Designer’s Dictionary of Colour

The Designer’s Dictionary of Color provides an in-depth look at 30 colors key to art and graphic design. Organized by spectrum, in color-by-color sections for easy navigation, this book documents each hue with charts showing color range and palette variations. Chapters detail each color’s creative history and cultural associations, with examples of color use that extend from the artistic to the utilitarian―whether the turquoise on a Reid Miles album cover or the avocado paint job on a 1970s Dodge station wagon. A practical and inspirational resource for designers and students alike, The Designer’s Dictionary of Color opens up the world of color for all those who seek to harness its incredible power.

Review

'This spectrum of a book examines 30 shades and charts of their colour range, cultural associations and examples of use in design. A sourcebook for those looking to expirement with vibrant tones.' --Homes & Antiques

'[It] is the poet's answer to Pantone reference books. The fact that 'butter' is the first reference on the contents page gives a sense of what to expect: Sean Adam's approach, though functional, is also about a form of chromatic storytelling. [...] For a practising designer, the book will be both liberating and frustrating in equal measure.' --Aesthetica Magazine

'You're going to learn how Danne & Blackburn's Nasa letterform logo from 1974 uses red to evoke a sense of active kinetic energy and reference the future-oriented nature of the organisation, and how the famous hot pink Cadillac of 59 was a meaningful attempt to drag the States from the drabness of the postwar years. And then, finally, you will give colour the damn attention Adams knows it deserves.' --Shortlist

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