Introduction
Interior design has long been known to draw inspiration from various sources and fields – and other design trades are no exception. First of all, in order to speak about these collaborations, one needs to give a definition of interior design. According to Ching and Binggeli (2018), it is, evidently enough, the design of the interior spaces – alongside their planning and layout. Physical settings that people live in fulfill the basic needs of being sheltered and protected, create the conditions for productive activity, give expression to ideas that go hand in hand with this activity, and influence one’s worldview and mood. Thus, interior design is aimed at functional enhancement, aesthetic satisfaction, and psychological improvement of one life’s quality in the spaces one lives in. In order for all of it to be achieved, interior design quite often – and quite successfully – turns to other design trades to adopt different concepts and elements.
Main body
It is reasonable to start with the way interior design collaborates with architecture since, for many, these notions are interchangeable. Ching and Binggeli (2018) note that educational institutions are increasingly applying the name interior architecture for programs focusing on how creative design processes satisfy people’s needs – instead of viewing buildings simply as objects. However, the areas of interior design and architecture are separate ones – though they are inextricably linked. Architects usually deal with anything related to the so-called envelope of the building – that is, its construction. Interior design, as its name signifies, handles the interior decoration of the home and its feel. Still, a professional from one field needs to utilize the experiences of the other in order to reach the common goal: a home an individual will enjoy living in.
When it comes to seeing how it works in action, there is a number of options. For instance, Sarah Stacey Interiors (n.d.) states that during the construction project, the original floor plan is to be produced by an architect. Interior designers’ job is to use the model created by an architect for producing a space plan and adding furniture. Another example of a possible partnership is in the drawing of cabinet elevation. According to Sarah Stacey Interiors (n.d.), these are crucial in the reconstruction of offices, bathrooms, and kitchens – that is, for anywhere in the building with built-ins installed. The drawings allow one to estimate the location, size, and direction of doors opening the new cabinets. It depends, but there are cases when architects make their own drawings or not – however, oftentimes, this task falls to designers. With no architect to provide their plans, ready-made layouts are usually utilized by interior design teams in order to make detailed drawings.
Another field that has a tendency to coalesce with interior design is industrial design – that is. Initially, the design of consumer products was massively produced. However, in this case, it is the implementation of elements of industrial building design into people’s homes. The result is the field named industrial interior design. According to Simmons (n.d.), its philosophy is showing proudly the building materials many people try to hide. The idea is to make the most carefully designed houses purposefully unfinished. It is about choosing pieces for the design that are equally related to function and style. Nowadays, it is implemented in loft apartments, modern houses, and commercial rooms all over the world. The industrial design uses neutral colors, utilitarian articles, and surfaces of metal and wood, resulting in a so-called warehouse look, combining a genuine industrial feel with a number of different styles – those range from unstarched to polished (Simmons, n.d.). Thus, this approach is not simply for unfinished spaces – many enthusiasts incorporate industrial style in their personal spaces through various features.
The field to look at next is set design, the craftsmanship of a representative, which is often intertwined with interior design. In fact, most set designers usually have a background in architecture or interior design when coming to work on set. Additionally, film sets are often a source of inspiration for many interior design projects. National Design Academy (n.d.) names Breakfast at Tiffany’s, James Bond, Space Odyssey 2001, and Star Wars as just some of the examples that have given inspiration for the interiors – that includes furniture, color palettes, accessories, and much more. The tendency of set design to impact the way people decorate their homes has led interior brands to collaborate with artists and designers to produce a variety of items of goods. National Design Academy (n.d.) provides an example of Tektura wall coverings, which brought Helen Strevens to create a series of fancy, hand-drawn wallpapers that are evidently inspired by her work as a set designer for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Thus, lovers of the series – or anyone who wants paintings with a magical atmosphere to decorate their walls – can turn directly to the person who created that atmosphere in the first place.
Finally, there is graphic design – a most important discipline in terms of visual communication. According to Kutlu (2016), space in architecture and interior design is used to transmit a message. Visual images – that is, photographs, illustrations, typography, and pictograms highlight a particular message and spatial identity that is constructed in accordance with a designer’s view. Rapidly evolving technologies have adapted architectural elements into tools of meaning transmission – consequently, the relationship between graphic design and fields related to space design has taken on a new level.
There are various examples of graphics being used in the transformation of space. According to Kutlu (2016), one of these is illustrations – a general artistic means of expression understood by all, regardless of culture and language. It is an extremely strong aesthetic link that strengthens the relationship between the room and its users, giving space its own character. Then there are typographies – forming volume in lines and letters, capable of being two- or three-dimensional. These, as Kutlu (2016) notes, fill an important place when it comes to elements of graphic design in the transmission of space identity. Pictograms are defined as international symbols that represent concepts, objects, or functions. It consists of a graphic presentation and serves as a message communication tool, either as a two- or three-dimensional plane. As one can see, all these means are equally effective in drawing an individual’s attention and making them perceive space in accordance with what they carry.
Conclusion
In conclusion, today, it is more evident than ever that successful interior designs are impossible without being complemented by elements of other design trades. Interior design is essentially a field of experimentation in order to find out what kinds of spaces are most comfortable to live in. Granted, everyone is different – and different individuals have a different vision of what a home fulfilling one’s needs is to be like. That is why all these collaborations are to be encouraged further on – as long as they help people find ways to make a space fully their own, they are necessary.
References
Ching, F. D., & Binggeli, C. (2018). Interior design illustrated. John Wiley & Sons.
Kutlu, R. (2016). Interdisciplinary interation in design – relation between graphic and interior design. International Journal of Science, Technology and Society, 4(1), 14. Web.
National Design Academy. (n.d.). Set design: Influencing interior design trades. Web.
Sarah Stacey Interiors (n.d.). How interior designers collaborate with architects (and how that benefits homeowners). Web.
Simmons, K. (n.d.). Industrial interior design: Everything you need to know. Decoist. Web.