Book Reports
Published on April 23, 2025

Book Report No. 1: Palette Perfect, Vols. 1 and 2, by Lauren Wager

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2390 words // 13min read time

Hello, fellow creative! Today, I’m going to share a book review/report with you. This is the first of many, and I look forward to sharing these titles and connecting them to my Creative Journey Series. I believe as creatives it is so important for us to study the works of others, and use the creative tools that other artists have provided. Seeing the field of art through many perspectives and lenses is crucial to growing ourselves as artists.

Whether you purchase these books second-hand, or check them out from a library, I can say that I recommend perusing them, taking them in, and processing their contents. Sometimes I will review a book that is written by an author who means to help us with our art, and sometimes I will review a curated art book that has a few editors and focuses on the artworks of a certain artist. In both cases, there is something to be learned and inspiration to be gathered.

Free Crochet Motif Pattern

Every book report in this series will have a free crochet motif to go along with it. So, don’t forget to check out Chroma Block, when it releases tomorrow, April 24th – the new crochet motif pattern inspired by this book, and designed by me. Enjoy!

Find the free Chroma Block pattern here!

Without further ado, I present:

  • Palette Perfect, Vol. 1: Color Combinations Inspired by Fashion, Art and Style
  • Palette Perfect, Vol. 2: Color Combinations by Season. Inspired by Fashion, Art and Style

By Lauren Wager.

Why This Book?

Pick up Palette Perfect if you are drowning in color indecision, or you seem to always have trouble choosing colors that go together. As a crochet designer, one of the questions I get the most is, “how do you choose your color schemes?” In observing comments and questions through my years of designing, I can tell you that picking colors is a challenge for many fiber artists, crochet, knit, or otherwise.

Likewise, if you find yourself stuck and using the same safe color combos and you feel like you need a visual jolt, you will definitely find that inspiration in Palette Perfect. Lauren offers curated color palettes that you can borrow, remix, and build upon.

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These two volumes are 100% books that you can use as a source of inspiration during Part 1 of the Creative Journey, “Starting with informed inspiration.” Here is a link to that post to take a deep dive into getting started. Even on the book covers, you can see how two completely different aesthetic color palettes are pulled from each cover photo.

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About the Author/Artist

From the HOAKI Publishing site:

“Lauren Wager is a designer, colour consultant, and curator who is inspired by simple beauty and driven by a great sensitivity for colour. Wager has done social media collaborations with Pantone, Marine Layer, Everlane, Le Bon Shoppe, Richer Poorer and Crow Works. She was featured in UPPERCASE Magazine and she recently worked with Field Tiles to come up with over 100 colours for their cement tile collection. She is co-owner of Georgie Home, a company that designs and produces textile products for the home, which are sold in West Elm, among other stores. She is also the creator of Color Collective, an online blog which serves as a color resource aimed at artists and designers. Her first book, Palette Perfect, evolved from her blog, pairing colour palettes with the work of various designers, artists and photographers. She lives in Columbus, Ohio where she enjoys spending time with her family, collecting rocks, drinking coffee, and finding colour groupings in unexpected places.” Photo below from her website.

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Their Websites and Links

Overview and Core Themes

These two volumes present hundreds of palettes arranged by mood, tone, and theme. Although this is not a technical-style book, per se, it does provide the RGB and CMYK values for artists that would like to translate the colors for web and print. This is a soft book that shows you concepts like “Sugar”, “Marsh”, or “Sci-Fi”, and then gives an abundance of color palettes that evoke those thoughts. Wager gives us color as a feeling, not just a tool.

Volume 1 focuses on abstract and editorial concepts, like Romantic, Playful, and Lush, and Volume 2 leans more into general mood and seasonal inspiration, like Summer Bolds, and Autumn Classics. Wager provides a gorgeous photo, and then shows many mixed color palettes that can be drawn from that photo.

Here is how the volumes are organized, from theme, to photos and palettes, to additional combinations.

Theme (Example shown: Curiosity)

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Photos and Palettes

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Additional Combinations

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The core theme across both volumes is color as not just a design element, but a language of emotional storytelling. By manipulating the color combination that you pull from a photograph or inspiration source, you can convey a certain atmosphere or message. And by offering multiple color mixes for each visual, Wager is saying that there is no wrong answer, and no right way.

Side note: These little color palette squares are what inspired my new free crochet motif pattern, Chroma Block! You can find that free pattern here.

Author/Artist’s Purpose

According to Amazon.com, “Lauren Wager’s Palette Perfect Vols. 1 and 2 are designed to serve as both practical guides and inspirational resources for creatives seeking to deepen their understanding of color relationships and emotional resonance. Her aim is to provide a curated collection of color palettes that evoke specific moods and atmospheres, facilitating a more intuitive and emotionally connected approach to color selection in various creative fields.”

I agree with the sentiment that that Wager is hoping to facilitate an intuitive approach to color selection. By simply flipping through the pages, seeing the photos that she provides, and then witnessing the color palettes she has chosen from them, you can learn how to glean your own color combinations when you see a dress, a garden, floor tile, wallpaper – any time you are looking for inspiration.

These books evolved from Wager’s blog, Color Collective, where she pairs color palettes with the works of various designers, artists, and photographers. I recommend checking out her website as well, as it provides an accessible color resource for the creative community.

