Postcards From Chromatic Places
Fifty postcards represent pairs of towns named after colors in each of the 50 states. (Yes, check 'em out with your gas station coffee and your vintage Rand McNally road atlas.) From Blue Earth, Minnesota to White Settlement, Texas to Golden, Colorado, road trip through miles of color residue in the American cultural landscape and explores color’s linguistic presence in the geography of the everyday.
Indiana Postcard (above)
4 x 6 inches. digital file or ink on paper.
Towns of Pimento and Buckskin.
The project—in the form of postcards featuring color fields visually inspired by the works of Joseph Albers and Ellsworth Kelly—presents actual towns on the United States map. The design methodology included (1) combing the atlas to identify every town in the United States named with a word associated with a color, (2) choosing two color-named towns per state, often picking unusual choices from the vast assortment as opposed to the straight-from-the-crayon-box names, (3) pairing each color-named town with a specific Pantone Matching System hue, (4) designing 50 postcards using the colors of the chosen towns, and (5) researching and analyzing the history behind the name of each town.
Chart of Chosen Color-Named Towns in the 50 States
digital file.
Color-named towns in the U.S. with their corresponding Pantone Matching System colors.
Montana Postcard (above top)
4 x 6 inches. digital file or ink on paper.
Towns of Coffee Creek and Sweetgrass.
California Postcard (above bottom)
4 x 6 inches. digital file or ink on paper. 2010.
Towns of Moss Beach and Lemon Grove.
Oklahoma Postcard (above top)
4 x 6 inches. digital file or ink on paper.
Towns of Pink and Dill City.
Washington Postcard (above bottom)
4 x 6 inches. digital file or ink on paper.
Towns of Concrete and Navy Yard.
Kansas Postcard (above top)
4 x 6 inches. digital file or ink on paper.
Towns of Falun and Maize.
Mississippi Postcard (above bottom)
4 x 6 inches. digital file or ink on paper.
Towns of Ecru and Olive Branch.
Oregon Postcard (above top)
4 x 6 inches. digital file or ink on paper.
Towns of Canary and Lime.
Nevada Postcard (above bottom)
4 x 6 inches. digital file or ink on paper.
Towns of Gold Hill and Silver City.
Interesting Stories of Genesis of Town Names
I uncovered surprising geneses of certain town names, such as Toast, NC (possibly dubbed from a marketing name of a color of shoes in a nearby box) to Cocoa (perhaps inspired by a leftover Baker’s Cocoa brand tin box package in which the postal service delivered mail). As, arguably, our society becomes more saturated with media and marketing influences, early precedents in this tradition lingering in our landscape prove particularly prescient.
Predictably, the largest percentage of color named-towns are derived from hues of the natural physical landscape (such as the river color in Coffee Creek, MT above). In addition, many settlements honored people at the time of the town’s inception.