Positive media influence + Design Innovations = Future of Interior Design

The future that is usually scary thought as a student but also when I’m a designer, the only reason I consider it or used to consider it scary because it’s the great unknown but that type of thinking is slowly fading away. As a student I see great improvements occurring in the interior design industry through media, renovation, design innovation, creativity, materials, and societies needs being met. With the media there are some down falls on how they described interior design but at the same time with the help of designer and design student spreading the word what it truly means to be a designer in the industry. The other part with the media is with the increase videos, blogs, and posts from new student entering the media battle a positive result will occur for the future for interior design. Even with the economy not being in the best state, still getting better, interior design is blasting with tons of project request for renovation I have been hearing a lot of designers given these types of project because society is slowly buying old, forgotten building and hiring interior designers to turn those spaces to useful companies or potential residences . With these new improvements on society interior design is again being seen as a positive, useful career helping the economy. Then with designers using more eco friendly materials and designs to projects these new methods are lading more attentions from companies with the purpose to help the ecosystem. Eco friendly design is a growing trend through society with solar panels to natural materials. Another fact that proves interior design is going to be seen as a respected career in the future is what people think will be the style of the future, designers are creating those spaces now so through creativity designers see the future style and repeatedly give it to clients every day. Along with other reason I do see a bright and successful future for interior design.

 

The Painful Perspective

It’s a painful fact I try to avoid as a student but also as a future designer that I might have to explain what I do for a career almost every day to clients or outside friends. That is the power of the public perspective always assuming that every career is similar another or that certain people should stay to a certain path. Telling people even if we were born from interior decorators, designers started to venture out and wanted to change the way an average space or form, started thinking as an interior architect. Another ways the population see designers is a female only career similar to nursing or lower level teachers. But in this day and age males are entering those career paths the same with females now entering fields that the public believe is meant for men.  For example during the 60's there was a famous male interior designer David Hicks and he brought unique design and style to the lifestyle.

I never thought it was so bad on how interior designers were seen until I was showed a video where a student would stop and ask random people what they thought an interior designer is and does? Out of , I am going to say , twenty people maybe two or three answered it correctly or even close to an appropriate answer. Most of them would say the purpose of a designer just arranges furniture and chooses color swatches for a client it actually killed me both heart and mind it made me sick to my stomach I wish designers had better advertisement instead of people randomly deciding to pick that as a career path. Since some perspectives are changing this century so is the areas where decorators or designers were hired, back then decorators were used in real-estate so they can stay with assisting clients on how to make their home more comfortable while designer were used in commercial estates for a more refine look to draw more customers meant for the space now decorators can be hired for commercial areas while designers can only focus on real-estate. So if that why of looking at decorators and designer changed there still hope for the other assumptions. All those types of perspective can be difficult to handle but it just means that I, as a student, and other designing student just have to be a more passionate so later on when we describe our career to others who don’t fully understanding why this chose in careers we just have to show them how we benefit them and the economy in the future. So don’t lose hope future designers we can still change the population’s perspective.

(This video is where random people were asked what an interior designer means to them)    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuaZbFduzG4

Ethics: A line between Personal and Professional

As a student I’ve been told about new vocabulary terms to understand what it means to be a designer and one word acts as a guild line to help me remember why I chose this career, ethics. Ethics is major factors in a designer’s life and so designers have what is called the “The Ethics Codes”, these codes help a designer realize what kind of interior space they aim to design but to also enter the shoes of the client. The first code in ethics is to remember who the client is but sometimes what the client does or wishes for a space that can impact the moral beliefs as a designer or/and as a person. Even if there is a code saying designers to enter the client shoes and think like them it can sometimes be impossible to push back ones opinion, the way they were taught or how they were raised as a human. That is the main issue accruing within each firms some designers are forgetting that they have studied their whole life to act as a professional but when introduced to a project they have no intention of taking they decline it with such raw emotions   which reflects poorly on the firm they are working for. Even if the project goes against their beliefs designers should be declining them with respect to show that interior design is a professional career. Another issues happening is the idea of clients and how they will see a designing firm that worked or is working for a certain client how do they respond do they drop a client because it can endanger a current or future client. Sometime a designer is lucky because the firm will handle those types of situation but there is the chance the designer will have a say in that day. Me, personally I am a very open minded person it was the way I was raised in this world but even students have their limits that they sometimes don’t voice out and when accepting an exercise the outcome can be horrible because you show no passion to be part of it and that is the result when not know what kind of designer you are, ethics kind of fades away.

How does professionalism impact design education?

The definition of professionalism is “the competence or skill expected of a professional”

A professional is when they studied and dedicated their life to designing. When I was faced with issues as a student I always remember what my professors said on how to handle the situation and to create multiple design and there is bound to be the best solution for the first step. That is an impact real professional leave in the education system they leave a piece of their knowledge and continue teaching student on how to become a professional designer. A professional teaches the minds of future designer and they must remember at all times what they say will stay with the student and guide them when they are on their own. When the design education was brought to light many judged the program and stated interior designers was just another word for interior decorators student s wanted to rebel but a professional designer helps the students deal with those types of critiques and use it to be more passionate about their career. When a student is being taught the design it should be expect most of the design students to have minimum or no experience in the program. The design education support future designers on teaching them from learning designing vocabulary to entering the mind of the client and seeing the space they want. Designing education has similar teaching method as high school they give you examples and start you off with the basics but you are constantly reminded of those basics throughout your education and soon you will know it like any other knowledge you’ve obtained over time. Soon professors let you control your own teaching methods and that shows student what kind of designer they are and see that becoming a designer will become as easy as breathing to them. Ready to be set into the real world bringing what their education taught them ready to influence other designers  and being seen as a professional interior designer.  

Interior Design = Interior Decorating WRONG!!!

If interior design can be compared to interior decorating then I can compare a pilot to a surgeon or a pineapple to a strawberry. Personally it never crossed to camper those examples the only way I can group the pineapple and strawberry is through them both being fruit and delicious.  As an interior design student it mentally destroys me when I tell my friends or family what I’m studying to be the two responses I get are “OH, I didn’t know you have to attend school to pick color swatches?’ and “That’s amazing , over the weekend you can help me arrange my furniture and buy new table cloth” Finally I decide to see how interior design is define online, “the art or process of designing the interior decorations of a room or building” (“Google Dictionary,”) that is how the internet sees interior design. The only part these two careers have in common is working on an interior space, for example the fruits I mentioned are sometime a great combination the same goes for interior design and decorating. When working on a project a designer is more like an interior architect creating a better space to enhance the quality of the client when a decorator picks up where design leaves to make a space more comfortable and homey. Another way to look at these careers is as imagining a building is a human body, an architect creates the skeleton then an interior designer creates the functioning guts or organs the final person to step in is a decorator the color of the organs and the arrangement to make the body function even better.