Emerging Design

Interior Design is still an emergent profession in America. Traditionally, most interior designers focused on decorating- choosing a style and color palette and then selecting appropriate furniture. However, Interior designers are now involved in architectural detailing, buildings renovation. Interior designers must also be able to read and produce blueprints, understand fire codes, and know how to make space accessible to people who are disabled. This is not different In European countries; yet they are more respectable and are rarely confused as interior decorators. I believe it is because Interior Design had been a profession longer in European countries, and because they have fewer limitations and building restrictions.

However, The United States is becoming more open to new innovations. The USA is also finding its new characters through new architecture design. For instance, the work of Santiago Calatrava in ground zero; the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub to be completed the second quarter of 2014. This is an immense example of novelty and advances in the he United States. Calatrava took inspiration from the gesture of children releasing a dive into the air, representing a bird in flight.

Hopefully distinguished design like this will alter people’s thought about design, and people will value its importance.

http://www.wtc.com/about/transportation-hub

Reality vs. perception

It is true that broadcasting influences people’s life and that it affects the way people live. The Television not only gives an insight of what is happening around the world, but it also educates the community. It is a type of media that people trust, and for that reason we have to be careful and know what we are been exposed to. HGTV is a cable television that broadcast a variety of home and garden improvement, maintenance, renovation, craft and remodeling shows. The truth is that this channel was originally stared as the “Home, Lawn, and Garden Channel” and it was supposed to only concentrate on helping the spectator to improve their lifestyle by improving their homes. But, many of these shows provide the wrong information and make the viewer believe that things are simple and easy. The viewer’s attention is grabbed by unrealistic promises. They advertise to complete a space renovation for $500.00 or new home in only 5 days. They omit the details of a design process and make it look simple and cheap. Designers have to research the project, complete a set of constructions documents and submit them for a building permit before any physical renovation begins. This process can take weeks or months depending on the projects size. After a permit is obtained, the building process can proceed, and it can take a long time depending on project size and staff.

The problem is that several of these shows only cover a small portion of what the profession is about and distract the significance of good designer. They do not cover the consideration and solutions a designer seek and the amount of work involved.

Here is something you should know about my profession:

“Are interior designers and interior decorators the same?

Definitely not. Decorators focus only on the surface touches of a room - the paint, floor coverings, sofas, and curtains. Interior designers, on the other hand, often start with four bare walls, a floor and a ceiling, and they must create the total mood and feel of a room. Designers often step in early in the process, working closely with architects and contractors while the building is still under construction.

Interior designers must not only think about how a room looks; they must also consider how it functions, and whether it is safe for its occupants. Designers must understand color and style, and they must have a thorough knowledge of safety requirements (like fire ratings and handicapped specifications), federal and state building codes, lighting quality, ergonomics (comfort), and sound.

Because of the strict standards involved, designers must graduate and work in the field for a few years, then pass the NCIDQ exam to receive a license. Interior decorators, on the other hand, are free to practice their craft without a license”

http://www.careers-internet.org/InteriorDesign.htm

Get it straight

Interior designers have won a battle, yet still have a war to fight. Together with other professionals and industry partners, interior designers have teamed up to fight against people that want to deregulate interior design as a profession.    

On Friday, May 6, 2011, the Senate rejected the Bill that would have deregulated Interior Designers. If passed, interior designers would have not been able to design, sign, and build. It basically banned interior designers to sign construction documents and obtain building permits, only allowing constructors and architect to do it. It also said that anyone could call themselves an “interior design” and perform residential work, and only architects could do commercial design. This basically dishonored interior designers as professional when they are in fact trained and qualified to draw a set of construction documents, which include all building plans, specifications, and supporting documents used during the completion of a construction project. They are experts in interior spaces in regard to space planning, lighting, furniture design, building codes, human factors, and more. They can work in cooperation with an architect and/or constructor but each one with specific roles.

This deregulation would have not only affected the people that occupy buildings, but also the people that work to protect the occupant, as well.

On August 4, 2011 the ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) and IIDA (International Interior Design Association) together celebrated the rejection of the Bill HB5005 by the Senate. This event was a great success, and I was privileged to be part of it as an interior design student. Over 250 people were present at The Art Institute of Tampa and showed support to our profession. It was wonderful to see the presence not limited to interior designers, but, architects, industry partners, educators, students, and the company of four house senates. People came together to share experiences and gave a positive energy.  The representatives of the senate spoke and showed enormous support and admitted that this problem had opened their eyes and taught them what we do as professionals. 

On the other hand there is a vast amount of people fighting to deregulate interior design. Why? Because there is a great amount of people who want to call themselves professionals without an education. They want to call themselves interior designers without a license. How can people say that a 4 year degree is not worth it? And that someone who did not have the same education knows exactly the same that you do?  

Meant to be

Almost every day I carry with things that do not fit in one bag or two and sometimes it takes two trips to get everything in my car. Then I also sit in front of the computer for hours and my back hurts. But that’s my choice; I am an Interior Design student and a year from now I will be graduating from the Art Institute of Tampa with a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts.

When I was around 9 years old I said I was going to be an architect as I drew buildings, and houses. With my mom I visited multiple construction sites and learned how to read a floor plan, and I often I also changed our furniture layout and décor .

On one occasion, my nanny mentioned that she had too much furniture for her new small apartment, so then I grabbed a napkin and sketched my first floor plan arranging furniture in her new place.

At 13 years old I moved from Santa Cruz, Bolivia to Florida, US. Things were done different here, and as I learned English I got involved into art classes. High School graduation approached, and I had two professions in mind, architecture or interior design. So, I earned an AA.architecture at a community college; which prepared me for either career, and I choose Interior Design.

Why Interior Design? Because I wanted to make an immediate effect on people’s life and their experiences indoors. Architecture is fundamental as it creates the shell of a interior space, but Interior design has a more physical connection to our daily routines.

Interior Design Matters

Because life matters iDesign-matters! We spend more than 90% of our lives indoors, and interior spaces make a great impact in our lives. That is why interior designers are qualified to enhance the function and quality of interior spaces for the purpose of improving the quality of life, increasing productivity and protecting the health, safety and welfare of the public.

It is very important that people understand our profession and not compare it or confuse it with other similar fields. We interior designers focus on Evidence-based design, which is a field of study that emphasizes the importance of using credible data in order to influence the design process. With this we can make decisions based on the best information available from research, from project evaluations, and from evidence gathered from the client.

In order to deliver a safe and aesthetically pleasing environment, Interior designers study Human Factors, which is the science of understanding the properties of human capability and the interaction of them with their surroundings. This consists on but does not limit the study of sustainability, environmental psychology, ergonomics and anthropometrics