When it comes to color blocking, very rarely do I see foreground and background fills done well. Here are two examples, new and old of exquisite blue blocking. The first is a movie poster for Submarine, a coming of age indie film that hit the theaters last week. The older image captures Jean Shrimpton in one of her many modeling poses from the 1960s.
As many of you know, we’re art lovers here at Pattern Pulp- from the unexpected street marking to the most extensive gallery exhibition, everything inspires us. In an ongoing effort to stay abreast of everything at once (a daunting task!) we’re continually reading, interviewing and trekking. One curated source that never fails to inspire is The Jealous Curator, who I had the pleasure of meeting this past week at the Alt Summit Conference in Salt Lake City, UT. Danielle’s eye for fresh + witty innovation is impalpable and her piece on Ludovica Gioscia is a significant part of today’s feature.
Pattern-blocked mixed media is continually being reinvented and Gioscia’s take is a storyteller’s dream. The torn shapes and unraveled wallpaper parallel wall art from the streets of Darlinghurst in New South Wales, a piece I snapped while on my travels in Australia last month. Each layout applies color, line and vibrant patterns to keep the eye bouncing round the space.
Budget slashing has forced artists, retailers and marketers across the globe to get creative in finding lower-cost solutions to advertise their wares. Be it a rummage in the craft bin or a simple play on words, trend-setters such as Anthropologie and Barneys have proven less can be more when the concepts are strong. Today we’ve chosen to focus on tape as a decorative way to enhance a creative message. Earlier this summer the malleable nature of this medium was incorporated in the Color Forms layout featured in the New York Times Magazine where the photographer chose to compliment this Matryoshka table with vibrant colored floor striping. Applying similar energy and stiff color blocking, this repuposed Umbro t-shirt from 2006 reveals that DIY done right can update any brand. Using color, function and a healthy dose of sexy, Marc Jacobs has created one of the simplest and most striking window displays on New York’s Bleeker Street, proving that duct tape can work for even the most innovative designers.