Color Blog - Page 5

Teslas Limited Car Paint Choices: What's a Fan to Do?

Although most people will not immediately recognize them, all-electric Tesla cars are quietly gaining in popularity as they travel the highways and roads of the United States and abroad. Interestingly, while sales continue to grow, the company’s car paint choices remain quite limited. Perhaps the youthfulness of Tesla Motors is a fair reason for the deliberate narrowness of color options.

It was in 2003 that PayPal executive Elon Musk stepped forward with an innovative approach to electric vehicles. Naming his company after Nikola Tesla, inventor of the AC induction motor, Musk purchased a former automotive plant in Freemont, California and began production of the Tesla Roadster. It debuted in 2008, offering 240 miles per electric charge and wearing a variety of fashionable colors. Fusion Red and Racing Green were the standard options. Metallic choices included Brilliant Yellow, Radiant Red, Signature Green, Glacier Blue, Obsidian Black, Thunder Grey and Sterling Silver. There were even a few lifestyle/premium choices: Arctic White, Very Orange, Jet Black and Electric Blue. At the time, some critics suggested that these car paint shades seemed remarkably similar to colors in the Lotus and Elise stables.

In 2012, Musk brought the Tesla Model S to the market. It was the first totally electric sedan, offering four doors, seating for seven passengers and huge cargo space. It also promised 265 miles per charge. In late 2014, the 85D and P85D, variations of Model S, added dual motors, all-wheel drive and a slight mileage increase to the prototype. All told, more than 50,000 Tesla cars are now on the road.

The Timeless Allure of Gold: Symbolism, Fashion, and Decor

Who doesn’t love gold? While no one seems to be able to pinpoint exactly when this lustrous, shiny metal became such a “hot item,” mention of it dates back thousands of years. Cherished by the ancient Egyptians for both its beautiful color and its rarity, from earliest days, gold and the color of gold have been associated with royalty, wealth, exclusivity, success and extravagance, and its allure has only increased with time.

Even today, treasure hunters continue to seek golden bounty in mines, archaeological digs and undersea wrecks. Most recently, the Eric Schmitt family, subcontractors for 1715 Fleet - Queens Jewels LLC, discovered a million dollars’ worth of 300-year-old gold chain and coins just off Florida’s coast. To date, divers such as the Schmitts have recovered $157 million of the estimated $400 million in lost treasure.

Aside from its investment value, around the world, the color gold carries a variety of meanings. For example, as a masculine color, gold is mostly associated with wealth in North America, but in Great Britain, it points to royalty. In China, gold symbolizes an earth element; in Japan it stands for wealth and strength. The European flag contains blue and gold to symbolize the unity among its nations.

To Christians, gold represents all the brilliance and magnificence that belongs to God. For Hindus, this color represents wisdom and knowledge. Golden halos surround the heads of many favorite deities. Muslims believe that green and gold are the colors of Paradise.

Summer Wedding Colors: Top 5 Trends for 2015

After answering that special proposal with an exuberant "I do," most brides are quickly confronted with the next most important decision: "What should I choose for my summer wedding colors?" The multiple wedding trends for 2015 offer a host of combinations for every taste, location and style.

Because color choices affect almost everything about a wedding, it is important to settle on a palette that feels right to the bride. Personal choice matters because those wedding colors can create the right mood, adjust energy levels, stir feelings and overall, create the perfect setting to be captured in photos and memories for a lifetime.

This year's summer weddings may be formal or informal, in the country or in the city, indoors or outside, in the backyard or in a church, on a hilltop or at the seashore. There are wedding colors for every setting and mood. Wise planners avoid focusing too much on a specific theme or it may unwittingly become the focal point of the wedding. Instead, they let the carefully chosen color scheme become the unifying agent. The following examples represent current color trends for creating a beautiful summer wedding celebration:

1. Blues, blues, and more blues - For the seaside or coastal wedding, Monaco, a soft royal blue; Rain, an even softer blue; organic Sage and Ivory are a lovely combination. Want to increase the energy level? Choose Scuba Blue, a much stronger passionate blue, balance it with equally intense Radiant Orchid, and keep everything from going over the top with lots of Bright White. Together, these colors can create their own carefree tropical paradise.

New Colorful Apple Watches: A Fresh Take on Tradition

This year, April will not only be welcoming colorful spring flowers, it will also debut the new, equally colorful Apple Watches. With a variety of faces, finishes and interchangeable bands, this new take on a traditional staple has everyone wondering just how well Apple's newest offering in five years will be received.

The new Apple Watch has two case sizes: 38 mm. and 42 mm. It is designed to be worn on either the left or the right wrist. The finishes include a dulled space-gray aluminum, a shiny space-black stainless steel, an 18-Karat rose gold alloy and an 18-Karat yellow gold alloy. A sapphire crystal is standard.

Apple Watches are also available in a variety of faces. For serious business, the traditional look is always appropriate, but Mickey Mouse and his friends are also choices for a more playful approach. Because the faces are customizable, shoppers can create a watch that reflects their personal interests. Delicate butterflies, solar lines, and the world as seen from afar are just a few examples that cater to utilitarian or simplistic designs.

Perhaps the most interesting possibilities lie in the assortment of interchangeable bands that Apple is offering. The Sport Watch bands are made of durable fluoroelastomer and available in lime green, pink, blue, white and black. With frames of anodized aluminum in space and silver gray, each watch is sold with two band choices per box. Interestingly, the various colors are also of different weights. White is the heaviest band and the brightest neutral color. Blue is a bright, rather impudent hue. The lime green version is definitely sassy and fun loving. Pink is actually more of a confident coral. Black is the lightest in weight. Like the little black dress, this band can go anywhere and move easily from daytime to nighttime activities. For shoppers who want to broaden their color choices, Apple will eventually be selling separate bands in additional colors for about $50 each.

St. Patricks Day: Celebrating the History, Traditions, and Greenery

When St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, we are once more reminded that spring is following close behind. However, this joyous holiday once held much more somber tones. The Roman Catholic Church originally created the day to honor St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. As a youth in fifth-century Roman-controlled Britain, he was kidnapped by Irish marauders and held as a slave for six years before escaping and returning home. After his conversion to Christianity, he felt led to return to his former enemies and spent the remainder of his life ministering to them.

Legend says that blue was originally identified as St. Patrick's color, but in the sixteenth century, green became the more popular choice for several reasons. Green is the color of the shamrock (clover) whose three leaves he used to teach the Trinity. Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle because of its lush green farmlands. Green is also in the Irish flag, and it is the representative color of the Irish Catholics of the country. Protestant-Irish citizens traditionally identify with orange.

Until the 1970s, Irish laws required all pubs to be closed on the 17th of March in honor of St. Patrick. Here in the United States, celebrating took a much different form. With the massive influx of Irish immigrants in the 1700s, the day was secularized with boisterous parades, beer kegs and parties, especially in Boston and New York City. By 1995, Ireland saw the potential tourist boost and began promoting St. Patrick's Day around the world. It is estimated that one million visitors will be in Dublin to celebrate this year, and the pubs will definitely be open.