Category: design

The Pantone Matching System (PMS) is a standardised colour reproduction system. Pantone began as a commercial printing company in the 1950s, and the systemisation of their pigments and inks was instigated by newly employed part-timer, Lawrence Herbert, in 1956. The system, whereby each colour is designated a number, allows designers to colour match pretty accurately, regardless of the equipment used to produce the colour. I came across the Pantone Guides early in my design career, and could label the world around me by Pantone number. I subsequently lost much of that familiarity because my work took my in the direction of the CMYK world, but some numbers remain entrenched.

Blue and green should never be seen unless they’re in the washing machine. Or so my mother used to recite on washing days when I was young. Years later I heard that ‘blue and green should never be seen unless there’s a colour in between’ and I realised my mother had made up her very own version of the old saying to entertain me. Either way, what a ridiculous notion that certain colours should not go together—although I doubt the painters of this facade chose green because it would look fabulous against a cloudless blue sky, nor that painting it one bright colour would make the gothic sans letter forms stand out so well.

It’s not just the typography on containers I like, it’s the colours too, like this outstanding trio. The container terminal is a city of towers rich with colour, contrast, and accidents of design. I love the happenstance of placement — like this bold orange stripe that matches and perfectly picks up the underline on the container below it.