The grand scope of the design we call interiors

I realize more and more how much you have to know about interior design outside of the actual implementing of the designing. For example, in class we are currently designing a Cusp store (a brand by Neiman Marcus). Designing for retail means that we have to understand the nature of the business. Not only do we have to research the nature of retail: statistics about shoppers, the nature of the shopper, the operations of a sales associate, the operations of a sales manager, and statistics about impulse items, demand items, and convenience items. But we have to research the brand: what is Cusp’s target client, what is Cusp’s culture, what type of experience do they want the shopper to have, what type of shopper is this target client…..

Healthcare: to design a hospital- you can’t just blindly start placing operation rooms and nursing stations and then place a nice marble flooring down….. We would have to understand the processes, procedures, order of events, and daily activities of each particular wing of the hospital.

Sometimes it feels like we need a minor in retail, education, business, medicine, and culinary arts just to feel equipped to handle it all! But instead we must become researchers, investigators, and listeners. Most of all this means being tuned into the client and really understanding what they plan on doing with the space. We have to ask the right questions and follow that up with research and confirming what you find with the client.

Not only do we need to learn the wide variety of trades that we find ourselves designing for- but we have to continue to learn- because things change. Education doesn’t look like it did 10 years ago- they need more collaborative spaces (team work is encouraged more than ever!) and places to have one-on-one time with students (we’re learning more about how to handle learning disabilities) and fun/cool places to encourage reading (sometimes it’s way more fun to read in a big comfy couch than your desk!) Interior designers- be aware and never stop learning.

Interior design- it’s not for dummies.