First Word: Color, people keep making strong design impressions

The color of money is green. Or is it? In the hotel design community, money can be black or gray. It can be mauve. It can even be hot pink, chartreuse or sky blue. Because beauty is in the eye of the beholder—whether that be a hotel owner, operator, architect or designer—the palette of colors that can be combined to line a designer's pocketbook is infinite. As long as it's not invisible.

This issue of HOTEL DESIGN includes many of the hues that demonstrate why the world of hotel design is unique, trendy and desirable. When it comes to colors, I have my faves, including several shades of blue, forest green, burnt orange, seal brown and all of the yellows that I have in my flower beds. Now you know why I'm not known as a fashion plate. But I do know what I like, and there's plenty within the pages of this issue of HOTEL DESIGN that I find appealing. I lost the battle with the staff to feature the Byblos Art Hotel ["The art of design,"] on the cover. Alessandro Mendini's design definitely is bright, and that's why it appeals to me. But I'm not sure I could fall asleep with the four eyes on the wall staring at me.

However, the shot of the Cove Atlantis ["Cool tranquility,"] is a good choice. You can't go wrong with the subtle orange, brown and yellow with an azure background. If you can't find tranquility in a setting like that, you might not ever find it.

This issue of HOTEL DESIGN also takes our coverage of the industry's movers and shakers to the next level. While featuring the people who make our industry tick is common in each issue, this edition's "Who's Who" section is a walk down celebrity row. Yes, there are some notable designers not in the section. We solicited nominations from our database of designers and architects, and not everyone responded. If you don't see someone who you think we should have considered, drop me a line at the e-mail below—and use the subject line "you missed someone special." We'll begin creating a database for next year's list.

Jeff Higley
Editorial Director
jhigley@questex.com