Interior Design Education in the Year 2000: A Challenge to Change

Dorothy L. Fowles, Ph.D. Abstract

Iowa State Ames, Iow

Anticipating the year 2000 is a popular activity in the early years of the 1990s. This article presents per- ceptions about current and possible future trends and how these could influence and challenge the interior design profession and interior design education. Changingpopulation, so- cial structure, cultural values, eco- nomics, technology, and resources will influence the future course of any profession and education. Interior design will become more technical, complex, and specialized, and at the same time it will be more valued and creative. Within the context of tech- nology and aesthetics, it is suggested that interior design continue its unique identity through a humanistic approach. To respond to global and professional changes in the new millennium, interior design educa- tion should experience modifications in substantive content, pedagogy, students, andformal structure. In the process of change, the relationship between education and the profes- sion needs revision. All of this will take energy and creativity to develop and execute during the next decade.

University ‘a

Introduction

Predicting life in the twenty-first century appears to be a popular topic as we speed toward the next millen- nium. The basis for these predictions is not always clear. But the process can stimulate new ways of looking at what we are doing and how we are doing it -in this case, interior design education. The purpose of this dis- cussion is to present perceptions about

trends, their influence on and chal-

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Topyright, 1992, Interior Design Educators Council, Journal of Interior Design Educa- tion and Research 17(2): 17-24.

current-and possibly future-

lenge to the interior design profes- sion, and their implications for inte- rior design education.

A recent issue of Design Quar- terly (Wurman, 1989), entitled “HATS,” used this head covering as a metaphor for units of information. Richard Saul Wurman, creative di- rector for the issue, believes that “when you approach a problem, you must go backward to find the begin- ning before going forward to find the solution” (1989, p. 6). He proposes that by stepping back you discover the forces behind the problems, en- abling you to ask yourself the ques- tions that will lead to good answers or solutions.

It is useful to use this technique to discover how interior design has de- veloped over the past twenty to thirty years. In the process of looking back, two articles by Jane Stolper (1978) and Hadley Smith (1979) in the Journal oflnterior Design Education and Research from over a decade ago were uncovered. Each article focused on the future of the interior design profession. Both authors cited energy and technology, demographics, and the social structure of the family as areas of substantial change that would influence interior design in the next decade or two. They indicated a need to be responsive to the whole range of users and environmental challenges. Furthermore, they indicated a need not only attend to the demands and opportunities of technology but also to humanism,’ which is proposed here as a characteristic unique to interior design as opposed to most other re- lated design professions. In addition, Hadley Smith cited the change to a postindustrial, information era. This change is also one of John Naisbitt’s (1984) ten megatrends popularized a few years later.

John Naisbitt in Megatrends noted

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that “the most reliable way to antici- pate the future is by understanding the present” (1984, p. xxiii). Where are we today? More than ten years later, the issues and trends noted by Stolper and Smith have not run their course, but rather seem to be accel- erating and expanding in scope and concern. Energy concerns have been expanded to include a wide range of ecological issues, including the greenhouse effect, sick building syn- drome, and rain forest depletion. Technology affects how and where we work, travel, and live. Demo- graphic changes raise discussions about the“age wave,” the “graying or tinting” of America, and the “sand- wich generation” (Dychtwald & Rowers, 1989; Beck, 1990). The increased percentage of women in the work force and the continued in- formality in domestic life are two aspects of the changing family that influence housing. The information age is producing a paradox in which we are “drowning in information, but starved for knowledge” (Naisbitt, 1984, p. 17). A review of develop- ments in the last two decades seems to confirm that the future will not be just a linear extrapolation of the past or even of the present.

Future Trends under Development

In recent years, books have been written projecting trends in the twenty-first century (Naisbitt & Aburdene, 1990; Cetron & Davies, 1989). Conferences (NeoCon in Chicago and ASID Annual Confer- ence in Denver) and publications (Hastings and Smathers, 1991; Solomon, 1991; Wines, 1991; Wilson, 1991) have addressed a broad range of concerns about the environment as well as the need to increase individual understanding and change personal and professional attitudes and ex- pectations for survival in the next century. Three examples of this projection are a talk by Ken Dychtwald, author of Age Wave (1989), an ASID symposium on daycare, and a special issue of Newsweek(Ad1er. 1990; Beck, 1990).