Here is the header of her blog with the first post, a gorgeous rumination on the color butter yellow.

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I love this next post, called “now is now.” The rustic and vintage feel of this seventies orange is palpable.

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And here she shows a gorgeous palette of bright colors.

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My favorite part about her website is how each post is different from the next, in theme, feeling, and composition. With the common thread of color palettes, it would be easy to fall into a pattern of the same template for each post image, but Wager instead presents a mix of visuals.

Creative and Artistic Takeaways

These are the threads that can be pulled from the books which speak to artists in particular. To me, this section tells what you can learn, confirm, or challenge about your own creative processes, and what techniques stand out. I found these takeaways in the front matter of the books, and in the introductions to each color concept.

Volume 1

In Volume 1, there are 15 pages of instructional material as an introduction called “Color: Emotion, Image, and Representation.” From the origins of color theory, to a deep dive into the color wheel, to Isaac Newton’s Spectrum of Light, and through color contrasts and affinities, Wager shows that she wants us to take from the book a new and elevated, learn-ed perspective on putting together colors.

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In the intro of these instructional pages, Wager states, “For everyone, color is a property inherent to everything that surrounds us. Since ancient times, color has had a symbolic and ritual meaning, and artists incorporated it as a way to influence the emotions of those contemplating a work of art.” I could not agree more. In art, color is a means to express a message.

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Each feeling and concept deep-dive starts with a short paragraph that serves as a guide to set the tone of the palettes. For example, in Solitude, which is shown above, Wager writes, “For those who treasure solitude, it is an escape from reality; there is finally a chance for silence, privacy, and time to think.”

Volume 2

In Volume 2, Sophia Naureen Ahmad provides a thought-provoking and insightful foreword, in which she states, “In Palette Perfect volume 2, Lauren Wager explores the question of seasonal color, leading the reader through a serene presentation of image pairings and color combinations.” She further says, “As always, Wager’s curation evokes emotion while retaining a quiet elegance.”

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Ahmad’s foreword takes us through color and seasonality in fashion, through a dive into defining color, and then discussing the seasons and their emotional lives. Finally, the concepts of color and the seasons are combined in the conclusion, what color and seasons share. According to Ahmad’s website, Sophia was invited to write the foreword as a colorist, designer, and trend forecaster in the fashion, footwear, and product space. You can see her review of the book here on her blog.

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Each season investigation offers a short reflection on what the reader can expect when taking in the colors. On Autumn Bolds, seen above, Wager writes, “We see a lot of ruby reds, oranges, emerald greens, and purples, but this is a time where, again, I see an opportunity to throw in pops of unpredictable colors.”

As a crochet designer, I can relate heavily to this concept of adding in pops of contrast colors, and I have often said that this is like when you add salt to cake batter – the contrast of the salt enhances the sweet flavor.

Visual Impact

This book is a visual feast. You could flip to any page and take in the inspiration to create a crochet blanket from the spread. During Part 1 of the Creative Journey, I have a section on working with intentional limits to filter through the overload of inspiration out there. With these books, you can narrow your inspiration search by choosing a feeling, concept or a season from the volumes, and going from there.

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The photos in the books show great textural aspects, like fabrics, tree branches, textile materials like heavy body acrylic paint or torn paper, to feathers and even water. Aside from the color palettes, the photos themselves are great resources of inspiration.

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There is a great blend of minimalist and maximalist photos, which I love. Sometimes we are looking for that empty space between the things, and sometimes we want all of the everything at once.

Critical Lens

I’m no critic, but here are a few words to hold space for nuance. This is what’s missing for me.

If you are looking for an explicit how-to on choosing color combinations from a photograph, then this isn’t really that book. Again, there are pages at the front of the books that do share more insight, and then there is a short paragraph at the start of each section, but these volumes are more of a visual buffet than an explanation or a how-to guide.

It might have been cool to have a few words on the why behind certain combinations, but as it is, the books are like a serene and thoughtful mood board. Also worth noting: the color names are poetic but can be a bit vague, which is great for evoking feelings, but not great for those looking for specificity.

Final Thoughts

These volumes made me feel pushed to lean into color combination that felt “too soft” or “too outlandish” before. I realized how much emotional range a single color palette can hold, and I definitely felt permission to validate those feelings. I am so glad to add these volumes to my art book collection. When I’m ready to pull yarn for a new project, I will be sure to open them and flip through the pages to find the perfect palette.

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This book would pair beautifully with The Secret Lives of Color (Amz) by Kassia St. Clair, and Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit (Amz). Secret Lives will tell you the “why”, Palette Perfect tells the “what now”, and Creative Habit discusses making over searching. If you’re in a rut, these books will get you creating again.

Resources Mentioned in this Post

Here are all of the sources mentioned, quick-linked in one place.

Note: The books linked are Amazon affiliated links which will help boost my work via a small commission upon purchase. Only buy if you’re able, as second-hand and library copies are available. If I shop Amazon, I always buy from the used books listings.

Thanks so much for checking out my analysis of this book – it’s a great one! Hope you have a wonderful week, and happy crafting!

Rachele C.

Order my crochet pattern book: The Art of Crochet Blankets

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