Blue is the Wallpaper* colour

With a reputation for offering great colours and great inspiration for designers, it was a welcome challenge for James Cropper to work with Sarah Douglas from Wallpaper* to bring to life the colour that she felt would best represent the Wallpaper* brand. Her discerning eye and exacting specifications have resulted in a new shade of paper, Wallpaper* Blue after a year-long collaborative process overseen by Chairman, Mark Cropper.

A palette of 12 colours accompanied the specialist fashion, art and design, architecture and travel publication’s 2013 redesign. Within this range of colours was an existing ‘petrol’ blue, which became the subject of further investigation by Douglas and Mark Starrs, an expert in developing colours in the laboratories at James Cropper.

Douglas says: “The new Wallpaper* paper colour may look at first glance like a dark, almost navy blue, but it also contains a surprising amount of yellow, which gives it added richness and warmth.”

Her attention to detail has been matched by Starrs and his team, which works with a range of techniques and testing methods to recreate not only the mill production processes, but check colour definition under a range of different lighting conditions that you might expect to view the final product.

Mark Cropper says: “Brands like Wallpaper* have impeccable design values at their heart and I believe that James Cropper’s versatility really shines during collaborations of this nature. Sarah challenged us and knew exactly what she wanted, but translating that vision in laboratory conditions takes a different set of skills and expertise. I’m very proud that we achieved something that Sarah and all at Wallpaper* are so pleased with.”

Wallpaper* Blue has already appeared as part of the publication’s stationery range, with plans for a series of notebooks. Head to the Wallpaper* website to watch a short film about the collaboration.