Public Image

Being an everyday citizen in America, I can understand how the public misidentifies the profession of interior design. Through the media outlets every aspect of interior design is misconstrued. In television, every show labeled “design” is more than likely strictly decorating. In our products, knock off exist making it harder to find our prices and materials creditable. Also, in magazines, there are certain publications that emphasize décor and how to bake cookies rather than the raw, real design aspects of the profession.

Television: So you sit down after a long day and you turn on HGTV. A show appears with the word “Design” in the title, and it sparks your interest. Watching further you realize they have a $2000 budget and two days to redecorate some ones living room.

HOW UNREALISTIC.

We complain that “people don’t take us seriously” and “No one really knows what interior design is” but in the end this is one of the main reasons. The public watches TV. Rarely would I see an everyday joe pick up a journal or read informative information on what designers really do. People think they know, so why look into it further.

Knock Off Products:  The production of designer products at a cheaper rate. It would be hard to convince a potential client they need to buy a $4,000 chair when they could find a similar looking product for $700. I feel like this is a battle every industry, there’s a fake everything nowadays.

The only fight I have against this is if it’s a knock off product, it will act like a knock off product.

I feel if I have a client who’s invested in my time would look at this situation the same way:

If I walk into Nordstroms I’m not expecting to buy a knock off purse.

Knowing your client and knowing their boundaries and budgets is lucrative in this situation.

Magazines: Standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, I peer over to flip through some magazines and in the slot that says INTERIOR DESIGN sits an issue of “Better Homes and Gardens”.

HOW UNFORTUNATE.

I’m sure the magazine has a great intention and valuable information for decorators and home makers. I would assume that that magazine should be in the slot for DECORATE AND HOMEMAKE. If there was more affordable information in the common individuals reach, people could educate themselves without us shoving information down our throat.

Sustainabilty: A Fad or here to Stay.

There has been arguments and discussions that sustainability is a fad and that it will fade out over time. Personally, I don’t think it’s possible. Even looking outside of the interior design world, they’ve changed the make up and structure of water bottles and everywhere you look there’s opportunities to recycle. I think it would almost be a challenge to revert to old ways. To start how would companies advertise a products that isn’t renewable?

If I had a choice between a carpet that is 100% recyclable or one that’s filling landfills and wasting resources isn’t the answer obvious?

“Sustainable development is a new term that grew out of the conservation/environmental movement of the 1970's. While the conservation/environmental movement asked questions about preserving the Earth's resources, sustainable development includes questions about how human decisions affect the Earth's environment.”

In this definition, they state that sustainable development has been in existence since the 1970s. No matter what we do, I feel like sustainability will progress whether we like it or not. People will always be trying to make something better or something smarter.