Brilliant news SampleBoard.com has been rebranded for optimal user experience

Yes www.sampleboard.com has been made even better. The wonderful thing about the sampleboard team is the desire to be on the lookout for ways of enhancing and improving an already excellent web site.

SampleBoard’s entire site has been improved and rebranded  

Towards the end of 2011 SampleBoard.com a design-focused website was selected as one of four start-ups in the first ever Google Umbono programme, consisting of seed funding and mentorship for online entrepreneurs.

Google believes in SampleBoard.com     

For those of you who are new to SamplBoard.com; SampleBoard offers an online image editor for creative professionals to quickly and easily put together inspiring designs and professional visual concepts. All designers know the conceptualizing of visual design ideas is vital. Creating sample boards in the traditional manner is very time consuming and costly.

Creating design concepts boards just got a whole lot easier, faster, and greener

SampleBoard.com developed by designers for designers has created a brilliant eco friendly online way of digitally creating sample boards. There is an extensive library of images, designers can easily upload their own images and the boards can be emailed directly to clients. Adjustments and changes to the concept boards can be made in minutes saving time and energy.

SampleBoard.com is an easy way to impress clients with your design flair and eco credentials  

In a nutshell SampleBoard.com is a trendy up to date way of presenting design ideas. Presenting your design ideas just got a whole lot simpler, faster, better and greener with this professional rebranded web site. I believe we cannot under estimate the power of a great presentation. Presentations give us the opportunity to sell our design ideas and show our design flair. Everything we do, from how we dress to how we design sample boards in a folio has an impact on how we are perceived by a client.

Great presentation boards sell design ideas

The best way to understand and enjoy the improvements to SampleBoard.com is to visit the new enhanced digital concept board editor and have a go. Please be aware there may be some adjustments that need to be made, bear with us and give us lots of feedback so we can give you the user an optimum conceptualizing experience.

Have a look at the images here to glimpse the improvements

I have placed some examples of the improvements made by the SampleBoard team in this blog. For example note the difference in the size of the images in the gallery making it easier for the designer to make selections. The new SampleBoard site has made it easier to share and export concept boards to for example the community or via twitter. There is also a new colour scheme option available for ColourLovers. The site is easier to navigate, cleaner and sharper. I’m the type of person who usually hates changes to any technology I work with. When Google, twitter or wordpress make changes I often shout “OH No! Why did they do that? Are they trying to confuse me” So for me to say it’s easier I do mean it? We really look forward to and welcome your feedback.

Happy Conceptualizing and Creating    

WHY USE A WEDDING INSPIRATION BOARD?

A wedding inspiration board is a great way to express wedding ideas. They help the wedding planner and client to see how different colors, styles and themes work together. Sometimes it can be difficult to explain how the whole wedding theme will work in words. The visual language of a wedding inspiration board can overcome this problem.

Wedding Inspiration created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

A great way to create wedding inspiration boards is online at www.sampleboard.com. The wedding planner can create boards easily and quickly on one site. In this age of environmental consciousness Sampleboard is an eco friendly way to create wedding inspiration boards. The finished boards can then be emailed directly to the client. If after discussions with the client some things need to be changed the wedding planner can easily logon and make adjustments to the wedding inspiration board.

Wedding Inspiration board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Creating wedding inspiration boards is also a great way to stimulate your creativity. Sometimes you can have something like what writers call a writer’s block. Writers are encouraged to keep writing to overcome this block. Wedding planners can use the wonderful site Sampleboard.com to overcome this dilemma.

Wedding Inspiration board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

This can be done in two ways. Firstly logon to the site and start playing around with the different images available on the sampleboard digital editor and start creating a new wedding inspiration board. The second way is to visit the Sampleboard creative community and be inspired by a range of professional wedding inspiration boards created by other members of the Sampleboard creative community.

Wedding Inspiration board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Inspirations for Warm Winter Wonderland Wedding Theme

The winter allows the wedding planner to create a winter wonderland theme. Warm colors like rich reds; plums, burgundy used with candle light and warm cozy fires can add a sense of luxury during this cold season.

Wedding Inspiration Board created by Rosena on sampleboard.com

Brides can be encouraged to use fur coats, wraps or capes. Venues like stately homes, classic hotels and even castles would add to the fairytale atmosphere. Or a hall decorated to resemble a Tudor great hall is another option. Winter time is a wonderful season for creating a fancy dress sort of wedding theme; maybe a Jane Austin style wedding. An empire style dress with a fur or velvet cloak would work wonderfully together. Or maybe a Versailles theme with the bride truly feeling and looking like a princess as illustrated in Mane’s wedding inspiration board below.

