Daniera ter Haar and Christoph Brach are the duo behind Eindhoven-based studio Raw Color, where they focus on mixing the fields of graphic design and photography. Much research goes into what they do. An example is their project Paper Shades, in which ”five carefully selected shades of wood are simplified to its smallest fibre.” These pieces are absolutely striking in their simplicity and perfection.
In an effort to study the naturally occurring colors in different varieties of wood, they grind planks of wood until they are left only with dust. The dust is then transformed into paper using traditional methods. From there, they use a contemporary technique (laser cutting) to transform the material yet again, cutting an abstracted version of the foliage from the original piece of wood. By allowing pieces of the cut paper to protrude, the shadows add a layer of dimension and interest. Finally, the name of the tree that provided the wood is laser cut into the handmade paper. The result is something resembling a scientific specimen—only much, much prettier.
{ Images via Raw Color }