What Is Interior Design?
The answer to what Interior Design is today has many meanings. This answer will depend on who you ask and where they are within the world. Nevertheless within real world application the concept of what this definition is has fallen and may never return.
What began by influence from the arts and artisans has turned into an albatross of quick gimmicks and fast marketing. Chalk Couture comes to my mind in how dizzying the decline of design has become.
Where once the arts could flourish and expand now it is choked off by industry where real craftsmanship cannot compete.
I wish to take a look at what once was and then what is now our present day. We will see a brief history of Interior Design to the now giants of design and products we have offered to us today.
Fine Arts Influence: The Rise Of Interior Design
Throughout history, at least up until the mid 20th century, if one wanted an Interior Designer then one would seek out artisans. Of course this reality predated Else de Wolfe, she simply re-branded a much older idea and managed to get noticed for it.
It would be in 1904 that the first classes behind this concept and profession would be offered at the then New York School of Applied and Fine Arts. The early designers of that time were largely ad hoc, amateurs, and had to make use of some kind of artistic sense.
If one were to step back just 30 years into the Art Nouveau period you could see a similar transition in time. Here was an attempted breakthrough past the older Victorian Era. While it would be short lived what was behind this movement was not officially dubbed as Interior Design.
Nouveau influenced architecture, clothing, textiles, and decoration from many artists. Aubrey Beadsley influenced illustration art. Alphonse Mucha delved into painting, jewelery, and furniture. Antoni Gaudi I Cornet was a well accomplished Nouveau architect who’s work influenced the city of Barcelona.
Victor Horta focused on the visual and decorative arts which in turn was used to influence architecture. Louis Tiffany was an accomplished stained glass artist who’s work reached across two continents. Then there is Louis Majorelle a Frenchman who specialized in aesthetic and artistic furniture.
For all the academics who love to cite Else de Wolfe as the founder of Interior Design, I say it was the beginning of the death of artistic influence in the design world. The fact is that art and artists for centuries have influenced this field no matter the name one chooses to call it.
This fact remains true up until the Art Deco period. It would be within the early 20th century that this would slowly begin to change into art about art only and less about life.
By the mid 20th century it would be near its death. Now in the early 21st century that world is forever removed and not even a memory to those living.
How Interior Design Was Hijacked
It would be those such as Else de Wolfe which would come onto the scene with an ability to cultivate a name and a following that changed the world. These early interior designers would need to find resources in order to accomplish their vision.
They would work with artists and artisans of many trades or skill sets in order to fulfill their dreams. It was mutually beneficial at the time and many profited from their efforts. Yet it would not take long for the dynamics to change.
Art schools, corporate names, and big money backing a campaign with new marketing ideas would soon flood the scene. Still this was beneficial overall for those involved. The field was actually opening up to new ideas and also many new artists from across the world.
It would take a little time for the perfect storm to form on the horizon. Mass production, cheap labor with overseas imports, and branded names like Kirklands who sold average products at higher prices would soon be nationwide.
What was once artistry became manufacturing. What once had a personal touch with the eye of the designer and artist was now selected from catalogs or online stores.
Within these corporate entities there are those who purchase and acquire products which they never see or personally touch. It is placed for sale and you then buy them as “designer” goods.
For all real intents and purposes the world of Interior Design was hijacked and now artists have little to no influence. This kind of mass production has brought about another beast where not only artists are the outcasts, but also must fight to protect what is theirs.
The Fall Of Interior Design
From the mid 1800’s to the early 1900’s the artist was at the mainstream channels of society within Interior Design. This was the day of names like Picasso. In our time the reality artists face is altogether different.
Gone are the guilds of influence and galleries which work in collaborating with industry. If you ask any artist where they seek to create influence now you will hear words such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Certainly one can obtain an education within Fine Arts then in turn work within design. Yet working within this capacity there is really no liberty to create other than for the vision of the said institution. Creative influence has been traded for measurable results by profit and marketing research.
This environment does not foster innovation. Rather it fosters the same widget with a different color or shape by design. Risk management to maximize profit is the mantra to keep everyone happy.
As artists compete for other spaces to be seen complications arise. Some have reported how their intellectual property has been stolen by these corporations. Other have stated how their shops have been shut down at locations like Amazon.
Etsy itself has its complications as the artist must compete against cheap imports. We will soon look at how giants such as these have attempted to bridge the gap between the artist and the public. We too will see why this fails.
The artist must be very careful to not cross any lines or else face shop closure. Corporations use teams to scour the web searching for anything that appears to violate their intellectual rights.
