The St. Patrick’s Day Shoe, That Got Kicked Back

Yet another company joins the fray in trying to exploit a holiday (of sorts). Nike tried to defy convention by introducing a sneaker without any noticeable shade of green to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day.

The SB Dunk Low was nicknamed the ‘Black and Tan’ because of it’s noticeable beer-themed colors that are reminiscent of the popular drink combo of a pint of Guinness mixed with Harp pale ale.

Thought as a complimentary nod of good cheer, Nike instead received protest from the Irish community here and abroad.

The drink originally takes its name from the Black and Tans army unit employed by the Royal Irish Constabulary. Instead of fulfilling their mission to suppress revolution in Ireland, they became notoriously brutal by attacking the general Irish population during the 1920’s.

It’s hard to believe that a 30,000 strong, publicly held company like Nike, could fail to catch this faux pas. What was their marketing department thinking?? Just a few clicks would have revealed the same mistake ice cream-maker Ben & Jerry’s made in 2006.

Nike did finally realize their wrong-doing and publicly apologized today.

Comments

Munsell’s Crusade to Instruct the Masses

We often take for granted the past work done by pioneers such as Albert H. Munsell. Painter, teacher, and inventor, Munsell created the most influential color-modeling system for its time. His efforts devised a “rational way to describe color” through the of use clear decimal notation; using hue, value, and chroma into uniform yet independent dimensions within a three-dimensional space. This idea broke with the traditional approach of identifying colors through a naming scheme, which Munsell thought was “foolish” and “misleading”. Munsell Color System, Atlas of Color Charts. The color system Munsell built back in the 1900 ’ s continues to serve educators, visual artists, and the industries who depend on color matching technologies to produce their products and services. The Munsell Color Company website has a historical overview of Munsell’s legacy as well as examples of company projects that continue to advance the process of achieving accurate color. To peer inside the...

Colors: What They Mean and How To Make Them

It would appear on first glance at this book’s title, that it is a “how-to” text for the hobbyist or textile artist on dye recipes. Some information is given on where pigments are derived from; how to use sources on where to find and create pigments for dying fabric. The real value of the book is not in the recipes but in the cultural history of the pigment sources and the meanings of color, all packaged in a beautifully designed book. Each thought-out chapter highlights a color and is illustrated with photos and fine art reproductions to reinforce the text. Not book for color theorists–but offers a good general survey of color and it's uses throughout the centuries. Written and (visually) presented to hold the reader's attention with interesting facts without overwhelming. Colors: What They Mean and How to Make Them by Anne Varichon

A Perfect Red

A tour-de-force text that succeeds in weaving an illustrious red path through time. With an impressive mountain of scholarship, Greenfield provides little known facts that take us through the political and colonial upheavals in the West Indies and in Spain. Both locales were central to the intrigue the cultivation, importation and trade of cochineal (insect) red dye. The text also demonstrates how the color red has influenced and been integrated into fashion, culture, and mythology throughout the centuries. A few color plates are included which illustrate the progression of how the color was applied as a pigment while being used as an important compositional symbol. A great book that balances history, science and art found within a non-fiction format. A Perfect Red By Amy Butler Greenfield

All Color Matters

Search This Blog