Ice Wedding Inspiration Board created by Mane Carrion on sampleboard.com

Vintage cars, carriages or sleighs if there is snow can be used to take the bride to the church and then the bride and groom to the reception venue. Can you imagine the snow glittering and the sleigh bells ringing truly magical. Winter can be used to advantage to create a unique fairytale atmosphere not easy to create in the summer.

Versailles Inspiration Wedding Theme Board created by Mane Carrion on sampleboard.com

A number of sample boards have been created with a winter theme as you can see above. It is very easy to play around with your ideas on the www.sampleboard.com website. You can select from a vast number of images and/or upload your own. You can easily create any number of wedding inspiration boards using the brilliant digital editor sampleboard.

Forgot to add this great wedding inspiration board  Winter Wedding Venues Inspiration Board created by Emma Christie on SampleBoard

Google gives SampleBoard a nod of approval

It has been an exciting and busy week for SampleBoard. I am so pleased to be part of the sample board team. I have had the pleasure of working with Ros since 2009 as the Australian agent for SampleBoard. Below is the press release. I have added the links from the media release below. Following the document you will find some examples of boards created on the SampleBoard site

Click here to find out what designers are saying about SampleBoard… http://www.sampleboard.com/aboutus

Sign-up and experience SampleBoard for yourself, help power the world’s creativity http://www.sampleboard.com/register

Now for some examples of interior design, wedding planning, landscape and fashion mood boards from the SampleBoard Creative Community

Mood board created by Pixy Louise Smith on SampleBoard.com

Sample Board created by Bogna Sarosiek on SampleBoard.com

Mood board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Mood board created by Mane Carrion on SampleBoard.com

We extend an invitation to you to become part of the SampleBoard’s Creative Community be inspired and inspire others and help power the world’s creativity. We look forward to exciting days ahead.

The Edwardian Bathroom Recreated in Contemporary Style

The bathrooms of the Edwardian era were usually simple affairs. Walls were tiled with small white rectangular tiles laid in a brick like pattern. Sometimes feature, border capping or pencil tiles were used. Decorative borders in flat strips or of candy twist, egg and dart designs were popular. Patterned feature tiles varied from classic, Art Deco, Art Nouveau and floral motifs  Floor tiles were often white mosaic tiles, with feature tiles of black. You can see an example of this in the photograph of the house I am working on below.

Tessellated tiles were another option for the floor.The colours and patterns used varied from check board black and white designs, to octagon shaped tiles and designs to patterns with names like Chelsea. Wealthy home owners also used marble on the floor and walls.

Vanities were often timber cabinets with white sinks or white wash basins on legs. Baths and sinks were usually white porcelain or enameled cast iron. White toilets with timber seats and cisterns were situation in a separate room.

 

Showers were attached to the bath with a semi circular surround. Or placed on a flat porcelain or marble basin and surrounded with a water proof curtain. A huge shower rose and semi circular pierced piping allowed the water to shower the body. Heated towel rails were popular features of the Edwardian bathroom.

The wall above the tiling, the cornice, ceiling and joinery were usually painted white. Sometimes a dado placed about 2100mm from the floor was used and painted in the BS381 107 colour called strong blue or harbor blue.

There are a number of sources of items from the Edwardian period for example the Edwardian Tile company if you visit http://edwardiantile.com.au you will find numerous tiles available.

The client of the Edwardian home I am working on wanted to honor the integrity of the house but wanted a contemporary look. He has already selected a modern free standing bath. I suggested using the lead light stained glassed windows (see image above) as a starting point and presented some ideas on sample boards.

The bathroom is very small so I suggested using white wall tiles. However instead of using the small rectangular tiles similar to the ones used during the Edwardian era using a much larger version would give a contemporary look. The addition of a horizontally placed line of feature wall tiles as illustrated on the sample boards was another suggestion. Using some 10mm aluminum trims powered coated in colours to match the stained glass colours is another and/or option.

I also suggested painting the very high ceiling darker. The walls above the tiles, the architraves, doors and other architectural features will be painted white to match the wall tiles. The aim of the white colour scheme is to make the rooms appear bigger. This bathroom is not open plan like many modern bathrooms. There is a separated toilet, sink room and the bathroom has a bath, shower and vanity (see floor plan and elevations above). 

