Craftside

Excellent book for picking the right color combo to fit the mood and send the right message

Yup! That is what this book does! Do you ever wonder what color to pick for your design? Well this book will answer that question...and more!

Color Harmony Compendium
A Complete Color Reference for Designers of All Types, 25th Anniversary Edition

By
Terry Marks, MINE, Origin, Tina Sutton and Bride M. Whelan

A selection of content from the entire Color Harmony library offers readers the most comprehensive reference book on the usage of color available today. Included are swatches and material for designers and all types of artists looking for inspiration and guidance to ensure the right color choices for every project.

Terry Marks (Seattle, WA) is the author of Mr. Crumbly Dreams a Tiger and Rules for Success.

Christopher Simmons of MINE is an instructor in identity design at California College of the Arts and at Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Jim Mousner, of Origin Design, has had work featured in publications such as Print, HOW, and Émigré, and been published in many books.

Tina Sutton speaks on “The Psychology of Color” at many schools, businesses, and museums. She writes a weekly column for the Boston Globe Magazine.

This page just really sums up so much:

Click on the image to enlarge and read about the process of picking colors that go with a design to achieve your design goals.

 

Today's question:

What is the color pallet you design with? Do you use a pale pallet, a bright pallet or "other"?

Leave your answer in the comments and you will be entered to win a free book.

Oh, and if you want to see more inside this "colorful" book, pop on over here at Amazon.

Fun medical packaging from the book Really Good Packaging Explained

I love books about graphic design and packaging. They hold such an abundance of creativity and inspiration. With medical insurance in the news I thought this fun packaging of band-aids and pain medication was a really apropos example:

Click on the page to enlarge and read what the 4 authors had to say about this design.

These pages are from this cool book that looks like a Hershey chocolate bar, even the sides of the pages are silver!

Really Good Packaging Explained
Top Design Professionals Critique 250 Package Designs and Explain What Makes Them Work

By
Rob Wallace, Bronwen Edwards, Marianne Klimchuk and Sharon Werner

This book, the second in the series following Really Good Logos Explained, addresses the elements of effective packaging vs. packages that aren’t successful and what makes a particular design more powerful or attention-getting than others. Four well respected design professionals--each of whom will specialize in the area of product packaging--evaluate the 300+ design examples in the book. Each author provides specific and to-the-point observations and critiques.

Bronwen Edwards is a creative director at Brandhouse in London, UK.

Marianne Klimchuk is the associate chairperson of package design at Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY.

Rob Wallace is principal of Wallace-Church in New York, NY.

Sharon Werner is principal of Werner Design Werks in Minneapolis, MN.