Interior Design

Part of an Interior Designer's work is to be able to successfully meet the clients needs. Sometimes an Interior Designer must be able to extract information when a client does not fully explain their wants and needs. Interior Designers must be able to communicate graphically to explain their design to other professionals working on the project. 

Interior design contributes to society in many ways. Spaces have the capability to influence users psychologically. Acoustics are important to consider when designing because if done wrong it can distract and irritate those in the space Examples of spaces where acoustics are important are libraries and public restrooms. Temperature and lighting are other aspects in the design that may irritate the users when they are not appropriate for the space. Proxemics can change the comfort level of an area.

Social and cultural ideas of space between others will determine how many users will comfortably fit in the area the designer has created. When a sofa is placed in an area, people won't likely sit on it with a stranger. Back to back chairs can cause uncomfort because the seats against each other do not give the users enough space to move around without being worried about hitting the person behind. The position of chairs can inhibit or suggest conversations. Chairs placed straight across from each other and chairs placed at a right angle make it easier for people to start a conversation.  

Mary Beth Robinson Lecture

Design can make a difference in people's lives by addressing their needs. Several factors should be considered when designing a space in order to make it more comfortable for its users. A major factor that should be taken into consideration is culture. Other aspects that need to be highly considered are lighting, acoustics, and temperature. 

Interior design and architecture have the ability to help people imagine they are in a certain environment. 

Hogwarts Castle at Universal

Cinderella's Castle at Magic Kingdom

Avigail Sachs Lecture

Mies Van Der Rohe believes space is something that you can experience by moving through it. His intention is to represent the way design should be. Mies Van Der Rohe shows an understanding between art, science, and technology. His style is minimalistic and completely thought out. Mies used the saying less is more to describe his view of what good design is. Mies Van Der Rohe has a logical reason for every aspect of his design and has the philosophy that anything that is not needed should be removed.  The Farnsworth House and the Barcelona Pavilion he designed are good examples of what Mies is achieving through his architecture.

Barcelona Pavilion

                                                     

Farnsworth House

Robert Venturi believes design should make people feel good. He thinks that historical references and comfort are important for good design. Venturi thinks that design like Mies Van Der Rohe's is too machine like and cold. Venturi also believes that design does not have to be completely rationalized. He blends old with new and contrasting styles together in a way that is the most comfortable for the person/ people using the space. Robert Venturi aimed to make complex designs opposite of Mies's minimalistic designs. Venturi puts emphasis on making people respond to old ideas, history, and tradition. An example of the way Robert Venturi designs is the Vanna Venturi House he built for his mother.

Vanna Venturi House Exterior

Vanna Venturi House Interior

Color and Light Lecture by Barbara Klinkhammer

Light is a form of radiant energy and it is the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. White light contains all colors. If there is no light there is no color. In the color spectrum violet has the shortest ray and red has the longest. Sunlight contains all colors from the light spectrum. It is the perfect white light.

 Different light sources have different distributions of color.

Incandescent

Fluorescent

Low Pressure Sodium

Interior spaces are effected by both daylight and artificial light. Natural light is different throughout the day so the orientation of spaces can effect how light looks in the space. North daylight is good for color matching because it has less red, orange, and yellow. Afternoon light has more red, orange, and yellow giving a glowing appearance. 

No two surfaces are the same color because light hits them all differently. Floors get the most light then the wall facing the light source gets the next greatest amount of light. After those comes the wall perpendicular to the light source then the ceiling. The wall with its back to the light gets the least amount of light in a room.

Lighter surfaces are more reflective than darker surfaces and shiny surfaces are more reflective than dull surfaces. Both light illuminating and light reflected can be measured with a meter.

There are three ways to measure light:

1.) Color Temperature- Describes the color of a white light with kelvin. Light with a high color temperature has a bluish light and is greater than 5300 Kelvin. Light with a low color temperature has an orangish light and is less than 5300 kelvin.

2.) CRI-  is the Color Rendering Index. It uses a rating system of 1- 100 with the higher number being better which is more able to reproduce colors similar to the colors produced in natural lighting.

3.) SPD- is Spectral Power Distribution. SPD differentiates by measuring the power in a section of a wavelength of an illumination.  

General Interior Guidelines

 Interiors with warm surfaces look best with warm lighting.

Interiors with cool surfaces look best with cool lighting.

Areas with much sunlight look best with cool artificial lighting.

Don't mix warm and cool lighting.

Colors Can Evoke a Mood

Red-Stimulating, and raises heart rate

Blue- calming

Green- warm and cool, relaxing

Yellow- sunny, cheerful, happy

White- Neutral, brings out form

David Matthews Lecture Number 2

In the profession of interior design, it is important to be open to many options and have back up plans if your specific area is struggling. Fields not commonly thought of  that those with an interior design degree may work in:

Exhibit Design:

Trade Show Design: 

Mill Work:

Lighting Design:

Video Game Design:

Certain aspects of interior design are more used in different areas of the profession. In residential, the decoration is typically more important than with commercial. A residential space can also be more taste specific because there is a smaller audience. The relationship with the client in a residential setting is more personal than with a commercial project because the client is also the user of the space. Commercial spaces cost more to build because materials have to last longer and stand up to the wear of many more users. Although efficiency is important in both residential and commercial, most of the time it is more strict in a residential setting because the client is paying out of his or her own pocket rather than a larger company budget.