Rating: 5 out of 5

I’ve read a few books about colour over the years. I find colour fascinating. The science, the art, the language.

I picked this one up from the gift shop outside the Olafur Eliasson exhibition in the Tate Modern. This book is beautiful. Each colour described has an edge printed with that colour. On its own this makes the book special. But the stories are fascinating as well. Short, often a couple of pages, discussion of the history of the colour all with references.

Easy to pick up and read a couple of colours.

Highlighted passages:

When two scientists surveyed over 200,000 galaxies and discovered that the universe, taken as a whole, is a shade of beige, they immediately sought a sexier name. Suggestions included ‘big bang buff’ and ‘skyvory’, but in the end they settled on ‘cosmic latte’.

Everyone, even the non-sighted, possesses a special receptor that senses blue light. This is crucial because it is our response to this portion of the spectrum, naturally present in the highest concentrations in early daylight, which sets our circadian rhythm, the inner clock that helps us sleep at night and remain alert during the day.

Originally posted to my Goodreads account