It is for reasons such as these that today I believe artists are far better off on their own outside of these giants of industry.
Decline Of Quality Within Interior Design
How can an artist compete in price against imports? In some cases these imports are made by child labor. In recent history news reports highlighted how some companies unwittingly helped foster this practice.
Walk into any store and you will find items being sold as cheap as possible in an attempt to get you to hand over your money. They will be made from reclaimed scrap lumber, cheap mdf, and the higher end brands are not that much better.
When a interior designer goes to work there really is nothing original which they can offer a client. Certainly we have more products today than ever before in history. Yet none of it is tailored, unique to the clients character, personality, or home.
Modern Interior Design is more focused on creating a “healthy environment” to foster positive benefits. The very definition itself has removed the artistic personal touch. Design today is a landscape for the masses which has become cookie cutter albeit there are many different cookies.
This environment will not improve in the broader market. As the the landscape becomes ever increasingly global the competition will minimize the individual. In turn this leaves the individual artist without an ability to influence the world within these systems.
Public Desire For Authentic Creations
Since the year 2000 there has been a slow but steady rise for the desire of authentic creations within Interior Design. Whether it be art, or items made by craftsmen, this trend does not seem to be peaking. Rather it would seem that it continues to grow.
Homeowners have begun to break away from modern Interior Design reaching back to older ways of the world. Why is this happening? The reason is simple to explain.
Corporate models for profit do not fit the individual ideas for themselves. In other words no one likes being put into a premade box. There is a natural resistance human nature has to such things.
In an attempt to once again bridge the gap between artist and the corporate interior design world a new innovation emerged. It was the modern version of Else de Wolfe yet behind a corporate name within the online world of mass marketing.
I will give two big names as the examples of those who attempted to make this move. We will see why this model will always ultimately fail.
Etsy’s Push Into Interior Design
In response to this push from public desire for individual creations, the early 2000s saw the rise of places like Etsy. The idea was ingenious.
This would allow real artisans to have a public forum where interior designers could connect directly with them. It really was the perfect storm… unfortunately it would not survive.
Etsy saw initial surges and profit from artisans that worked in collaboration with them. Yet once it peaked the doors were opened to other entities. The corporate desire for further growth required the wine to be diluted with water.
Once the cheap offshore marketers and makers came into the picture Etsy became nothing more than another thrift shop. Real artists began to flee the scene as if it was some kind of horrific train wreck.
The modern influence of mass produced interior design rushed in as if someone opened the flood gates. All individuality was lost. Further complications came into the picture as Etsy began to force the artists who remained to conform to their ideas of what the business model should be.
If one did not conform to their standards, marketing models, and formats, then you were punished by their internal algorithm. Artists were not just pushed out of this Interior Design scene, they were chased and beaten out of it.
Amazon Handmade Influence Within Interior Design
Amazon Handmade came as an alternative answer to connect artists once again to the Interior Design world. Many who were displeased with Etsy rushed to Amazon. Yet it would not take long for complications to also rise here.
Among the complaints were some who stated that their artistic designs were hijacked by offshore entities while being offered zero protection. Similar issues came from how Amazon wished to control the market space forcing conformity with business models.
Others claimed to have their shops shut down entirely or rankings impacted due to refusing to bow to some of these demands. This model which was a great idea will also fail. It will soon become just another thrift and trinket store.
Why Do These Models Fail With Interior Design?
Let’s face one reality. The Amazon model is great for many things that are products. Yet you have a choice with Interior Design. You can treat it like a product, or you can connect with individuality through artisans.
The problem with Interior Design concepts is that you cannot do both of these at the same time. The model does not fit. This is why ultimately the Etys’s and Amazon Handmade ideas of the world will fail.
When Else de Wolfe began her journey it was not with the intention of creating a corporate conglomerate. Her idea was to connect people and she was in the middle of it all. When you remove personality, personal touch, and individual influence the whole idea goes away.
There will forever be a divide between what people are forced to pick and choose from in mass produced worlds, and that of a desire for personal touch in design. Interior Design was never meant to be a cookie cutter idea as nowhere in history has it succeeded in such ways.
There is nothing more powerful than the creation of individual space based upon the individuals personality, vision, and emotions. For any artist who can tap into this principle they will always stand out from the crowd.
Dealing with the noise and predisposition of the design world today is another issue. While models will continue to come forward attempting to bridge the gap, ultimately the artist is best on their own making their own path.