary colour to the neutral. The gray in the red square might have tinge of green to it. A grey colour in a yellow square appears slightly violet and a grey inside a blue square appears warmer more golden. Even it is the same gray.

Historical aspects of grey
Grey has historically been the colour of the poor. Previously coloured garments were expensive and for the wealthy. Some colours were even forbidden for the commoner i.e. Purple was only to be worn by royalty!

Grey has associations to:

• fog, grey weather
• grey mood – flat: lack of emotion – depression
• lack of colour = grey
• lifeless as opposed to colourfull
• the grey eminince, conservative cold authority
• humility
• discretion
• uniforms
• aged, getting old
• grey = no colour, lifeless
• ash, dust

Interestingly grey is not associated with a flavour or a scent.

Grey within religion
The Fransiscan monks wore grey cloth cowl – and in Denmark were called the grey brothers. (“Gråbrødrene”).

In the Bible the saying: “To be dressed in sack and ash”. It means to be humble and repent ones sins. In mideveal ages ash was spread over the sinners head at church, when he made a confession. It was taken litterally by the true believers, who was to live the   joyless life of a beggar, dressed in a rough sack, covered by the grey dirt from the ash pile.

Ash is a symbol of death i.e. the English ritual: “From ashes to ashes, dust to dust…”

Grey Elegance
“Less is more”
Perfect for understatement, neutral colours are used in luxery products.

Grey Products
Most electronics, mobile phones and computers (Except for Apple computers that came up with the colourfull range of the Imac in the late 90s) are shades of grey, white or black. Perhaps due to the materials used. Perhaps initially as a way of making simple plastic appear more sophisticated – like real metal.

Words, Language
Earl Grey tea is named after the Charles 2^nd Earl Grey (1764-1845) when he was given a Bergamot flavoured tea as a present.