As summer comes to a close and we enter into the final months of 2012, I thought we’d check in on this year’s Pantone ‘It’ color and take a look at how it has been interpreted throughout the design world.
Tangerine Tango quickly became the darling of home, industrial and fashion designers, cropping up in everything from bookcases to eyeliner. I have been decorating with this shade of orange for a couple of years now, so it has been validating to peruse the beautiful rooms that are now incorporating elements of this color. It exudes energy and warmth, and promises to kick things up a notch no matter how you use it.

HGTV provides inspiration for every room.

Handmade and vintage finds.

Pretty dresses.

A behind-the-scenes look at how Pantone forecasts its annual color.

Get your orange on at Sephora.

Pinterest boards are hopping with ideas.

From Studio M.M.E.

Polka dots have been on the runways, in the magazines and throughout the fashion blogosphere for months now. Is this once popular trend here to stay for a while? Fashion is fickle so who really knows, but it sure is fun to see them cropping up in residential design, commercial spaces and lifestyle products.

Playful and fun, polka dots can really punch up an otherwise staid space in unexpected ways.

What past trends would you like to see back in popular demand? What trends have outlasted their welcome?

The American Institute of Architects recently came out with the results from its first quarter Home Design Trends Survey. Most notably, residential architects are indicating an improvement in overall business conditions and are seeing some stability developing in new construction. A bellwether for the homebuilding industry, business conditions at residential architecture firms improving is naturally encouraging news.

When it comes to design, in-home accessibility is the emerging trend; features like wider hallways, fewer steps and stairs, ramps and on-grade entrances intended to make entering/exiting and moving through the home easier are increasing in popularity. Flexible floorplans are also on the rise in addition to a growing preference for open space layouts over enclosed rooms. AIA findings are not surprising, given our aging Boomer population and a shift toward multigenerational housing.

Some builders are already addressing these trends. Shea SPACES and the Lennar NextGen home immediately come to mind as attempts to meet the needs of American households as their makeups shift and change.

Survey results also indicate an increased interest in outdoor living spaces. Maybe living in Southern California makes us take this for granted, but really, when have they ever been unpopular? Covered outdoor spaces and outdoor rooms are on the rise, and we see these design features as less of a trend and more of a key floorplan element in new home communities throughout Southern California.

Lets all hope for increased billings and some project backlog at residential architecture firms. Fingers crossed. To access the complete survey results, http://www.aia.org/practicing/AIAB095115.

Google’s Project Glass first made its way onto the scene this past April, when the company announced that they would be bringing the world the first augmented reality glasses.  These glasses will project augmented reality images into the wearer’s field of vision, as well as having the ability to take pictures & video.  A great example of the glasses functionality is that when someone is wearing them, they will be able to see weather forecasts and what’s on their calendar for the day, as well as send texts and emails as projected in front of you.

Mashable got its hands on the first video as taken from these goggles.  Check it out here

For a great look into what Project Glass offers, including photos & videos taken from the glasses, check out: https://plus.google.com/111626127367496192147/posts

Additionally, Project Glass is developing a feature on the glasses that will offer text alerts for hearing impaired users.  Read all about how these glasses are working towards overcoming hearing obstacles: http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/google-glasses-may-translate-directional-sound-speech-for-the-deaf/

It’s hard to believe, but summer is just around the corner.  Thankfully, Mashable’s tech experts have put together their list of the 6 must-have gadgets that are perfect for summer 2012.

1. Eton Rukus Solar – This sleek, little number is great for sharing music (via pairing wirelessly with your phone) and gets any party going, especially because it doesn’t need an outlet or batteries.
2. Jawbone Jambox – This product is good for wireless, portable audio and speakerphone calls.
3. Pebble Watch – If you are an on-the-go individual and will be spending a lot of time running, swimming, biking and multi-tasking this summer, this watch allows you to access your smartphone apps from your wrist.
4. WowWee Cinemin Slice Pico Projector - This projector allows you to project movies from your smartphone or tablet, video games and photos anywhere that is dark.  The projected image can get up to 60 inches.
5. Cannon Powershot G1 X – This camera excels at shooting photos in challenging situations.  It has a retro design but it’s compact and is great for aspiring photographers who want to try out a more advanced camera than a point and shoot.
6. Eco Terra Rugged and Waterproof Boombox - Boomboxes are making a comeback and this one allows you to keep your smartphone or MP3 player protected from all of the party or environmental elements.

After the announcement last week, dubbing Pinterest the 3^rd largest social networking site behind Facebook & Twitter, its no surprise that there are going to be a lot of similar websites emerging.  A website that isn’t new, but functions along the same lines is Springpad.  Springpad launched about 3 years ago and has 3 million users.  It began as a personal list service, but is launching a redesign that allows user notebooks to be made public.  Users can then follow other user’s notebooks and “spring” specific items onto their notebooks.

This redesign is looking like an enhanced Pinterest, because while Pinterest has a board of beautiful photos, Springpad’s notebook includes more details like maps and menu pages.  Springboard notebooks have the ability to be public or private and users can input lists manually or save items through web browsing.

For more information, check out: http://mashable.com/2012/04/11/springpad-3-0/

Are any of our Rox readers one of the 3 million Springpad users? Do you love it? Do you prefer Springpad or Pinterest?

Social networks not only allow us to record every mood, vacation, celebration or heartbreak, but they also allow us to share these feelings and events publicly.  It’s definitely a different mindset from the diary-days where people would share their innermost thoughts and feelings in a personal notebook book and hide them away in a private place.  Since we have entered a time where sharing is now a part of life, there’s a new website that helps you remember the place you were exactly a year ago that day.  Timehop sets out to create an experience that allows you to realign your past with your present.

Timehop takes information from a user’s Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram feeds and shows you what you were doing on the same day, last year.  This service provides users with a daily email that sums up all of the social information from last year’s date and organizes the check-ins, photos, status updates and tweets chronologically.  They are currently working on a feature that includes deals for events, activities or vacations that you previously took, as the site is getting a lot of feedback about how great it is to remember and relive some of these excursions.

To check out the site and to sign up for your digital diary reminders, go to www.Timehop.com.

There are very few places that are “off limits” to marketers these days.  It’s no secret that consumers are overloaded with brand messaging everywhere they turn, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t new, creative ways to get people’s attention.  Here are a few new and unusual ad placements from around the world, our question is creative or intrusive?

• Bowling Balls – A horror-themed TV channel in Germany, placed photos of decapitated heads on bowling balls in public bowling alleys.
• Metro Ceiling – Panorama Hair is making those with thinning hair a bit more conscious of that fact with their branded mirrors on the metro’s ceiling.  Embarrassed enough to go try their product?
• Bike Wheels – Flashy LED bicycle spokes helped promote the superhero movie Green Lantern in Brazil.
• Your House – An agency in California will help you pay your mortgage by putting billboards on your house.  While this might not be an option for those of us who live in a place with HOAs, it’s a new idea that I’m not sure your neighbors will be extremely happy with.
• Your Thigh – Don’t you hate those chairs that leave an imprint in the back of your legs? Well, a New Zealand agency has found a way to make these imprints work for their customers, by enabling marketers to put their logo or message in the wiring, which will then make its way onto the customers body.

For more about these ideas, as well as the agencies who came up with them, visit: http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ambient-overload-139333