‘We cannot deny the power of representation – seeing someone who looks like you, seeing them in a critical position of leadership is so important.’ 1
It’s not only within our team that we provide education but to the broader design community. We feel a responsibility to act and educate others. Last week, Mia from Fahn and Maya from St Aloysius joined us for our intensive work experience program.
Inspiring and informing students from grades 9 to 12 that interior design is an option for a career. To have them understand that it is far more than cushions and paint, rather a deep understanding of how humans move and behave within a space. It is about anthropometrics and ergonomics, and it is about understanding people.
Mia found it very hands-on and learned how many people, suppliers, and consultants we interact with daily. She found it rewarding to create concepts yet challenging to prepare ideas in a short space of time. Maya discovered the enormous amount of reports and documentation required as a designer.
Most of all, we aim to show the rest of the industry respect, integrity and to be role models for what an ‘interior designer’ should look like. We do this by implementing our work experience program, which is now an integral part of our future.
1/ Cheryl Durst, https://designmatters.iida.org/
