Colour inspiration from Japan

The Japanese “A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is small enough to comfortably hold open in one hand – and yet few books its size can claim a similar influence on design, art and fashion both within Japan and beyond.

It dates back almost a century – to printmaker and color theorist Sanzo Wada, and published in two books; 1 and 2, (visual shows second), and its been a dear companion since I bought it at Louisianas shop a few years ago.

When designing brand colours and news colour systems, creating holistic colours in 360° are the main focus.

Colours are what we see with our eyes depending on light and shadow but also what we experience and feel with a colour, like Johannes Itten, Bauhaus, taught us about colour understanding.

Colours come with history and culture, from thousand of years of evolution. This book capture 300 color paintings, showing combinations of different colours that’s been practised in Japanese art and design.