Four books to read about colors and design. Not just for interior design enthusiasts.
Cromorama
The author.
Riccardo Falcinelli deals with editorial graphics, teaches psychology of perception at the Isia in Rome. He has designed the graphics for recurrent publishings for Einaudi, Minimum Fax, Carrocci, La Terza. In addition to Cromorama he has written, among others, Guardare, pensare, progettare, Fare i libri (Watching, thinking, designing, making books) and Critica portatile al visual design (portable criticism of visual design).
The book.
A look at the entire history of colors in the modern world: through 400 illustrations, Falcinelli shows us not only how color has influenced our society through the centuries (informing, recounting and finally hierarchizing), but also how technology and the market have changed our look, the way we see and enjoy colors. The same painting changes (for us) if seen on a canvas or on a smartphone. But Cromorama is above all a book for curious people who, moving through decades, centuries and cultural fashions amazes and fascinates us on every page.
The quote: “Why do yellow pencils sell more than others? Why does Flaubert wear Emma Bovary in blue? Why is there no green in Mondrian’s paintings? And why does Hitchcock use it instead? ”
Enciclopedia degli schemi di colore
The author
Anna Starmer is a member of the British Textile Color Group and Editor and is Creative Director of The Mix Interior. She deals with color and design and counts Marks and Spencer and Dulux among his clients.In addition to Encyclopedia of color schemes she wrote Love Color: Choosing Colors to Live With and 1000 Color Schemes – The ultimate guide to making colors work.
The book.
How do surfaces change the perception of an environment? A book with 180 patterns of suggestions and tests to match colors and surface effects to a home or apartment. Just starting from the color of the floors. The book is in fact divided into sections based on the possible color gradations of the surfaces: from white to purple, passing through terracotta and grayscale. A perfect job for anyone with an interest in interior design or simply looking for ideas for home design.
Colorpedia
The author.
Sean Adams is a founding member of the award-winning Californian graphic design firm Adams Morioka, he was national president of the American Institute of Graphic Arts and director of the master’s degree in graphic design at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. In addition to Colorpedia he has published Logo Design Workbook and the Masters Design series.
The book.
Colorpedia is a guide for graphic designers and design enthusiasts to learn how to master the use of colors. The outline of the book is simple: the volume is organized in four color categories (warm, cold, neutral and special) with infographics that detail the chromatic ranges and illustrate the possible combinations.
Sul colore
The authors.
Stephen Farthing is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts, a painter and a lecturer at the University of Oxford.
David Scott Kastan teaches English at Yale and is one of the main editors of the book series The Arden Shakespeare. In addition to On Color he wrote among others, A Will to believe: Shakespeare and religion and Shakespeare and the book. He also wrote 1001 paintings. A complete guide to the masterpieces of painting and Art: the whole story.
The book.
A book born out of the ten-year dialogue between a great Shakespeare scholar and a great painter and art critic, On Color is a lively tale of how colors have shaped our imagination and our culture. From Homer to the Impressionists, from Picasso to Audrey Hepburn’s little black dress.
The quote: “Color deeply marks our emotional and social existence. Our moods have a color: we see red, we are in a black mood, we have a rosy future and not infrequently we become green with envy, especially against those who have a rosy future. However, although we can’t do without it, we don’t really know much about color.
Target Point, Italian Ideas