Category Archives: Opinion

Personal point of view about the contract interiors industry

the difficult color

There is more to green than meets the eye. It is a color whose history makes a notable irony of green’s contemporary meaning and application. Green has vexed artists and colorists for centuries. All this was nicely encapsulated in a … Continue reading

Posted in Color, Contract interiors, Industry, Opinion | Tagged , , , , ,

allsaints we are not

“Is this where I buy my post-apocalypse, anti-zombie wardrobe?” It seemed a logical question, standing there amongst salesclerks draped in black leather, urban-directional clothing on steel racks and columns sheathed in riveted plating.
Asked of a particularly deft salesclerk, he managed … Continue reading

Posted in Brand, Contract interiors, Opinion | Tagged , , , , , , , ,

what about yellow?

When I worked on the corporate side, my office was across the hall from the product designers. We lunched together, sometimes traveled together and riffed on those who tried and failed to understand design. Favorite targets were the copywriters trying … Continue reading

Posted in Color, Contract interiors, Industry, Opinion | Tagged , , , , ,

five features needed in sit-stand furniture

“If there is one hot thing in this industry right now, it has to be sit-stand desks.” In making that comment recently, this editor of a well-respected publication acknowledges the interest in sit-stand has grown faster than anyone expected. Or … Continue reading

Posted in Active workplace, Contract interiors, Opinion | Tagged , , , , , ,

hat tips 2012

“It is true of the Nation, as of the individual, that the greatest doer must also be a great dreamer.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Berkeley, CA, 1911
(Via In His Own Words by Theodore Roosevelt Association.)
In this, the second annual presentation of the Please Remain … Continue reading

Posted in Industry, Opinion, SWA | Tagged , , , , , ,

they meant it before they retracted it

Another business is hit by a communications kerfuffle. When Instagram rolled out new Terms of Service on Monday, the Facebook-owned photo sharing app rolled them over their own users’ toes.
Earlier this year, FB paid $1 billion for Instagram, a business … Continue reading

Posted in Advertising, Brand, Opinion, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , ,

what would calvin klein say?

Calvin Klein spoke at a university-sponsored event in my hometown the other night, so I decided to drop in and see what he had to say. Mr. Klein led a rapt audience through his career from 1968 to 2006. He … Continue reading

Posted in Advertising, Brand, Contract interiors, Opinion | Tagged , ,

tendencies in color

Forecasting, developing and applying color is a global industry. Through peer review and discussion, color designers establish directions and publish forecasts. Then, members of design and product teams with responsibility for color development interpret these forecasts in ways to engage … Continue reading

Posted in Contract interiors, Industry, Opinion, Shows | Tagged , , ,

three showroom visits

How often do visitors arrive at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart by cab or train, disappear inside its gleaming doors, then leave the same way—not discovering what lies just to the north? Perhaps some have enjoyed the restaurants, boutiques and galleries there. … Continue reading

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hat tips 2011

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber’d here
While these visions did appear.
— Act V, scene ii-epilogue, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
These famous lines at the end of A Midsummer Night’s Dream are addressed … Continue reading

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