Interior design process are crucial for the success of an interior design project. Normally, when we talk about “process” in interior design, we are referring to the Designer’s working process or design process of a given project or sometime it can be refer to an entire interior design project’s process from start to final construction completion.
For this introductory discussion, we will focus on interior design process as the working process of an Interior Designer for a given project.
Lets start this discussion from the beginning of a project and the 2 most most important elements that will kick-start an Interior Designer’s working or design process. An Interior Designer is engaged by a client to solve a problem(s). The problems can be classified into 3 classifications including technical, functional or visual.
For discussion purpose, in interior design there are basically 2 very distinctive process that need to be performed by an Interior Designer and they are design and problem solving. These are the basic anchors to the entire interior design process.
Interior design process starts once you have signed a service contract with your client and sometimes started even before the contract have been signed.
Now, don’t get confused here, both tasks are actually problem solving but in a different way. When combining the 2 tasks, we can use the general term as “interior design or interior designing”. So, for an Interior Designer, rather you are designing or solving a problem, it is apart of the interior design work. Therefore, designing equals to problem solving. One last indirect task resulting from designing and problem solving a project is management and coordination. For now, we will save this subject for another discussion as this is another whole new subject.
These 2 important tasks must compliment and work with each other. As 1 task changes, the other may also require to change as well.
Lets discuss the 2 tasks or process in abit more details:
Design:
In interior design, designing is used as a general generic term only. designing is part of the problem solving process. Interior Designing use various techniques to help to solve a number of defined problems or to support various design objectives and goals.
Design techniques used for interior designers include but not limited to the following:
- selecting materials
- selecting finishes
- selecting colors
- select or designing furnitures and millworks
- select or designing lighting fixtures
- designing patterns
- space planning
- designing objects
- ceiling design
- wall or spatial delineator design
- branding design
- graphic design
- signage design
- spatial study and design
- product design
- creating artworks
Sometime, Interior Designers also design their own materials & finishes and even special colors.
Note that many beginning interior designers or interior design students over focus in the designing and not the problem solving. If over focus or entirely focusing on designing, the work can easily become just interior decorating only and not interior designing. So, beginning interior design students must be careful with the interior design process.
Problem Solving:
The problem solving process is the key or the primary anchor to the entire interior design process. Without the process of problem solving,there is no interior design just purely decorating.
Problems must be defined before the interior design process can commence. Once problems are defined, the overall project conceptualization will begin and design intentions, goals and objectives, project statement etc will then be formulated.
Interior Design Process Summary
- design and problem solving are the key anchors of the interior design process
- interior design process is the working process of the Designer during a project
- problem solving process is the primary anchor
