Amsterdam-based designer Germans Ermičs has created a collection of coloured glass furniture with strong pigments that fade to clear (+ slideshow). 

Titled Shaping Colour, the glass furniture collection includes a purple mirror, a blue shelf, a green side table and a yellow console table, each featuring a gradient of colour.

The pieces are an extension of the designer's investigation into ways to add depth and shape to glass, which he started during his studies at Design Academy Eindhoven.

"It's always been a problem with glass that I never found it comforting enough," the designer told Dezeen. "Colour gives a different meaning to the object by shaping it."

"Instead of finishing a product by just painting it, I started from colour, wondering about what would it look like if I stretch, turn or fold the colour as if it was a three-dimensional shape."

Bold colours feature where the panes of glass meet, fading away to clear towards the outer edges. The glass is curved in places to accentuate the idea of movement within the furniture.

To create the effect, Ermičs printed coloured ink onto a transparent film that was then sandwiched between two panes of glass and bonded together using heat.

The mirror is formed in two parts that meet together to form a small shelf, which has the strongest colour. The thin blue shelf has a similar off-centre joint where the colour is darkest.

The side table features the most concentrated green colour at its corner, where three sheets of glass meet, while the yellow console table has a more even spread of colour.

Different types of glass were used to create different finishes for each piece of furniture. The mirror pairs a pane of frosted glass with clear glass, while the shelf uses a frosted glass pane with mirrored glass.

The low table features just clear glass, and the console is frosted glass.

Coloured glass has been a popular choice for furniture. Examples include Patricia Urquiola's furniture with stained glass doors, and the Campana Brothers' cabinet with brightly coloured panels.

Photography is by Lonneke van der Palen.