There is the Interior environment itself, and there are the people who use it! Those two personalities speak loudly to balance, compatibility, comfort and image.
When an Interior design team first connects with a potential Interior design project client, there are very specific factors immediately on the table: Who are the prospective clients? What is the existing or proposed Interior environment? And, are they in tune with each other?
One of the first challenges facing the Interior designer is learning the prospective client’s personality – as it relates to an existing Interior environment, or the Interior design Vision the prospective client has in mind.
The preliminary stage of the client/Interior designer relationship is the stage when the client does most of the talking; and, the Interior designer does most of the listening! A lot can be learned on both sides of the issue. For instance, a prospective client with an idea – a Vision – of what they want for their Interior space, will express that Vision more than just verbally. Their enthusiasm, emphasis, illustrations, cautionary examples, expressed negatives and body language will help to begin to reveal the “personality” of that prospect, as it relates to Interior space!
At the same time, the Interior designer will begin to get clues about an Interior installation that would “fit” the personality of the client. It is an important part of your prospective Interior designer’s skill that begins to
re-translate the tastes, emotions, preferences and visible excitement of a prospect, into Interior design concepts.
When the prospective Interior design project will be one that involves space that the prospect already has and uses, your Interior designer will look keenly at “the existing match of personalities.” More often than not, there may be a subtle mismatch! When an Interior environment begins to disappoint and feel stale, it sometimes can simply be the signal that the personalities are no longer compatible!
We all know the only constant is: change! There are many reasons that prompt a business or homeowner to decide on an Interior space design project. Wear and tear is very popular! Expansion is another. Start-up is, of course, an essential motivator. Market image competition is another incentive to contemporize, remodel or just refresh Interior space and send a signal to your market share.
And you have grown and changed! You may have just outgrown the personality of your existing Interior space!
As an Interior design project progresses, the compatibility of the space and the principals should become more and more evident. Attention will have been paid to moods, temperament, work patterns, and personal comfort zones! Is the client a Morning or a Night person – yes, that can matter a lot when colors, lighting and temperature controls are decided! Proximity of Executives, Administrators and line Staff to each other, in a workplace Interior, has definite bearing on the perceived personalities! Sound control? Very critical!
In residential Interior environments, your Interior designer is sensitive to the various family members’ personalities, especially where ages are concerned. Compared to commercial environments, the age spans for families can go from toddler to Grandpa! Any parent would vouch for the importance of sensitivity to multiple personalities, with wide sweeps of age, all in one place!
It’s a closely held open secret, that Interior designers and teams never stop observing and learning about the two personalities in every Interior design project. As a project progresses, so do the opinions, perceptions and acceptance of the client. You could say that there is a progression in force that continually considers the balance between the client and the developing project choices and decisions.
There is no problem with making adjustments as your project moves along! Those two personalities feel their way through their developing Vision! Getting it right is the important factor that drives the beautiful, balanced outcome.
Robert Boccabella, B.F.A. is principal and founder of Business Design Services and a certified interior designer in private practice for over 30 years. Boccabella provides Designing to Fit the Vision© in collaboration with writingservice@earthlink.net. To contact him call 707-263-7073; email him at rb@BusinessDesignServices.com or visit www.BusinessDesignServices.com or on Face Book at Business Design Services.
