Design Doses and Random Rants

The best advice that I ever got from my new interior design course is to douse myself in the world of design. I have to learn to take note of the smallest design decisions so that one day even I can make those decisions. So when I received an invitation to the Urban Barn Special event featuring an interior decorator, I knew I had to go.

The most important thing that I took away from the whole presentation was to observe the other features of the client other than their interior design style to make the right design choices for them. For example, take a look at their clothing because the fashion choices that a person makes reflect their true design preference and most often translates to their preferences in interior design. For example, if a man is wearing tailored pants, strong black leather shoes and clean cut clothing, this client would be more suited to muted tones and taiolored designs in an interior. Whereas a man wearing rugged, worn jeans may prefer an eclectic or casual style of design. To look for colour and pattern preferences, look at accessories like ties, purses or jewellery because these choices are made explicitly by the client whereas in interior design, they may be more hesitant to make colour or pattern decisions. These observations indicate that in order to be an excellent designer, you must understand your client. There is a psychology behind it, watch and listen to implicit cues and communication to produce a happy client and great design.  I'm starting to really enjoy this course, I'm still at module two but its really opening up my eyes to the design world.
I was amazed to learn some of the early history of design and the influences of art deco and ancient Greek and Roman influences in architecture and design in the current times. Even the different types of crown molding designs available are influenced by a previous era of design. I made a great decision to take this course during my time away from my school. It  is a lot of fun to learn that even the smallest details of homes and buildings were explicit choices made based on a theoretical ideology.