Friday, November 19, 2010

Speaker Free Week

In order to be a successful interior designer, you must be able to meet all of the clients needs. Whether they are straightforward about them or not. We must be able to visually capture our idea in order to sell it and get the job. 

MATERIALISTIC  
Many people think interior design is a materialistic career path, however, interior designers contribute to society in a positive manner though. We influence the people who come into our spaces through color, acoustics, etc. If someone walks into a red cluttered room, chances are they will leave frusterated and unhappy. If someone walks into a light blue simplistic room, they will become calm and happy. The amount of people to be in one space is determined by different people and cultures. One of the worst forms of bad personal space is chairs set back to back and directly beside each other. Most people in American Culture will avoid sitting directly behind or beside a stranger. It is uncomfortable. 

VOCAB
Programming- The basic criteria for what the client wants.  
Historical Preservation- Saves the history within the design.
Remodel- Has not limits or restrictions, not trying to save anything important.
Work Triangle- In a kitchen, the circulation between the oven, sink, fridge.

RAMBLE
Our final reviews are on November 22, and Thanksgiving is on the 25, so we will not have class next week, a good thing, considering the heavy load I have in 171 and English 101. 


Final Thought
Interior designers must have a rational reason for every aspect of their work, it can't just be stylish. 

Monday, November 15, 2010

Mary Beth Robinson Lecture

Human Environment Relationship

*Mary Beth teaches this course here at UT


It is important to evaluate what we, as designers, actually do. We make changes in not only our own lives, but others too. We have to think about others and what they actually need, while designing. We work with textures, acoustics, colors, size, temperature, and space, of course! A perfect example is the Frank Gary Disney Concert Hall. He uses wood to imitate nature on the interior. 

When designing it is important to realize that you and your tastes will not play a large part in design. You have to work with others and what they like and want. Diversity is a big part of being an interior designer. 

Key terms Mary Beth mentioned are fixed-featured space,  semi-fixed featured space, and informal space. She talked about how in Japan, the rooms do not have set names , like dining room and bedroom, but serve a multitude of purposes.

VOCAB
  • Proxemics- interrelated observations and theories of peoples use of space as a specialized elaboration of culture.
  • Infra cultural- behaviors that are innate in us.
  • Per cultural- senses which are shared by all humans used to compare different cultures.
  • Sociofugal- fixed spaces, inhibit social connection with people.  makes for easier pathways, is about function and organization.  - spaces that keep people apart.
  • Sociopedal- you can move things around.  Social interaction is increased. - spaces that bring people together. 

Barbara Klinkhammer Lecture

Last Monday, the first year interior design students were privileged enough to have a intimate lecture with Barbara Klinkhammer. 


light and color.
Without light there is no color. White light contains all spectrums of color, however, not all light sources do. We call this uneven spectral distribution. It is important for designers to realize and know how to use light. Daylight and Artificial lights have impact on interior colors. For example, when painting a room it is not accurate to just simply look at the paint in the store- because the lighting is different. You must test the paint on the actual destined wall. In order to measure color temperature, CRI (color rendering index) and SPX (spectral power distribution), are terms designers should know. 


Colors with a higher CRI are appear natural. When choosing electrical sources, a higher number will always be a better choice. Or, when choosing colors for a room, stick to whats already present, warm interiors need warm colors. Neutral can have either warm or cool lighting. Overall, this lecture was very effective in teaching us a few fast facts about the use of light and how important it is!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Professor Sachs Lecture

*Avigail Sachs has a doctorate in architectual history and before becoming a professor was a proffessional architect and interior designer.


Mies Van Der Rohe
Mies believes space is something you move through in order to experience. He wants to use art, science, and technology to create design in a manner he believes is acceptable. He was a "less is more" persona to his design work. Everything about his work is logical and explainable. He does not like clutter and believes spaces should only hold the necessities. He is best known for the Farnsworth House and Barcelona Pavilion. 




Robert Venturi
Roberts main idea when designing a space was to make people feel good. He believed in comfort was key to a functional design. He believed in warmer design in comparison to Mies work. He doesn't necessarily believe in there being a reason for design. He likes to blend older styles with new design. He likes to bring people back to their roots and a traditional type design. He is known for the Vanna Venturi House, also his mothers house. 








Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Different Types of Design Firms

Mr. David Mathews
http://matthej3.squarespace.com/


James Rixner: Residential Design
It would probably be a good idea if planning to specialize in residential design to take child and family psychology.


Yoo: a New York Design Firm


Ior Group: Office Design Firm in UK
Perkins Will: Design for Healthcare


HBA: Hospitality Design Firm


Telesco Associates: Night Club Design Firm
Fanning Howey: School and Church Firm

Gensler is HUGE design firm
Prime Design Custum Cabinatry


Illuminart: lighting specialty


Milliington Associates: Interior Merchandising Design
Museumscapes- Museum Design Firm
Inter-Global Exhibitions: Trade Show Design Firm

Also:
we discussed again the importance of going green, how bad HGTV makes us interior designers look, briefly touched on historic preservation and all that goes into it, and programming which heavily involves figuring out what the clients needs and wants are!


Quote of the Day
"If  you like crafts, get that hot glue gun out and do it!" -Gerren