Alexa Levantis Levantis 1 Mrs. Chambers 12th grade British Literature 13 October 2016 Looking around a room there are so many aspects of design present. From the color of the walls to the furniture filling up the desolate spaces. Interior design is one of the oldest businesses in the world. It has been around for centuries, but only in the early 1900 s given its official title. Up until the late 1900 s interior designers did not have to have much of an educational background. In fact, most decorators just had to have a combination of good style, common sense, and creativity for them to be noticed and desired by those who can pay a cumbersome price tag. It was not until the 1980 s that interior design was classified as a profession. This Industry has changed drastically over the years resulting in the shift of design being a hobby to now a lifestyle. Designing spaces has been made easier with the use of technology. Rather than drawing and brainstorming ideas with just a pencil, paper, and an idea, there are now advanced tools and software that help with the design process tremendously. One of the biggest advances in the past twenty years has been the introduction of BIM technology and the new age of virtual reality. Virtual reality itself is a massive growing industry that also helps a lot of people visualize what they want their design to look like laid out in a organized manner. Now customers can see everything before the project is even started. This was not even an option until the 1950 s when virtual reality for interior design was considered to have begun. Interior design is an evolving and constantly changing market that over the years has become a common commodity for the average person, not just for the elite. This shows a positive uprising by expanding the design world to people with different backgrounds and ranging incomes.
Levantis 2 Technology has impacted interior design in ways that make it easier for the average person to find inspirations through apps such as Pinterest or HGTV s many television shows and online tips-and-tricks. Before Pinterest came around, think about how hard it must have been for middle and lower class families to bring design into their homes while keeping a low and maintainable budget. They did not have the wide range budget or connections to promising interior designers like the elite of the community did. DIY changed the game when it came to do it yourself designs. This concept has influenced consumers to leverage technology as a way to take design into their own hands and work with what they have laying around the house by refurbishing and using again in a different and unique way. When looking through the DIY and crafts feed on Pinterest, there shows many unique ways to create all kinds of crafts and even home decorations using things nobody would have even thought of for cheap. For example, to create charming vases for summer flowers all someone needs is several mason jars and bright color paint, how simple is that! According to Macala Wright, Technology has profoundly impacted the $7.3 billion dollars per year (and growing) home industry specifically within the areas of architecture and interior design. Together social media, mobile apps, and digital connectivity are changing the nature of one of the oldest businesses in the world (Wright 1). This quote does a good job backing up the thesis with proven statistics and elaborates on the idea that technology has boosted the interior design industry. The market of interior design has made its way through time being a statement for the wealthy, to now being something people all around the world find a benefit of usefulness in. From the start, design has been about creating a cohesive space that portrays a person's liking, but there has not always been a priority for design amongst people. The Interior Designers for Legislation in New York wrote, The history of interior design continues to rapidly evolve in a
Levantis 3 world that is at once becoming ever more global and at the same time demanding the fine-focus of specialized areas of critical knowledge (A Brief 1). In early American times, colored and immigrant families did not have the upper hand in society. The last thing these families worried about was how up to date their houses or apartments looked. Especially in this time period leading up to almost the 70 s, having the most beautifully decorated home was only a concern for the elite. With times changing and designs also changing, more and more people are finding themselves taking interest in the design of their offices, shops, and most importantly homes. Remember when chevron and polka dots were in style? Those patterns were both popular in the 40 s and 50 s, so the design cycle comes around, goes away, and then comes back around. Not only do popular design themes and patterns change, so does technology in a huge way. Today, there are some of the most advanced apps out there that can do things ranging from online shopping to creating a layout of a room with decorations and furniture before homeowners go buy anything. That way the customer can visualize everything before they commit. Edelston wrote, In the near future we're going to see radical changes in how we design interior spaces, thanks to advancements in smartphone apps and digital display surfaces ( Edelston 1). This quote shows a viewpoint that interprets the future of interior design as technology based Industry. For example, an app called HomeTalk generates questions and concerns about renovations, decorating, contractors, and even DIY projects that are easy and fun. Simple apps like HomeTalk can help homeowners with any concerns they might have. Forty years ago if someone had a question as simple as how do you fix a broken picture frame the answer would not be at your fingertips, it would have been harder to find the solution. Interior design and home decor have come farther than marketers realize when it comes to integrating technology into feasible business models. Not every person walking this planet has
