Expression GreenExpressing the need for a healthy green lifestyle

Colour is important to design, particularly in designing web sites. multitude companies use a website as a sales tool & using the right colours can lead to increased sales, but picking the wrong colours can mean that less users & fewer sales.

Finding out how colour works is crucial for all website designers if they want to make a successful site. This is because different colours affect humans in different ways, & can influence emotions & moods. this means that your choice of colour could upset your users if you don’t get it right.

Colour might also be used to guide users to certain areas on a page. For example, you may want a user to click the purchase button, so making it stand out is really major.

Here’s a guide to how various colours influence & affect humans:

Green is linked to the environment, peace & envy. its also a really relaxing colour & is excellent to use for a soothing effect.

White stirs up feelings of pureness, simpleness, emptiness & innocence. if used as the major colour in a web site, it creates a simple and clean feel.

Blue is a colour is most commonly associated with corporate websites because its a strong colour that’s associated with confidence, coldness, depression, water & peace.

Green is linked to trees, wealth & envy. The most calming colour in the spectrum, it’s extremely popular with sites that are linked to nature.

The colour white is linked with clean & simple designs, so it is favoured by several design firms. It stirs up feelings of cleanliness, simplicity, honesty & innocence.

Evoking feelings of lust, sex, fire & aggression, red is a really charged colour. the brighter shades of red is bold, so it can be utilised to create awareness.

Brown can be used to express trust & honesty in a design. it can be linked to old age, warmth & comfort.

Orange is related to enthusiasm, creativity & stimulation. it can be used in designing for the web to denote friendliness.

Purple’s darker shades can be really deep & luscious. it can be associated with royalty, spirituality, arrogance & luxury. the lighter end can stand for romance & delicacy. its a colour that is not used very often on websites.

Full of life, vibrancy & stimulation, orange is a fantastic colour to use in designing for the web. it can be used to bring youthfulness to a design.

Colour’s role isn’t just to make a site look good, it can be used to evoke feelings and emotions from the web surfing. choosing colours that annoy the site user can have damaging effects on your web site, while selecting cleverly can mean that the web site meets the user’s expectations.

By David Leonhardt and Corey Rozon

The environment is in the media daily, from the Kyoto Protocol, Global Warming to the icecaps melting. If things don’t change soon, the future looks bleak, if you listen to the experts.

What no one seems to be discussing is the advancements in the construction and industrial sectors, namely the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.

“LEED certification will provide challenges to the industry including the need to ensure an understanding of a new generation of materials properties and developing the practices and processes needed to ensure specifications and finished products meet the standards of green building. I am especially exited to be part of this process and in making a contribution towards shaping new building technologies.” Ken Moscrip, President of Paramount Roll and Forming – one of Southern California’s most prominent metal rolling companies.

Consisting of a clear set of environmental performance criteria organized into six categories, the Canadian version of LEED, which is very similar to the USGBC version, is listed below:

Sustainable Sites

Water Efficiency

Energy and Atmosphere

Materials & Resources

Indoor Environmental Quality

Innovation in Design

“Building Green is not a new thing it is the right thing, and we always strive to use the most environmentally neutral building practices and materials. However, construction debris is always an issue, by ordering what we need and using it when we need it, it has helped us to divert as much as possible from the local landfill. There are tradeoffs which we all must take, however protection of our future and wise stewardship of our planet must be one of our utmost priorities.” Justin Linden, President of ServiceBlocks Inc – a home renovations company in Ottawa, Canada.

Benefits of Building Green

Sustainable buildings considerably lower operating and maintenance costs, and these financial benefits are realized over the life of the building:

Reduced energy costs

Reduced water usage

Reduction in resource consumption

Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions

For the construction industry, building green will continue to grow in importance, whether it is because of consumer demand, regulatory requirements, or the cost of energy.

“The LEED process guides designers and builders to make technically superior decisions in a manner that is environmentally responsible. By embracing this process, they are showing commitment to their clients, their profession and the world community at large. It allows them to provide the best design solution for both the owner and the environment.” Vipul Acharya, Durisol Building Systems Inc., a leader in ICF green building materials.

For further information on LEED certification contact:

In Canada – Canada Green Building Council www.cagbc.org

In United States – U.S. Green Building Council www.usgbc.org

The best way to demonstrate that a building is “green” is by achieving LEED certification.

Given the new emphasis placed on environmental issues, sustainable design is becoming increasingly important. LEED is at the forefront of the environmental industry, and can also be used as an excellent marketing tool. LEED can easily be incorporated into the environmental design of buildings themselves, from residential and commercial industry right down to industrial practices.

Getting your closet organized in a manner that is going to continually serve you takes time. The success of your endeavor is going to depend on the system you device to keep your closet organized. Most of us have never stopped to consider all the open space in our closet. The key to being successful is to find a way to turn that space into something you can work with.

They best way to organize your closet isn’t the best way that someone else choose to do theirs. Remember that everyone has a different organization style as well as different sizes of closets. Your closet organization system should be customized to what you have to store in your closet. There are some wonderful closet organization kits and systems out there, but only purchase one if the set up is right for you. Don’t rearrange your set up to match what is available unless you are sure you will be satisfied with the results.

It is to your advantage to design your own customized closet organization system. This can be done in many ways. You can purchase individual closet organization products to come up with your own design. This can be tricky though when you are trying to get everything to fit properly. If you choose this option, try to select closet organization products that are all made from the same manufacturer. You should always measure your closet space and the products twice to get the best fit.

A much easier way to get the closet organized the way you need it to be is to design your own closet organization kit. While this is similar to purchasing each piece, it is much cheaper. It involves working with a manufacturer who offers design your own closet organizer kits. This works in one of two ways.

The first is you email them the layout you want for the closet size you have. The other way is you email them with the dimensions and a few photos of your closet. They come up with some good layouts for you based on the information you provide. Once you select one that is right for you, they manufacture it. It is shipped to you for installation.

Keep in mind that proper installation of a closet organization system is essential. You want to work with a manufacturer that offers step by step instructions. The more pre-assembled the closet organization kit is, the better. You will want to consider your level of comfort with following directions and installing the custom closet organization kit that is designed for you. You do have the option of having a friend, family member, or professional install it for you as well.

If you want the closet organization process to be as easy as it can, then consider hiring a consultant to do it for you. Keep in mind this will be more expensive than the other options, but certainly worth saving you the time and the worry of installing it correctly. They can come to your home and discuss everything with you including what you are interested in accomplishing with your closet organization make over. They will offer you several different options for layouts and materials.

Once you decide on the layout and the materials that are right for your custom closet organization system, they will have it professionally installed for you. Then you can simply organize your clothing and accessories in there. Quite simple right?

Closet organization does come with many decisions, but the end result will be something you are going to enjoy using for a very long time. You will be very glad that you invested your time and money in a custom closet organization system regardless of the method you choose for designing it, the materials you select, or who installs it. With so many closet organization options available, there is no reason why you should have to settle for anything other than exactly what works well for you