As keynote speaker at the ASID convention in July 1989, Ken Dychtwald noted that three demo- graphic shifts are occumng that will be a challenge and an opportunity for our country-and for interior de- signers-in the future:

1. The senior boom or what Newsweek (Beck, 1990) called the geezer boom: Americans are living longer, healthier lives. We have a new group of seniors, OPALS (older people with an active life-style).

2. The birth dearth: Couples are having fewer children, and when they do, it is at an older age. There are also the DINKs (double income, no kids) couples that anchor the extreme of this dimension.

3. The aging of the baby boom generation: In ten or twenty years they will be the “ sandwich generation, ” looking after their parents as well as their children. In the year 2000, there will be more people in the over 65 group than in the middle- aged group. The number of women will increase more rapidly than that of men (Beck, 1990).

During the public issues sympo- sium at the 1989 ASID conference, the issue was intergenerational day care. The increasing number of single- parent homes and two-career fami- lies and the longer life span are dra- matically increasing the need for day care not only for preschoolers but for the elderly and impaired.

The special issue of Newsweek that focused on the future included a dis- cussion of housing for the elderly (Beck, 1990). A critical shortage of nursing homes is developing because the over-85-year-old population is expected to quadruple within the next 40 years. Creative housing options are emerging to relieve this shortage, including group homes, shared apartments, and communes similar to those popular in the 1960s. Housing for the elderly exhibits self-reliance and a multioption society (Naisbitt & Aburdene, 1990; Cetron & Davies,

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1989). We value our independent life-style, and we want to have choices and options. This is an area of ex- panding opportunities for interior designers.

In looking at housing in the next century, Newsweek (Adler, 1990) discussed trends in the “postsuburbia” era that include higher-density hous- ing with shared public spaces substi- tuting for private yards. John Bloodgood, a Des Moines architect of development houses, presented an interpretation of the “new house” for the middle-class family (Figure 1). This house highlights an “us” space to accommodate the informal life- style. The new house is “smart,” characterized by technology fully integrated into the controls for ap- pliances, electrical, and mechanical systems, but according to Peter Eisenman, it will still look like a house. The twenty-first century will see a new definition of privacy and security evolving as houses are placed on smaller but intensely landscaped lots. Vegetable gardens, outside and in, will address ecological concerns. Shared public spaces will accommo- date many outdoor needs of “postsuburban” dwellers. Flexibility is a key factor in changes andshould facilitate the independence of elderly and disabled persons according to a study of trends and patterns of household life2 (Retondo, 1991a). Cetron and Davies (1989) predict several trends in values and concerns that will influence the postsuburban house: a shift from the “me” to “we” to “family” ethic, increasing domi- nance of technology, diversity of the population, more work options, and conspicuous consumption replaced by downscaling.

The integration of technology in both the house and the office is fur- ther illustrated in a scenario describ- ing a day in the life of a twenty-first century manager that was featured in Working Woman (Farmanfarmaian, 1989): computer and fiber-optics technology are predicted to play a- major role in how business is con- ducted and how we run our lives. For example, data cards and biometric- recognition systems will replace keys for automobiles, airplane tray tables

will double as computer screens with touch-sensitive keyboards, lunch or- ders at the office will be transmitted to the cafe’s computer, and the emp- tying of office wastebaskets and vacuuming of carpet will be done by a robotics cleaner. The home security system or the microwave can be checked from the office. Conference calls will be audiovisual, reducing much business travel. Will these technological predictions be similar to the electronic cottage or the paperless office predicted a decade or two ago?

Most people need the social con- tact of the office environment, what Naisbitt (1984) calls the “High Tech/ High Touch” trend. The increased use of computers has expanded, rather than contracted, the piles of paper generated in offices today, as we move further toward an information society (Cetron & Davies, 1989; Naisbitt, 1984). Likewise, facsimile machines present a mixed result. They have increased rather than decreased the use of the telephone; one must make a call to obtain the number, a call to send the message, and a call to verify that it was received. Nevertheless, the facsimile machine further facili- tates the trends toward personal, physical, occupational, and job mo- bility, as well as diversity (Cetron & Davies, 1989). This and other tech- nologies provide individual choice in where and when to work. Naisbitt and Aburdene (1990) see the facsimile machine as a blending of high tech and high touch, in contrast to com- puters, which are only high tech.