Both sink cabinets will be custom made. The doors will be white and the bench top in a colour to match one of the suggested colours schemes presented on the sample boards. This will add another horizontal line of colour overcoming the verticality of the room.

 

We (that is the architect and I) spent some time consulting with the client and I presented the client with a number of sample boards to help him visualise the different colour options for the room and help him make decisions. There is another bathroom and one of the suggested colour schemes will be used for that room. 

Well that’s all for this week. The creative Edwardian buzz continues…..

Designer in raptures over Sample Board Online

Designer in raptures over the Sample Board Online concept, today I presented the eco friendly, cost effective Sample Board Online design tool to the busiest designer in town. Rebecca was absolutely convinced the Sample Board Online concept was a real winner. She was so impressed she wanted to approach the suppliers she uses to invite them on board. 

SBO will save her time, energy and money

This lovely lady said the SBO tool would save her time, energy and in the long run money. She was delighted with the professional looking boards created on the SBO site.  Some suppliers in Australia have been a little bit reluctant to be the first to come on board. This is slowly turning around. Soon we will have an avalanche of suppliers wanting to come on board SBO.

Eco friendly electronic design tool  

Eco friendly, professional boards can be so easily created on The Sample Board Online website. The fact that the board can also act as a specification sheet is an added bonus. SBO will truly become the designers one stop shop. Designers encourage your suppliers to come on board. Rebecca said I want to use this brilliant tool I want the suppliers I use to embrace the excellent SBO electronic tool and come on board.   

And it acts as a specification sheet as well   

 ‘Good design at least part of the time, includes the criteria of being direct in relation to the problem at hand – not obscure, trendy, or stylish. A new language, visual or verbal, must be couched in a language that is already understood.’

Ivan Chermayeff

  

Designers find more time with Sample Board Online

To finish my first week of blogging I thought it would be a good idea to explain the Sample Board Online concept. I will also included a video in my next blog to show you how SBO works. Before I do that I thought it would be helpful to explain to those readers who may not be familiar with the terms exactly what we mean by sample boards and mood boards.


What is a Sample Board?

The first question some people may ask is what is a sample board? Sample boards are created by designers and presented to a client to give the general feeling of the overall interior design project. The board will have the design materials, furnishings and finishes proposed for the project. Actual design materials (samples) as well as room layouts are generally used in an effort to create the overall feel that will be achieved by the eventual design. Another term ‘story boards’ is used in design circles.

What is a ‘mood board’?
Some designers, decorators and architects create mood boards. They use these boards to convey the overall look and feel of a project, putting together images and objects which inspire creativity and innovation. Mood boards are also very useful at the early stages of a project as a guide tool to show to clients for approval before proceeding further. Sample Board Online provides a ‘moods’ tab in the SBO application. Here you will find various categories with mood images to help create a look and feel and sell your concept with more confidence.

What exactly is Sample Board Online?
Sample Board Online aka SBO presents a new and innovative way for all creatives to create and present your ideas and vision to your client by using our Online interactive sample board tool that enables you to organise samples, moods and backgrounds by the use of a drag a drop function.

As interior designers by trade we’ve struggled to find a tool that would help and assist us in a way this website is designed to do. It will eliminate those initial fears of not having the time to source new and funky products as well as guide you to present in a professional manner.

Designers often lack the time to do professional hot graph presentations. Most projects have become extremely cost driven. Our hope and dream is for designers to have more time in the actual design and presentation techniques of the job or project

No more driving around to endless suppliers looking for samples, no more out of stock items, no more technical information required to complete your budget or schedule.

Sample Board Online is the designers One Shop Stop
SBO could easy become a designer’s one stop shop where you as the designer can play and be creative whilst giving your client a relevant design with correct supplier information. The advantage of Sample Board Online:

No more time wasting driving around
More time for actual design
It’s FREE
Eco friendly
Easy
Cost effective

Isn’t that just what creative people want? An online tool to enable you to play while you Work. Don’t be shy to send us feedback, constructive criticism, ideas or suppliers you want us to approach.

We want you to feel SBO is your site and we want all involved to make it an all round awesome experience for designers, decorators, architects and students.

Have a try and some FUN! At www.sampleboardonline.com

‘Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.’ Helen Keller

Sample Board Online is FREE

Any one can join Sample Board Online™ and unleash their creative potential. All you have to do is create an account and you can immediately start designing.