Article 01 : What is Interior Design ?

Nowadays Interior Design has become a widespread topic in articles, TV shows and social media. In fact, most of Interior designers have a social media account. We notice also a huge rise of interest about it: many architects are becoming interior designers and lots of vocational training centers are proposing Interior Design courses. But, first, what is Interior Design? And, why does it attract so much attention?

There are several attempts to define Interior Design, some of them simplify it and others over-define it. In the present article, we chose to focus on the simplified definition. Therefore, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, Interior Design is "The art or process of designing the interior decoration of a room or a building".

Interior Design can be a complex discipline, like architecture, or an easy discipline, like decoration. It all depends on a scale of complexity within Interior Design. It also depends on the education and the experience of the designer. Then, we talk about interior decorator or stylist, architectural designer, hotel designer, retail designer, exhibition designer, event designer, etc. All these professions emphasize on the Interior Design of Building, so let us check the definition of each word.

o Design: is the process of questioning, investigating, analysing and problem — solving

o Interior: describes the human environment (where we live, work, …)

o Building: which means the construction and in most cases, the interior designer deals with an existing building with its own architecture, its history and its social and economic construction context that should be understood to propose the best solution.

In Interior Design, the focus is on the interior, where most social interactions happen, this is why it is an agent for social change. Everyone intervenes in the space design of their home by painting the walls or changing furniture. They want to design a space where they show who they are, where they feel safe and in peace; and here the interior designer intervenes merely as a guide or an advisor, he/she has the knowledge to do it better.

So, now, you know what Interior Design is, but how do we become an Interior Designer? Do we really need to have a degree? To answer those questions wait for the next post on this blog.

MEBIROUK Yasmine

References: Jenny Grove - Interior Design_ A Professional Guide. `-RIBA Publishing (2017)