Wurman in “HATS” (1989) pro- posed that learning is remembering what you are interested in so that you make connections. Personal travel illustrates this concept well. In vis- iting countries in the Pacific Rim, one becomes aware of the international concerns that will influence change in the twenty-first century. These concerns include ecological problems of rain forest depletion, the poor quality of third world housing, and the dependence on an international market for national economic devel- opment. These concepts become more salient when one sees them firsthand. In addition, the failure of communism

and the spread of free enterprise will change the future. Naisbitt and Aburdene (1990) predict the emer- gence of free market socialism, a global life-style, a booming global economy, and the ascendance of Pa- cific Rim nations. They note a change from a preoccupation with defense to “concern about the destruction of our natural environment, now our most important common problem” (Naisbitt & Aburdene, 1990, p. 14). Cetron and Davies (1989) also predict an increasing concern for environ- mental issues, including the indoor environment.

Changing population, social structure, cultural values, econom- ics, technology, and resources cannot be ignored in charting a future course for a profession or education. How do these changes affect the interior design profession?

Implications for Designers

Interior designers will face new opportunities, new challenges, and new obligations in the twenty-first century. They will need to integrate more technology into their design solutions; amainly aesthetic approach to design will not be sufficient. The need for a variety of creative housing and work solutions seems apparent: clients and users will be from a range of ages, physical, and socioeconomic conditions. There will be creative opportunities in developing a new aesthetic that uses resources safely and wisely. The need to respond to health, safety, and welfare issues is so fundamental to our profession that assuming this responsibility more fully is clearly on the horizon.

Interior designers can continue to be distinguished from other design professionals by their concern and responsiveness to behavioral, func- tional, sociopsychological, and physiological issues affecting users. An emphasis on humanistic values is a unique characteristic of our pro- fession. Working at the intimate scale of inside spaces, interior designers are in a position to be particularly responsive to human needs. Interior environments should be manipulated

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Figure 1 “A design for 21st century living,” main floor plan designed by Jack Bloodgood, Bloodgood Architects & Planners, Des Moines, Iowa. Published in Newsweek Special Issue, Winter/Spring 1990, pp. 74-75. Reprinted by permission of the architect.

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to integrate current social science re- search into design solutions, and de- signers should be aware of the impact of materials and equipment on the user’s physical well-being, for ex- ample, offgasing of formaldehyde and other organic emissions (Randal, 1991; Levin & Teichman, 1991; Retondo, 1991b; Wilson, 1991a), electromagnetic fields (Malino & Lee, 1991; Wilson, 1991b), and repeated motion tasks (Davidsen, 1991). It is important that interior designers take the lead now in developing the design responses needed to sustain the en- vironmental demands anticipated in the next century.

The designer in the twenty-first century will need to deal with accel- erated change and complex sociotechnical situations. The prac- tice of interior design will be less isolated and more interactive with other design professions as well as users and support professionals. Cetron and Davies (1989) predict trends toward specialization but work in task-focused teams. “Interdisci- plinary” work will become a reality rather than just a catchphrase.

Dealing with all these changes will be made easier by an “end of the century effect” identified by Cetron and Davies (1989). There is ex- traordinary freedom of creativity on either side of the turn of a century. The turn of a millennium is expected to have an even larger effect, espe- cially in the boundary areas where unrelated disciplines can come to- gether. This extra creativity should help in resolving the complex prob- lems challenging interior designers in the next decade.

In addition to a surge of creativity, a renaissance in the arts is one of the ten new directions predicted by Naisbitt and Aburdene (1990). They believe that “sometime in the millennia1 1990’s the arts will replace sports as society’s dominant leisure activity” (p. 76). In changing from work-style to life-style values, “Americans will seek out one-of-a- kind furniture and handicrafts to decorate their homes” (Cetron & Davies, 1989 ,~ . 321). This increased interest in all forms of the arts provides an opportunity for the interior design profession to educate the public on

the “value-added’’ benefit of design to their quality of life.

The interior designer’s work will become more technical, complex, and specialized and also more valued and creative. These changes should result in major alterations in design educa- tion.

Educational Responses

Educators and educational institu- tions need to know how best to equip the students of today and tomorrow with the ability to meet the challenge of change, both in the realm of soci- etal needs and in the interior design profession. Students must be pre- pared to cope with change that will continue to occur after they have graduated with their first professional degrees. Will future designers be able to meet the changes and chal- lenges discussed above with the typi- cal design education as it currently exists and the existing expectations held by many design professionals as to what design education should be? Are the Foundation for Interior De-

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sign Education Research standards addressing interior design as it is to- day or as it should be in the next decade-r even the next century?

