Pantone’s 2012 Color of the Year has been making the rounds on various websites and was even featured on the Yahoo! homepage at one point. It’s a vibrant orange-red called “Tangerine Tango.”

But Pantone is not the only company with a color forecast for next year. This past fall, Benjamin Moore revealed its palette for 2012, which features colors that seem reflective of the uncertainty still lingering in the country as it struggles to recover and of perhaps the desire for comfort and the familiar in these troubling times.

Among them are tranquil blues with a green and/or gray cast, such as the company’s top pick, Wythe Blue HC-143,

Montpelier AF-555 and a slightly purplish Amethyst Shadow 1411.

The forecast also calls for an array of grays, some of which have names suggestive of a more sober and subdued—but not necessarily depressed—mood: Nimbus Gray 2131-50 and Storm Cloud Gray 2140-30. And then there’s Sharkskin 2139-30.

Naturally, with the economy still up in the air and a future somewhat nebulous, one may find oneself yearning for clarity and purity—whites are still popular—as well as an emotional anchor, especially at home. Why not try on a rich earth tone, such as French Press AF-170,

Farm Fresh AF-360,

Masada AF-220,

Dunmore Cream HC-29 or Fresh Olive 2149-30.

And for a hit of color, the 2012 forecast offers up Gypsy Love 2085-30 and Persimmon 2088-40.

When I was in College my design class was fortunate to go on a tour of Milliken in Georgia as part of a Design Bus Tour the school put together. It was really eye-opening for me as a young designer.

Milliken is once again impressing me with their new website www.inspiredinspiring.com, which aims to share amazing images and spark the inspiration we Designers need.

Whether you are looking for images for a Mood Board or seeking Inspiring colors and textures, their site will have it all for you to discover.

Add it to your bookmarks and share what you like about their site.

—Ann Porter

A potential client walks in the door with a bunch of magazines in her arms. As her budget is more modest, one of her requests is to have “the refrigerator look like it’s a built-in refrigerator” because she doesn’t want to actually pay for the built-in refrigerator. She wants you to tightly frame in the refrigerator with cabinets. You agree and the work commences.

Except for one problem: Standard refrigerators shouldn’t be built-in. They need air circulation. In the fine print, there’s always something that reads roughly along the lines of “there must be ‘X’ inches of clearance on sides and top.”

If you’re not experienced and you miss this detail, the refrigerator may have a new shortened life. Eventually it’ll come around to: “You’re the designer/contractor and should have known better. Fix it.” If you’re an experienced designer, you catch it, let the client know and re-design with the added clearance—if she lets you.

Trying to achieve design ideas that clients are bringing through our doors can be challenging. In some cases, the less the client’s budget and/or materials match the images, the harder some push to achieve the same look.

So, even though you might know that framing in the refrigerator violates the recommended specifications or the room is too small to fit an island or a myriad of other frustrating details, but the client insists on it, what do you do? How do you educate them while still staying true to design principles?

Here’s what most long-term designers do: Write a disclaimer. Write or stamp it on all designs and paperwork and have the pen ready for the client to sign off: “The designer has recommended against designing the refrigerator as shown. By signing this disclaimer, Client A understands and accepts that she is overriding the recommended specifications and is solely responsible for any future operational problems that may arise.” Or something similar.

Words can be brushed off, but a printed disclaimer will accomplish one of two actions—it’ll absolve you from future problems, or make the client reconsider. Of the two, I prefer the latter; there’s less chance of unhappiness for everyone down the road.

Until next time,

Kelly

One Harvard Business School study determined that there were four factors critical to success: information, intelligence, skill and attitude. When these factors were ranked as to importance, this particular study found that information, intelligence and skill combined amounted to 7% of the effectiveness and attitude amounted to 93%!  Could it be that 93% of our success in work, and in life, results from our attitude?

I remember hearing a story of two people going to work each day in New York City and every morning they would stop at the same newsstand where one of them would buy the daily paper. After paying for the paper, one of the men would say thanks with an enthusiastic smile and walk away. The odd thing was the owner of the newsstand wouldn’t even acknowledge the man or smile back. He just took his money and ignored him. Well, the two of them passed the same newsstand every day for four years and every time the owner would respond in the same cold way.

One morning after the man purchased his paper with a big smile and said thank you as he normally does, his friend turned to him and asked him why he still smiles and says hello every time when the guy is so rude and doesn’t even respond in a semi-positive way. His response was: “I’m not going to let that person determine the way I act for the day.” How many times have we let other people determine the way we act for the day, week or year!

I know things can get bad and some days we wonder how we even survived through them but I have to tell you another story that seems to put the attitude factor in its place. On one of the Nightline-type programs, there was a story about a boy named Charlie who was 8 years old and had a rare form of thyroid cancer. Doctors told Charlie’s mom that he had less than six months to live.

When they interviewed Charlie’s mom, she told the reporter that when she would give Charlie his allowance money he wouldn’t buy anything for himself. Instead, he went to the toy store and bought toys for all the other kids on his floor in the hospital.  When the reporter asked Charlie why he did that, his answer was: “Because it makes me feel good.”

Because it made him FEEL GOOD…Charlie was 8 years old with 80 years of wisdom and he didn’t live up to his doctors diagnosis. His cancer went into remission and he lived four more years to the age of 12. We have a choice every day how we will live and how we will react to others. It’s impossible to have a great day with a bad attitude. It’s also impossible to have a bad day with a great attitude.

—Barry Farber consults with a variety of industries to help them grow and expand their business. He is the best-selling author of 11 books on sales, management and customer service. His latest release, the “Diamond in the Rough” CD program, is based on his best-selling book, radio and television show. Visit him at: www.BarryFarber.com or email him at: barry@barryfarber.com.