IAR221- Extra Credit (Two views of design)

In class discussion today, we compared the two common views of design in today's world. What is true design? Is it what we see on the television like shows on HGTV? Are the designers on that channel educated? All of these questions were in our minds. This in turn led us to take a closer look into what the two views of design are. It also led us individually to ponder on what we consider design. This is what I believe design and "true" design is.

As a designer, I feel it is necessary to have a background in education. Though a true designer is born with a designer mind, education will help allow the mind to think differently and access more possibilites when designing something rather than making a quick decision. Education helps a designer know more of the types of design, the ways others design, and the practice for future careers. With an education, one will be able to be more advanced than one who did not further their education. One disagreement to my statement is that what if the designer who is educated has no design sense or style; That is very true. To be a true great designer, one needs both a designer mind as well as an educational background. This educational background in itself allows one to have credentials and experience in the design field when they are ready for a job. This is important in helping the designer obtain a good job and open their opportunities. Without credentials and experience it will be more of a challenge for a designer to go out and design in the world.

Though education, experience, and credentials all are important, the individual designer and how they form design is equally important. It is very important for one to take a holistic approach to design. Things should have meaning and fit together. The quote, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" is a great example of this. As an interior designer, you do not want to decorate a room in a home that does not fit the rest of the house unless it was meant to stand out or be separate from the home.Therefore, taking a holistic approach is very important as well as having a concept and design motive for any design task. As a designer, having this holistic approach and design knowledge, one will bring creativity and uniqueness to the profession and to the atmosphere at hand. Often these designers and the actual process it takes to design is misinterpreted in television shows and in magazines. On the show Design Star, they will often make it seem as if a designer can throw a room together in thirty minutes or an hour and just think of the perfect design in a second. Which in reality, we all in the true design profession know that this is not what happens. It often takes hours and days to come up with all you need to redo a room or space. These show designers also design more for the fame and money rather than taking their own styles and using it regardless of what they may lose. However, I do feel like some designers do it for their own love of design and push the television programs into letting them have their own style and do what they dream of. But, we all know that all designers face limitations in budget, how much their client can afford, and how what resources they have to use. Media plays a huge role in interior design and how it is judged and thought of, but it is through us as designers that we can show the world what interior design is capable of and what it really is about.

HGTV design show that often misinterprets true interior design and what really takes place

UNCG IAR Lab (College designers working hard at learning more and practicing design skill)