Keeping the balance

Presently I am studying for the LEED-CI [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – Commercial Interiors] exam, working on the Indiana Convention Center Expansion and national headquarters for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades in Hanover, Maryland. Due to my schedule, I have asked Anna Bogus to be RATIO’s consistent Interior Design blogger. Check out the wonderful art posted on her current blog!

Tags: Add new tag, Anna Bogus, Indiana Convention Center, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

Following the Yellow Brick Road

 

‘Tis the season for basketball, especially in Indiana.

March Madness is here and in a big way with a portion of the Sweet Sixteen being played in Indianapolis. How ironic that “yellow” is one of the Color Marketing Group’s top picks this season. What is so ironic about “yellow”? Let me back up a few years.

In 2005 the Indiana Convention Center replaced all first floor carpeting with new patterned goods and added a substantial amount of walk off tile at entryways. The walk off carpet was installed primarily to differentiate entryway and hallway areas. A few months later in 2006, Indianapolis had the privilege of hosting the NCAA Final Four Tournament. Always a wonderful host, city officials and planners made certain everything looked its best. I wasn’t aware of the far reaching impact of this effort until I received a phone call from my client at the Indiana Convention Center. Footprints, wet, yellow footprints were everywhere inside their building! There were none to be found on the brick sidewalk and none to be found on the hallway carpet, but there were hundreds of yellow footprints on the walk off tile. Where did they come from? Sprucing up the city included curbs I soon found out: bright, shiny, freshly painted, yellow curbs.

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Tags: carpet, Color Marketing Group, Indiana Convention Center, walk off carpet

Pick A Color, Any Color

In elementary school, I always envied the kid who had the 48 or 96 count box of Crayolas. It wasn’t so much about the coveted crayon sharpener; it was the huge number of available colors. As a commercial interior designer, I find selecting colors to be enjoyable and rewarding; but looking for that “one perfect color” can often pose a challenge. After all, when you design a locker room for the Indiana Pacers and need Indigo [Pacer] Blue, you need the right blue…no other will do.

How hard can it be to find Indigo Blue?  Well in 1998 it was very hard, as Indigo didn’t make the official list of “color trends.” Did you know that an organization exists whose sole purpose is to identify the direction of color trends for the next three years? Color trends affect fashion, interior design, appliances, and cars, just to name a few. If it has color, chances are someone from the company is involved with the Color Marketing Group [CMG].

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Tags: Color Marketing Group, color trends, Commercial Interior Design