Wednesday, April 18, 2012

covering up

UK-based artist Arthur Buxton explores new ways to look at things. He engages the viewer by means of data visualisation methods which use colour extraction tools to explore the trends in painting & print media. Using open source software, the artist extracts the 5 most common colours and then samples them as percentages. His latest project delves into a subject I’m personally very fond of...Vogue magazine covers. More specifically, the last 30 years of Vogue covers.

Sneak-Peek-Guest-Post British Vogue Covers

Using the world’s most influential fashion magazine, the bar charts act as an exemplary fashion barometer for charting the last 30 years of Vogue cover colour palettes, dating from 1981 to 2011. The art works are not only visually appealing, but also act as a functional trend visualisation tool. Arthur makes an interesting observation from this timeline of extracted colour. “What is immediately obvious is the difference in overall national colour palettes. The most striking trend is the recent preference for paler colours, which is evident on all three charts. Seasonal trends are more subtle,” notes the artist.

click over to Freeworld Design Centre to see the rest of my guest post & the full images of Vogue Paris, British & US Vogue covers in all their bar-charted glory.

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