Colour Swatch

What informed my choice of colours

For each 5 categories that make up the content to the publication, I have assigned a colour. This is to make finding each character quicker for the reader.

each design category uses a different predominant colour, this will then correlate with the tab system on the fore edge of the book. I wanted to make sure that my choice of colours would be informed by the content.

Japanese WoodBlock Printing

When thinking about what colours would be associated with Japan and its culture, I immediately thought of the designs I came across by traditional woodblock printers.

Woodblock printing is one of the oldest art forms and dates back from as early as the 17th century. This means that it is an art form that is fully embedded within Japanese culture.

This gave me the idea to use colours typically seen in these prints as the colours for each of the categories. 

This is the colour swatch that runs through the publication. Along side each colour is the katakana character that titles each category.

The colours typically represent nature, water, autumn, blossom and the Sun in Japanese woodblock printing.