Late last week I picked up two books on hold at the library.
One was Laura Lippman's newest book, Lady in the Lake. It's described as "a novel set in 1960s Baltimore that combines modern psychological insights with elements of classic noir." The other is a self help book, Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo, "an indispensable handbook for becoming the creative force of your own life."
Subject matter wise, these books don't have anything in common.
What struck me was how similar the color palettes were: orange, yellow, and and blue.
Of course, there are differences with exact shades of blue, the use of black and white, and the skin tones and hair of the subjects. But overall, the similarities are striking.
Design Jewelry Inspired By Book Cover Colors
I started thinking about how you could choose a favorite book cover and design something based on the colors.
Awhile back, I did make this bracelet with periodic table elements in those same colors.
So it's not exactly a new color combination for me.
But then I remembered this necklace named Sunshine Day that I designed for Stringing magazine back in 2012. It doesn't have the blue component and I wouldn't want to take it apart and redesign it at this point.
Add Color With Your Photo Background
I realized that instead of changing the necklace itself I could easily make the background of the photo blue.
I tried a light blue background first.
Then I tried a denim canvas background.
I still like the white background best, but the denim one is intriguing. You might have noticed that I gave this necklace a name inspired by The Brady Bunch and the denim matches the 1960s/1970s vibe.
Of course I've used colored backgrounds for photographing my jewelry before, but I never thought about them as part of an overall palette. To be honest, whenever I've used colored backgrounds in photography, it's always been a bit of trial and error. Thinking about the overall palette before I even pull out the camera seems like it will make photo sessions more efficient, leaving more time for jewelry design. And who doesn't love that?