The store design has too much red. Red walls. Red logo. Red shopping carts.

photo credit: Stoichiometry

So much red makes me feel edgy and upset.

Don’t get me wrong: I like red. Used in moderation, red can be a terrific accent color.

I know I’m not alone in this feeling: but I am a minority! Target is a very popular store in the US – most suburbanites don’t seem to mind shopping in an agora where design is so self-concious and contrived that fake blood seems to drip from every surface.

Now, it’s completely appropriate that Target repels me. I’m not their ideal customer. It’s actually quite brilliant that Target uses design elements that attract people who like pedestrian, mass-produced cheesiness — and drives away people who have a more unique sense of style.

What’s your design peeve? We often talk about design that attracts customers. But what elements of design repel people you’d rather not have as customers, anyway?

How do you responsibly recycle an old cell phone? When I activated a new cell phone over the weekend, my mom asked if I was going to donate my old Motorola i1000 mobile phone to Goodwill. I’ve had my old phone since 1999, and it’s a brick. I told Mom I doubted that Goodwill would want it.

Turns out, I’m wrong.

(And Mom’s right again, as usual!)

Old, de-activated cell phones still have 911 capabilities. Someone without a cell phone might find this one powerful feature enormously helpful in a time of need.

And simply throwing the mobile phone away is environmentally irresponsible. There could be all kinds of toxins in my old, itty-bitty brick. So what to do?

Here’s how to responsibly recycle an old cell phone in three easy steps:

1. Erase Your Phone’s Data. When you donate or recycle, first remove your mobile phone’s personal data. Addresses, timers, voicemails, text, timers — the works. To find out how, use this free cell phone data eraser. Just enter your phone’s manufacturer and model number, and you’ll get lightning fast instructions on data removal. (I faced this task with grave skepticism, thinking that my model was so old, it would have to be a manual process. But by following the instructions, I was done in less than a minute.)

2. Find a Recycler. Goodwill or Salvation Army readily accept cell phone donations. And you can always call your own favorite church or charity to find out if they accept donated cell phones. Many do. And don’t forget — is there someone in your own circle of friends or family that doesn’t have a mobile phone? Someone elderly, perhaps? The 911 feature + a cell phone’s mobility can help in one of those “I’ve fallen and can get up” situations.

3. Give it away. Gather up your data-dumped phone, charger, battery and all the phone accessories. Physically take this phone, and give it away. Feel good about it!

Where’s your favorite place to donate and recycle old cell phones?

Since this blog is about internet marketing — and not office design or fashion– I considered my home office design posts slightly off-topic.

Then I looked at my September stats. Holy Moley! Turns out, my audience is fanatically interested in office design! So, I went ahead and added an office design category to this blog — something I never, ever thought I would do!

So why the extreme interest in office design? Is it that many of my readers long to be work-from-home entrepreneurs? Is having a cool home office a secret desire of many bloggers? I know that a comfortable, ergonomically designed chair is important for what I do — after all, we programmers, designers, writers, and bloggers spend an awful lot of time sitting in our offices. To be productive, we need comfy office chairs.

Going green is all the rage. Maybe it’s the time of year — or maybe it’s just fashionable — but my post about using a ceramic powder paint additive in the office touched a nerve with my readers. People seem extremely interested in designing energy efficient home offices. You can also expect future posts on how to save energy costs in the home office in this blog.
And finally, fashion. Except for a few unfortunate months where I worked out of a grim, grey office — I have been successfully working out of my comfy, colorful home office in Grand Rapids, Michigan since 1999. Grand Rapids, as you may know, is the home of office furniture. Office design is economically important to the West Michigan community. And our sense of style impacts the entire universe.

When it comes to fashion, forget New York. Grand Rapids, Michigan is a surreptitious style-setter. Every current movie or TV show that takes place in an office features office furniture from the West Michigan area. We’re quietly in the background, subtly impacting your design and fashion sense.

Grand Rapids is already in your head. You may not realize just how much impact I have on your wardrobe, cosmetic, and fashion choices. Grand Rapids is already in your head, albeit subliminally. In this blog, I’ll periodically share my unique Midwestern fashion sense. Pay attention — when it comes to design and fashion, Grand Rapids leads. The rest of the world unwittingly follows what we do here.

Don’t believe me? Stay tuned!

Planning is fun. Dreaming is fun. But this week, reality sets in…
I have evacuated my office as painters, drywallers, electricians, and carpenters do their dirty, dirty, business.

And because I’m not working under optimal conditions (hey, it’s a temporary situation, right?) I have decided to add to the chaos by setting up a new computer and billing system. Let the contractors and subs do the hard work — I’ll play with pixels.

But because of the dust and chaos of construction, I find that I need to dream to keep my sanity! Mostly, I dream of the cool new office I’ll have in a week. Hey, I have a cool job: I need to have a cool office to match.

Office design is important…almost as important as dreaming! So while I’m covered in dust, I console myself by visiting sites that feature awesome office design. Check out these great office designs: and dream on!

• Positive Sharing – oh, so drool-worthy office design photos.
• Joel on Software – his 2003 posts on office design outline the great thinking that goes into a great office design.
• LifeHacker gives us valuable home office design tips
• Cool Pictures of Home Office Design – Dig the colors!

You’ll note that all of the above are blog links or article links with pictures. So, note to architects and home designers: your 6 page “About us” static brochure site probably isn’t reaching your audience!

However, a blog site that explains your design theory and showcases your most recent work — that does much more than tell a story.

It helps sell your services.

Think about it…

The problem is — my painter never heard of such a thing! He asked if the Parade Magazine article gave any info on where to get the stuff. Or how much it costs.

They didn’t. Wouldn’t that have been helpful?

Also not mentioned in the article: How much time it would take to re-coup savings. And how it might impact the cooling effects of A/C in the summer.

Since Parade Magazine is silent on these important issues — and my local Home Depot pro desk person never heard of ceramic powder additives for paint — I went trolling on the internet. I found a site that sells ceramic powder for paint– for roughly $12 for a one-gallon application. Another competitive product goes for about $15. And yes, the manufacturers say the stuff helps keep the house cooler in the summer, as well.

My problem: to get my hands on the stuff, I have to order it through the internet. It doesn’t appear that Sears, Home Depot, and Lowe’s carry ceramic powder for paint. And the painters begin tomorrow, so I guess I won’t be as energy efficient as I tried to be.

Frustrating. If the stuff really works, why don’t the big box stores carry it? With all the hub-bub about going green, you’d think that painters would know about ceramic additives. The lady at the pro desk at my local Home Depot was nice, but I could tell that she was getting swamped with calls about something she’d never heard of, either.

Thanks a lot, Parade Magazine. Next time, try publishing more useful winterization tips.