IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2011 - 1

From IIDA

y the time this issue is in your hands, most of us will have seen innumerable tributes to Steve Jobs, in many cases on the very devices he created. Ultimately how he’ll be remembered is yet to be determined. What’s indisputable is that because he held firm to the fact that good design matters—socially, economically, and emotionally—he made a difference. By caring deeply about how human beings experience an Apple product, Jobs profoundly altered how we use technology and assimilate digital information, consequently transforming 21st-century culture itself. While Jobs’ use of design drove a new paradigm of a wired work and life, technology and its resulting information-rich environment have revolutionized how we work as Interior Designers. This means we are closing geographical distances with social media, navigating the brave new world of materials and products (often the fruit of technical innovations) that we design with, and deploying the software tools that enable us to design and manage projects at a speed and complexity unfathomed just a few years ago. The ubiquity of technology is also changing how we experience physical place. Increasingly Interior Design integrates the online with offline, yet face-to-face interaction and the unmediated human experience are as important as ever. In this issue we look at these ramifications of technology on the practice. Technology is also expanding IIDA’s role as a critical knowledge provider to its members. Having access to powerful information and effectively sharing it is pivotal for our profession to innovate, grow, and prosper. From our Headquarters to Chapters and Campus Centers, IIDA is furthering an infrastructure of online and social media to be, in essence, the knowledge stream for Interior Designers. This also includes broadening the community of participants by inviting end users to engage in conversations and leveraging Campus Centers for meaningful engagement by educators. The latter is important for building stronger bonds with the industry’s next generation leaders to the benefit of both students and practitioners. This could help bridge the gap between designers with differing levels of technological fluency as well as assist the established Interior Design community to embrace technology with even greater intentionality. Jobs himself would have agreed that mastering technology is not the whole point—it’s about being able to evolve and adapt to new challenges whatever they may be. In this issue’s discussion on whether the profession was better off decades ago, four renowned industry pioneers show us how important it is to adjust one’s practice to an ever-changing business landscape. We invite you to take their advice and seek out new opportunities to help us expand what it means to be Interior Designers.

The Association for Design Professionals Perspective is the journal of the International Interior Design Association, © 2011. International Interior Design Association (IIDA) 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, Suite 567 Chicago, IL 60654-1103 USA Phone: 888-799 IIDA Fax: 312-467-0779 Email: perspective@iida.org www.iida.org Price: $4.95

PETEr ConAnT, IIDA, AIA, LEED AP 2011–2012 President

ChEryL S. DUrST, Hon. FIIDA, LEED AP IIDA Executive Vice President/CEo

perspective

http://www.iida.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2011