Design Notes From RWA Office Solutions

Are you ready to work in an office with soft butter-colored accents or egg yolk colored walls? How about true red or a bold brown to help shape the way you view and cope with these difficult economic times? A combination of these color palettes may be the source of comfort and inspired creativity in offices this year and in 2011 as companies increasingly understand the influence of color in the workplace.

Color is so powerful that consultant Laura Guido-Clark calls it an arsenal where the choices can guide the way we feel and perform in a certain space. "Statistics show that within 90 seconds of an initial view, we make a subconscious judgment," said Guido-Clark, a color, materials and finishes consultant with over 20 years experience and her own design firm in Berkeley, Calif. "Between 60 percent and 90 percent make that judgment of a space based on color alone. That shows me that color is inseparable in our lives, and that is present whether we recognize it or not."

Guido-Clark works with the office furniture industry to explore the use of color, materials and textures for offices and furniture, with an objective to instill positive reactions, attitude and productivity in the workplace, something that a lot of employers feel is valuable. "There's no question color makes you feel a certain way when you walk into an office space because it gets to the core of your emotions and makes you feel something."

Emotion, along with social, economic and political influences are the "temperature readings" Guido-Clark uses under her trademarked Climatology tracking process to determine what effect the current climate may have on people. Climatology is a very deep and involved process, Guido-Clark said. "I spend a great deal of time with (each) client to understand their goals and objectives, or in brain storming sessions to help them define their goals and objectives. We do a tremendous amount of research to present our climatology factors in ways that are applicable to them."

Guido-Clark designed the color palette for Steelcase's Coalesse brand, as well as the colors and textures for its showroom at NeoCon in 2008. She also designed the showrooms for Metro and Bandrud (also furniture manufactures). She has worked with the automotive, electronics and appliances industries, such as Toyota, Samsung, Apple and Kodak and provided textile design, product creation and material and finish development for a wide variety of clients.

One of Guido-Clark's recent collaborations was with Pallas Textiles. The Entwined Collection was designed for the healthcare industry, with warm patterns and colors chosen for textiles with antimicrobial properties used in patient rooms, family lounges, waiting rooms and lobbies. "We believe the year 2010 moving into 2011 will be optimistic, but contemplative," she said. "We will try to be hopeful, but we've been through a tense, difficult time. Color will be used as an accent rather than a dominate focus, which it was in 2009."

The new year has brought a shift in attitude from "almost blind faith" in coping with a tumultuous 2009, to a "very grounded" and thoughtful approach. While color has been used "in a very big way" in the past, clients are looking for a more subtle application as a reflection of the cautious attitude toward a better economy and stabilized lifestyle. Office interiors are beginning to see color trickle in through more relegated applications. Materials will have light and luminous organic surfaces to help keep things even. A combination of colors and materials to create a warm and cool balance is part of the goal to provide a worker-friendly environment, depending on the situation. "As we slowly move forward, we will start to see a big desire for a clean palette that's really honest." Gudio-Clark said. "We will see red as red and a resurgence of brown in many ways. It will be honest, real, authentic and bold."

Yellow still is popular, but softer, again reflecting a hopeful, but cautious attitude. Orange, pink and purple are taking a step back, but still being used as undertones. Guido-Clark said there are new finishes in the works, including new applications for ceramic surfaces to woven wood textiles. The use of metallics will increase in materials and textiles. "We're using things that have been around for generations, but now are being used in new and exciting ways," she said. "There's a pioneering spirit now where you go back to what you know and you explore."

Guido-Clark was a guest speaker last month at the 4th annual Ringling College Sarasota International Design Summit, one of the many speaking engagements to which she is invited worldwide. "There's starting to be a very deep understanding of how important color is and that it is one of the most powerful tools you have," she said. "It is very exciting that clients (recognize the importance) of materiality and expressing the end product, and that we're not the band aid at the end. They know that bringing us in at the beginning can truly shift the perception of the product."

Now there is a compact little book called 100 Quotes by Charles Eames. It is full of insights from the famous designer that apply not only to life behind the drawing board, but beyond it as well. Some examples:

#2: Eventually everything connects—people, ideas, objects…the quality of the connections is the key to quality per se.”

#20: “We’ve always been aware of not…attempting to solve the problem of how people should sit, but rather accepting the way people do sit …and operating within that framework.”

#40: “We worked very hard at…enjoying ourselves. We didn’t let anything interfere with what we were doing—our hard work. That in itself was a great pleasure.”

#53: “The role of the designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.”

#69: “Among the great and elegant design exceptions is a toy produced this year that has swept the country. What is it? A small bouncing ball—the Superball.”

#91: “Art resides in the quality of doing; process is not magic.”

One of the great things about this book is that each quote is in seven languages! English, Complex Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Brazilian, Portuguese, and Spanish. The book, published by Eames Office, includes some of Eames’ favorite quotes from others, too. This little book is sure to  make a nice gift for yourself or someone you know who’s an Eames’ devotee.

Grand Rapids, MI (February 2010)– Cumberland Furniture announces the new Lily Lounge designed by Jeffrey Botwin of Herringbone Design in Los Angeles, CA. Taking inspiration from the flora of his West Coast surroundings, Jeffrey Botwin designed a piece with a fluted back that gently opens outward. The form recalls the shapely petals of the beautiful lily, many of which are native to California. Available in lounge chair and 2-seat or 3-seat sofa, the pieces feature four-inch-thick upholstery, tapered legs and a continuous wood base that compliments the vertical fluting details of the upholstery.

As part of Cumberland’s national, multiphase program called Designers Speak, the Lily Lounge provides timeless appeal appropriate for general and executive offices, reception areas, gathering areas, lounge areas, museums, galleries, libraries, universities, and club and hospitality venues. Using Cumberland’s breadth of material choices, including most C.O.M.'s, interior design professionals have great freedom in altering the character of the Lily Lounge.

The Lily Lounge reflects Cumberland’s standards for high quality, beautifully designed modern American classics crafted with honest materials and delivered flawlessly and without attitude. Constructed with a plywood frame, the Lily Lounge benefits from quality handcrafted construction techniques that assure years of reliable use and lasting appeal. The base, which is constructed of maple solids with double dowels and corner-blocked front legs and rails is available in Cumberland’s broad range of wood finish options, organized into palettes of light, medium, and dark.

Literature, specifications, and pricing for the Lily Lounge or other models in the West Coast Collection, are available by calling RWA Office Design Solutions at 1-800-792-1602

Harter and Izzy are well known for their uniquely modern way of advertizing their product! The Adventures of Olivia & Truman is a page-turning tale of a chair who discovers her versatility and a lounge who explains the lobby. A souvenir hardcover book designed for izzy+ by New York branding and design firm Team Pro-Am, the story chronicles the journey of Olivia, a curious lounge/side chair (with a rich Modernist design heritage) and Truman, her loungy second cousin from the worldly side of the Harter by izzy+ family.

The adventures of these engaging new Harter by izzy+ products, found at www.oliviaandtruman.com, are designed to capture the hearts of 4,500 designers during the sixth annual Harter Valentine's Day blitz, February 2010.

For five fortunate fans of Olivia and Truman, the story comes alive when their unique Golden Ticket numbers on page 31 of the book are redeemed by izzy+ for travel anywhere in the world. As part of the happy ending, izzy+ will also donate $1 for every participant to support Reading Is Fundamental, the nation's oldest and largest children's literacy organization.