Several perennial debates seem pertinent in this discussion. They all revolve around the form and content of interior design education and are not mutually exclusive. Among them are the following:

1. The mission of the educa- tional institution regarding the student versus the practitioner’s expectations for an entry-level employee.

2. The role of education3 ver- sus training4 in influencing the objectives of a design program at an institution. This duality also becomes an issue in any discussion of accreditation standards.

3. The value for students of subspecialization within interior design versus broadly based design expe- riences and awareness of career potentials resulting from an “interior design” or a basic “design” education.

4. The responsibility of the in- stitution in preparing its students to meet the test of “minimum competence” set by the profession at a par- ticular time versus providing the framework to shape the profession in subsequent years.

And probably the hottest issue in the next decade,

5. The mix of liberal learning as a part of or prelude to professional education: what courses and how much time should they consume of the total education of design students.

In looking at the mission of edu- cation, most interior design faculty see their responsibility extending beyond teaching “how to’s” to fo- &sing on the theoretical and specu- lative. But many practitioners seem to feel that graduates of interior design programs should be prepared to as- sume responsibility in the workplace the day after graduation. The debate between scholarly education and vo-

cational training is not unique to in- terior design (Patterson, 1990). Nevertheless, it is a continuing con- flict.

Design education should provide the foundation for a graduate to make a lifetime contribution to design and society. A graduate should not be expected to be ready immediately to assume a leadership position in a business. Education must provide the graduate with a basis for re- sponding to change by fostering the qualities of flexibility, awareness of the world as a whole and particularly the world of design, problem-solving strategies, and ability to think criti- cally. Changes are coming from all directions: social, economic, political, technological, and aesthetic. Students need to understand the basics of a wide range of fields, such as global economics, multicultural sociology, or life-span family studies, to com- prehend the importance and impact of those changes, which overlap with and influence design. Assuming one can have understanding only within a familiar frame of reference, the im- plication is clear that a broad frame of reference is necessary for students to function in the global, culturally di- verse society predicted for the new millennium (Cetron & Davies, 1989). Learning is remembering what in- terests you: students need to become interested in a wide range of issues and ideas.

A memorable instructor some years ago defined an educated person as one who knows where and how to find the answers-not knowing or memorizing the answers-because the questions and problems faced by each of us will change tomorrow, a year from now, or ten years from now. This philosophy can serve de- signers well because it is estimated that less than 10 to 15 percent of what a designer needs to know today was part of education twenty-five years or so ago. With the accelerated pace of change, this same small percentage of what we know today is likely to be what we will need to know at the beginning of the next century.

For schools to emphasize training of the student in handling the infor- mation and using the techniques of

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the present (or even recent past) or in knowing the answer to today’s ques- tions is to make that person obsoles- cent before his or her time. There is an accelerated amount of informa- tion to assimilate. There is a need to learn more and more. A decision is needed as to what are the critical ingredients of a design education and what educational institutions can do best for design students.

There is a practical limit to the number of courses that can be ac- commodated in a cumculum. Gen- eral education, design education, and the technical training needed in day- to-day interior design practice cannot, and need not all be handled equally well in any one program. Cetron and Davies (1989) note a trend in uni- versities to stress development of the “whole student.” Clearly, discussion of the real mission of education is needed to resolve this conflict of too much information and too little time to impart it.

It is proposed that education should achieve several objectives for an as- piring professional:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Provide a solid theoretical foundation in design, in- cluding basic design, design in related disciplines, -and design of interior spaces. Provide a broad general lib- eral arts education that ad- dresses students’ needs to expand as individuals with a global awareness, influ- enced by the world, able to influence the world, and able to understand other people and their points of view. Provide a balance between art and technology; vision- ary imagination and practi- cal planning; theory and practice; and creativity and logic and critical thinking. Instill in students a realiza- tion that toenteraprofession is to embrace the concept of “lifelong learning .” Instill a sense of the con- tinual need to “practice” design in the most literal sense of the word through- out one’s career. Instill a set of ethics and

humanistic values that sup- port the unique character of interior design.

