I’m coming out of the closet and confessing my love for a girl, the one and only, Kate Spade. My love affair with Kate is truly so secret to anyone that knows me. Now I going to pronounce my love for the world to see. Since I’m returning to the US in less than 7 days, I thought I’d do another 7 Designers series, and while Kate Spade isn’t an example of Scandinavian design, some comparisons can easily be made. What makes Kate Spade stand out to me is their playful use of color. Every time I pass their store in Soho or see one of their ads, I always think about how beautiful their world looks. Color is also incredibly important in textile design, perhaps the most important element. Our teachers have told us colors are what sells patterns and textiles, not necessarily the design. This is also true in graphic design – color adds so much to design and is so loaded with content and meaning. I’m also in love with the photography and type that’s used in the Kate Spade ads from the last several years. They’re really stepping up their design game. I’d love to find out who is the creative mastermind behind their current look. Let’s look at some examples ..
Now my favorite ads Kate Spade has done is their 2009 Holiday campaign. I remember seeing these in Manhattan during my first Christmas in the city. I saw the ads below wheatpasted to a wall in Soho and tried to take the best pictures I could with my iphone. Here’s what I got.
Notice the use of my favorite typeface Bodoni!
Love the picture, love the colors, and especially love how they’re playing with type. So beautiful I think.
Here’s another one I found online – I wish I had copies of the whole “20 ways to merry-make” campaign.
So want to know more about how color inspires the Kate Spade team? I recently noticed Kate Spade set up a blog, The Weekly Spade: a blog about color. Lots of great color inspiration there. They also have a Behind the Curtain blog showing sneak peaks into their campaigns, special projects, and things they love. So much beautiful inspiration. Enjoy and fall in love!
Green from the Weekly Spade.
And Blue for July!
