Hi Patricia,
Although LED's have come on in leaps and bounds, there are still some issues to be wary of, in particular when it comes to colour rendering index (CRI). This was always the Achilles heel of LED's as far as designers are concerned, and as you pointed out, how colours look under this light can be hard to predict (if it was ever easy!). [CRI measures the ability of a light source to reveal the colours of an object - the higher the number the better, up to a maximum of 100.]

The earlier model (and lower quality) LED lamps were awful for CRI an gave off a very harsh light. But thankfully this is improving so try before you buy, and go for the highest CRI you can find. Also watch the correlated colour temperature (CCT), as this indicates whether the light will appear warm, intermediate, cool, and cold.

If possible get a demo from the suppliers, but always try to experience the light quality before committing to specifying for your projects. Sometimes this will involve taking your samples to the lighting suppliers showroom etc. but it is really important to take nothing for granted, and "see with your own eyes". There really is no substitute for examining the materials under the light source, just as you would examine the colours of a paint or fabric sample in the room they are intended for.

I enjoyed the article on LED lighting.I am a designer that does lighting design. I love the technology that the LED offers but, I am still having difficulty with the color it produces. It can change the color of mosaic tile, fabric etc. I would love any info you can pass on regarding improvement in color.

I've always enjoyed and admired Wilde's wit (and irony).

Design serves many purposes, I think. Functionality is just one of them. Satisfying a creative impulse is another. Communicating is yet another.

Personally, I feel that creative expression is our very nature. Sometimes that process dovetails with a need to value-add to society and that's when design can serve the dual purpose of creative expression and functionality.

Yep, thazzallfornow.

Great write! You touched on points that most of us don’t even consider.It’s really an amazing blog with top ten mobile websites.

Thanks for your comment David.

Giger incorporated his love for all things strange and Gothic into his own work, and really, just superimposed vertebrae for the groins of a Gothic vaulted ceiling - all in his own inimitable style, of course!

I really enjoyed your blog, by the way, at http://quillcards.com

The Giger museum is extraordinary. I have seen all the Alien films (hard to miss when they are repeated on TV so many times) and they are part of my interior universe now. So I don't know how I would have reacted to the Giger stuff if I had not seen Alien etc.

But his stuff is phenomenal, isn't it.

I can't make out whether the penultimate photo is of a meeting room or a cafe. I like the idea of picking chips off my plate with this thing arching over me, though.

Thanks jay.me.
With everything done in CAD these days, it's nice for a change to get inky fingers, leave the caps off a few Letraset markers, and do it the "old-fashioned" way ...

-really liked your freehand sketches on restaurant interior design =)

Nice Blog. Congrats.

I personally dont find the tea set or chair appealing. I think I would trip over the bottom of the chair every time I walked by it. I like the door handle and the theatre is nice.

nice collection of great pictures.

OMG, these are far out. I was sure there was something wrong with my eyesight when I looked at the tea-set. I think his real genius is in calling his creation a tea-set.

As for the commode, I mean Torq chair, I actually instantly thought 'Robot' when I saw it and thereafter, it lost its initial appeal. Drat! Oh should I say 'Thank goodness'?

ha! I love your response, especially since seeing the line that you're an interior designer and my background is in architecture.
your comments are full of good humor, my thoughts here:
http://okapicrux.wordpress.com/2010/03/24/moma-acquisition/

"This gave me the thought me that, whether we care to admit it or not, we all like to have a nose around other peoples houses!"

Yep, I shamefully admit it and shamelessly ask the question, "But why?"

Ooh, there was a bug, but don't worry. I killed it!

As I do yours

When the lights go out, we'll find ways of doing what we need to do. And for me, that's where the more interesting question lies - What will we feel/believe we 'need' or 'need to do'?

I actually believe that all our manufactured ()environment () is all part of our evolution. As we do, we evolve.

Manufactured stuff has been a part of the human mind, body and psyche - you know - from manufactured food to medication to implants.

As for being masters of our environment, I don't think we've ever been that. Neither do I think that it's our ticket to survival.

But to understand and explore our role in the environment, that I think has promise. In fact, I think it's our only chance.

See, I kinda believe that control of any sort reflects imbalance and creates further imbalance and that is ultimately destructive.

There's my 3 cents worth. Oh and btw, it's outside the brackets.

That's all great, but what happens when the lights go out? Like, a powercut? Left on our own, we are forced to face ourselves....

We are only masters of our environment when everything ...eh...works! I think that all these developments are fine and dandy, but where does the human being fit into all this? Without our manufactured (and fragile) artificial (and un-natural) environment we have created, we're f**ked! As I said, what do we do when the lights go out?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I totally appreciate your point of view

I've not been seduced at all by the ipod or the promises of the ipad but this http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html
just blows me away and I can't wait for it!

I have a CNC machine and design software in my home and would definitely say that the tools shape the approach I take. The tools within the software suggest ways of doing things and the design software produces objects that are precise and mechanical in nature.

I often sketch instead or in advance to get a more of a feel to what I am designing. I think this another reason why people create real prototypes as well in order to get the feel for the object being created.

most people will happily ignore issues if it is not affecting them immediately and directly.
in the mean time, raising awareness is still vital... because until electable politicians get on board, the radical changes needed will not occur, or at least occur too late.