About us
We are a creative colour studio working with global design teams for more than 20 years, our studio consultancy and leading-edge publications reshape the way that global clients think and feel about colour and materials.
Co-creation
Founded by Anna Starmer in 2003, Luminary Studio has evolved into a close and collaborative global network of specialists. We design and publish our books independently; our colour library and image bank are hand-made in the UK. Luminary is a created in collaboration with creatives and artists from around the world; we draw on the wisdom of botanical dyers, future thinkers, material pioneers, nature writers, photographers, activists, inventors, shamans, foragers, growers, wild swimmers, adventurers, collectors and dreamers. We work with some of the world’s leading clothing, beauty, automotive and interiors brands, co-creating original and thought-provoking design tools that inspire creative teams, product developers, brand agencies and manufacturers. Our futures consultancy draws on the right people as and when clients need them, taking a tailored and project-by-project approach. Luminary is sold through a global network of specialist agents, we offer a free in-person presentation of our books and colours in your region, from New York to Sydney, Tokyo to Seoul, Stockholm to Los Angeles. Please contact Anna to find out more.
Who we are
Our work opens up a rare opportunity for brands to dive deep into the world of colour, to be guided by our visionary future storytelling, and to unravel what it all means for your product development. We co-create the future concepts which are shifting the way we approach design and colour strategy, in response to this transformational era we are all living in. Luminary sits at the intersection of the global design industries and the ecology of colour; connecting our future thinking and commercial know-how, to an active ‘kinship’ with our natural resources. Our studio approach is deep-rooted, building long-term design concepts, we believe we are accountable for the decisions we make as designers, and how they will impact our future world.
About Anna
Anna Starmer has been guiding brand colour direction for over 25 years. Her colour library, client palettes and Luminary colour publications reveal the future thinking that will shape the future of colour and materials. She is a board member of the British Textile Colour Group and Interfilliere Salon de la Lingerie Paris, and has worked with leading colour authorities from Pantone to The Mix and Viewpoint. Beyond her books, Anna works directly with brand directors and retailers, manufacturers, organisations and universities. She understands the technical language of colour, working with digital colour, spectral data and textile lab dips, and has developed colour libraries for clients, from Manolo Blahnik to Marks and Spencer. Anna is passionate about using her knowledge to help organisations, she is working directly with global social enterprise networks, supporting refugee artisan groups in over 37 countries. Through craft and making, this work offers displaced communities the opportunity to work and earn a living, one of the most effective ways people can rebuild their lives with dignity. Anna lives in Lewes in East Sussex, with her husband Iain, two children and Tiger the lurcher. The Sussex countryside and the South Downs, are a constant source of inspiration and fuel Anna’s practice; from photo shoots in wild flower meadows to gatherings in the woods, foraging for local dye plants in the hedgerows to wild swimming and fires on the beach. In 2023 we will be opening the doors to a new home for Luminary Studio, a two-floor design studio and creative workshop space for events, shoots and gatherings. This space aims to bring the contents of our books to life, in person and creative events to cultivate better ways of making, creating and living.
We inspire radically different ways of thinking. Our research and expertise is refined into clear stories, which frame the strategy, foresight and shape of tomorrow.