Design It: Pantone

Another "Design It" post! I just couldn't help myself I am in love with everything Pantone! For those of you who are not giant nerds; Pantone books are the universal color books used by designers everywhere. Say I wanted to print a giant poster for a new super cool band and I found just the perfect shade of yellow for the sunrise vector I created for the background. Well imagine my excitement when the poster arrives, I unroll it and ECK! it is not the beautiful burnt yellow I picked but more like a neon yellow that belongs only on 80's related memorabilia. The problem was I saw a much different color on my computer screen (because of the light being projected behind it/ my personal brightness settings/ the light in the room I was working on it in ect.) then the actual color being printed. In order to avoid this color catastrophe Pantone books were created so that no matter where you are in the world the color you want will be the color you get. Each color is assigned a number which can be plugged into the design you are working on to ensure color perfection. Not only are Pantone books a great way to keep designers and printers from going insane, but the books themselves are designed pretty darn well. They are simple, sleek and straight to the point. My kind of design! I am honestly in love with all of the Pantone items below but I have been super duper wanting the iPhone case!! If only I could find a place in the US that doesn't charge $30 shipping...

1. Pantone Postcards

2. Pantone iPhone Cover (i want soooo bad!)

3. Pantone Mug

4. Pantone Tote

5. Pantone Colored Pencils

Design It: Penguin Classics

I don't know about you, but when I see an orange Penguin Classic book I can not help but get excited. Their design is so simple yet beautiful! I am a strong believer in simplicity. A good design does not need ten million things going on at once to grab your attention. In fact, busy designs tend to hurt my brain because it does not know where to focus it's attention. When I am designing I like to use the common fashion rule: "Look in the mirror and take off one accessory before leaving the house." Except I change it to "Take one excessive part of the design out before sending it to the printer." Clean, simple designs have so much more of an impact on the viewer and are usually the most memorable. For instance, I bet you could see the binding of a Penguin Classic cover from across the room and know exactly who the publisher is. That orange and cream cover will forever represent Penguin books in your mind. I actually have been seeing less and less of these beautiful covers around lately. I believe they are pretty rare in the US, but thankfully they are available in other countries. Well, lucky for those of you in England and Australia (I am so jealous!). Below are some of the great products Penguin sells with their iconic orange and cream cover. I am in LOVE with the Jane Eyre mug!!

1. Box of Postcards
2. Sherlock Holmes Book
3. Cover Art Book
4. Cover Bag
5. Jane Eyre Mug