7. Instill the ability to work on a team and to seek a broad range of design opportuni- ties.

At the same time that the educa- tional process is being revised to re- spond to these objectives, practitio- ners have to reassess their expecta- tion of education and evolve a closer partnership in developing the new talent of recent graduates. This partnership is in line with a trend toward business assuming a greater role in training and education (Cetron & Davies, 1989). Nootherprofession expects a student to graduate fully equipped to hang out a shingle. Most interior designers do not really believe this is possible either. For example, the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) re- quires a combination of years of ex- perience and education before one can take the exam. Doctors spend years in residency and internships. Architects now are required to have a postgraduate internship before taking the National Certification and Reg- istration Board (NCARB) exam. In- terior design needs to develop a similar approach in which fully qualified professionals serve as mentors to help entering prepro- fessionals build on their educational foundation, adding the details of technical training on the job rather than expecting them all to be there at graduation. These vocational skills can be best integrated into the individual’s expertise on the job. The general theoretical summary of the full range of aesthetic, technical, and skill aspects of interior design should occur in the educational arena. This would provide a needed balance and distinction between formal education and on-the-job training.

Additionally, designers need to recognize that interior design educa- tors’ and programs are constantly balancing between the academic tra- dition and the profession. They face the dilemma of dealing with what institutions expect for scholarly pro- ductivity, the internal reward systems, and the value systems of the educa-

tional institutions versus expectations for a strong applied emphasis by professionals. Separation of scholarly education and vocational training would allow interior design programs to prosper within their respective in- stitutions. It would encourage edu- cational institutions to do what they can do best for interior design edu- cation. It would expect design edu- cators to assume greater responsibility to develop the research and theoreti- cal base for interior design that is so necessary for the field. The educa- tional arena should be the place for experimenting with ideas, minimally encumbered by excessive practical restraints of budgets, schedules, codes, and the like to evolve a framework for new solutions to future problems.

In addition to substantive and structural changes in interior design education, other modifications can be anticipated. Not only will changes occur in what is taught, but, how, when, and to whom it will be taught will change in the next century. Cetron and Davies (1989) predict several relevant trends in these areas. New technologies will allow for in- dividualizing education. Improved pedagogy will dramatically change the learning process and will include computerized textbooks, computer- supported learning, and a “scholarship mode” of learning (i.e., consulting books, journals, and so on for infor- mation). Occupational mobility will enable an increasing number of stu- dents to be nontraditional vis-2-vis their age. A downsizing of universi- ties and assessment of outcomes and effectiveness of educational programs will have further impact on interior design education.

Changes in substantive content, pedagogy, and structure relevant to interior design education will take energy and creativity to develop and execute. But these changes will be critical in defining and developing our profession to a position of prominence in the twenty-first cen- tury.

Conclusion There is an adage that “we are

what we eat.” If this is the case in the

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future-as now-formal interior de- sign education will provide knowl- edge for designers about what to seek as a balanced diet, how to get that balanced diet, and how to maintain it. New knowledge will be an integral component. In contrast, if the future focus of education is on a current, quick-fix or junk-food approach that will not be relevant for long or provide the foundation for growth to profes- sional maturity, this education will have done a disservice. Furthermore, an expanded realm of the possible is needed to understand where and how interior design education fits into the larger, global set of values, just as the quality of our diet is only one aspect of a total health program.

If we take the balanced diet, nutri- tional approach, designers will also seek continued intake (translated as lifelong learning and continuing education) to maintain their long-term professional health and well-being. After all, we don’t eat one meal and expect it to sustain us for life.

Using the creative opportunity of the new millennium, design educators and professionals need to look at the broad scope of changes predicted for the twenty-first century as well as those with direct implications for the profession. They must identify the changes needed in what and how in- terior design is taught tomorrow to maintain a professional distinctive- ness and to position the profession as a leader of design ideas into the year 2000 and beyond.

Notes

’ Humanism: “devotion to human welfare, interest in or concern for man.. . a doctrine, set of attitudes or way of life centered upon human interests or values” (Gove, 1976). Affordability, adaptability, practi- cality, and usability are key con- cepts in a recent research report, “Home Life Issues Report,” avail- able from Appliance Information Service, Whirlpool Corp., Box 85, St. Joseph, MI 49085.

Educate :“to develop (as a person) by fostering to varying degrees the growth or expansion of knowledge, wisdom, desirable qualities of mind or character, physical health or gen- eral competence. . . to make compe- tent in the handling of or in dealing with preparation, discipline or ex- pansion of knowledge or compe- tence” (Gove, 1976). Train: “to instruct or drill in habits of thought or action. . . to teach or exercise in attaining a skill: give instruction” (Gove, 1976).

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