…And so I leave you with these stunning images of the mesmerising light tunnel in Japan called ‘Winter Illuminations’. This event takes place each year at Nabana no Sato, a botanical garden on the island of Nagashima in Kuwana. This light show uses millions of sparkling LEDs, and it runs from early November through to end of March. Isn’t it just incredible? I thought it was the most fitting way to mark this silly season, and wish you a sparkling New Year and Extremely Happy Holidays…

“Interior branding” or “branded environments” is a term which has been getting a fair bit of traction in the recent years. This is not at all surprising – in today’s day and age with such incredibly fierce competition in the marketplace, every business ought to be putting their best foot forward in every aspect of what they do – from online presence, graphic identity and physical spaces, to packaging, staff attire, soundtracks and menus (where appropriate) etc. Interiors are almost always one of the biggest investments a business can make, so it is all the more crucial to get these spaces right – when done correctly, branded environments extend the experience of brands, and in turn make them more “tangible”…

01 | To My Fellow Citizens of The Planet. 02 | Importance of Trust. 03 | Out of Sorts. 04 | Concept Mood Boards | Bohemian Boutique Hotel. 05 | Leap of Faith. 06 | Colour Blocking. 07 | European Adventure 2011. 08 | Things to do in Milan. 09 | Scenes From my Weekend(s).

Once again we reach the day when it’s time to pack up for the year, take a bow (and a little break), and also thank you – my wonderful readers – for your amazing support during 2011. Not only has this site grown so much this year, I feel like I have done a lot of growing (up) myself, especially having taken that scary and exciting Leap of Faith back in June… Wowee! 2011 has been such an amazing ride for yellowtrace and for me personally. And how about you – was it a good year for you too? Do share, I’d really love to know.

Before I sign off, I wanted to tell you about what’s happening in the next few weeks and also share some news. For those of you who will be online during the next two weeks, I have …

As a practicing interior designer, one of my personal pet-hates are over the top, tricked-up, gimmicky workplaces that try too hard and look outdated from the moment they are conceived. Yuck! Unfortunately I come across far too many examples of such interiors almost daily. Why oh WHY is this still happening?!

***Insert angry roar of frustration and rage here***

Look, I’ll be the first to admit that it is not easy to craft a workplace which is interesting, creative, takes a risk, pushes the boundaries of conventional beige-and-dead-boring-workplace-aesthetic, embodies the company brand etc, yet manages to deliver a fresh,  functional and relevant interior. This is NOT EASY at all! But it can be done dammit! Yes it can – …