Levantis 4 the same decorating style and most people have a widespread array of favored design themes that are present in their homes and/or workplaces. There are so many design themes ranging from modern to eco-friendly. A huge part of the American culture is how different people are from one another in a way that shows variety amongst Americans. In our culture not one person is exactly the same in the way they dress, act, and behave. More and more people are striving be different and take daring risks to stand out. This will help to further boost the design market because people's personalities are shown through decorations, because that is a common way people connect themselves with the tangible world around them. People express themselves everyday through design whether it be through clothes or how they decorate their homes. The new frontier of design is definitely becoming more technology driven. Because of this, it will be much easier for anyone to personalize a space using online apps and can also shop for almost anything without even going to the store. Personalizing spaces is important for people who want to express their design style through the way they decorate. With the way technology is evolving, soon nobody will have to leave their house to go pick out furniture and paint colors, because everything will be virtually online and they can easily have everything delivered right to their door step. BIM s have an astonishing effect on how technology has affected interior design. RMJM says, One of the biggest advances in the past twenty years has been the introduction of BIM Technology and virtual reality. Designers now have the power to create a digital environment without physically moving anything, which allows for accurate mapping of the available space (How Is Technology 1). BIM is more than a technology or a specialized tool. It represents a drastic change to the design process. Little do we know, building information modeling is rendering the way we design. In a relatively condensed time, using this advanced and ground breaking technology for designing buildings has imposed conventional thinking.
Levantis 5 Along with this concept Wright wrote, As marketers, when examining the extent to which technology has infiltrated the interior design industry, we see that the big picture overall is fragmented. Through digging deeper, the interior design industry may actually be one of the best examples to examine in order to develop a complete picture of today s tech savvy, digital consumers (Wright 1). This is the new global design age for interior design. It is safe to say that the biggest impact on interior design this year has been technology and this will continue to grow as an improvement for the design industry. The world has seen how technological breakthroughs have had a significant impact on interior design. Designers now have the capability to generate a digital environment without physically moving anything, which has allowed consumers to have an easier time envisioning the design before the project officially begins. At the same time, 3D visuals have given clients a new level of input when working with an interior designer. The website professional dude says the following, Various 3D design software like Autodesk, 3D Spacer, and Sweet Home 3D make interior designing a lot easier than ever before. With a few clicks of the mouse button, a computer user can turn any conceptualized design into a viewable and navigable model (The Impact 1). Clients now have the capability of seeing different elements and furniture that a designer has brought into the overall design. The 3D aspect has advanced the way furniture can be seen. This unique software is a type of computer graphics that enables the design, development and production of 3-D graphics and animations to be more easily viewed. Over the years it has been apparent that interior design is not only for the elite and wealthy but has evolved into an industry for the average person because of advanced technology and the new age of DIY. In conclusion, over the years the world has seen a major change in the frequency of design used among people all across the globe.
Levantis 6 Works Cited "A Brief History of Interior Design." IDLNY, www.idlny.org/history-of-interior-design.html. Accessed 10 Oct. 2016. Edelston, Zachary. "How Digital Technology Will Change Interior Design." Architizer, 5 Aug. 2013, architizer.com/blog/digital-technology-interior-design/. Accessed 30 Oct. 2016. "How Is Technology Affecting Interior Design." RMJM, 14 Apr. 2016, www.rmjm.com/how-istechnology-affecting-interior-design/. Accessed 3 Nov. 2016. "The Impact of Modern Technology in Interior Design." Professional Dude, www.professionaldude.com/?the-impact-of-modern-technology-in-interior-design,37. Accessed 3 Nov. 2016. Wright, Macala. "5 Ways Technology Has Impacted Interior and Home Design." Psfk, 30 Sept. 2014, www.psfk.com/2014/09/5-ways-technology-impacts-home-interior-design.html. Accessed 11 Oct. 2016.