What's in a Name? Interior Design and/or Interior Architecture: The ...

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P E R S P E C T I V EFor those of us who entered the profession through the process of education, experience,and examination, the public’s lack of knowledge of who we are and what we do isextremely frustrating.Role of the MediaIn addition to these challenges, the media has contributed to the public’s confusion over the role of the interiordecorator versus the interior designer. Most of the popular design periodicals do not make a distinction, nordo many of the professional trade magazines. A study by White and Dickson (1993) revealed that the architectsare often given credit for interior works even though the firm may employ a team of interior designers. Themajority of these magazines fail to move beyond the aesthetic realm, and few, if any, promote the value ofgood design. An NKBA Position Statement (2008) attempts to further confuse the issue when they state:‘‘We would submit that no industry is more readily accessible to the public than the interior designprofession. ... [T]here are numerous consumer publications, websites and television programs(and networks such as HGTV) which educate the public on the role of interior designers and thequalifications of the various disciplines. Surely the public does not lack the ability to make informedchoices about who they retain for design services.’’ (p. 4)A study by Waxman and Clemons (2007) explored the influence of design-related ‘‘reality’’ shows on students’perceptions of the design profession. They found that the ability to discern the line between the ‘‘constructedreality’’ and the ‘‘actual reality’’ was often fuzzy in the eyes of the viewers, and these mixed messages were beingtransmitted to the new students entering interior design programs as well as the public. Senior-level studentsvoiced the concern that these shows tarnished the image of interior designers. After watching a number ofdesign-related reality shows, Martin concluded that one of the myths perpetuated about the profession wasthat ‘‘anyone can be an interior designer’’ (cited in Waxman & Clemens, 2007, p. vii; see also Bowles, 2008).For those of us who entered the profession through the process of education, experience, and examination,the public’s lack of knowledge of who we are and what we do is extremely frustrating. It is no wonder thatsome are advocating yet another name change to better define our role in creating the built environment.Perceptions of Occupational StatusAll this suggests that occupational stereotyping is one of the problems we must overcome in defining theinterior design profession. Lipton, O’Connor, Terry, and Bellamy (1991) define occupational stereotyping as ‘‘apreconceived attitude about a particular occupation, about people who are employed in that occupation, andabout one’s own suitability for that occupation’’ (p. 129). A study by Thielbar and Feldman (1969) concludedthat stereotypes guide the assessment of occupational prestige. They further suggest ‘‘representations of societyin fictional writing, television drama, and movies often reflect social life through occupational stereotypes.Sometimes it is not the incumbent but the position that is stereotyped’’ (p. 67). Thielbar and Feldman’sfindings concerning occupational stereotypes and perceptions of status or prestige were later confirmed inresearch conducted by Oswald (2003).Grimm and Kronus (1973) have developed an analytical framework for studying occupations in their socialenvironments, taking into account both objective (i.e., sex distribution, income, education) and subjectivecharacteristics (i.e., group ideologies and value systems). By drawing on previous research, the authors showthat assessments of occupational status and stereotypes tend to be uniform across groups and time. Grimmand Kronus suggest that occupations that do not achieve full professional status have failed to convince thepublic that they have a scientific basis of knowledge, a lengthy training period, a strong service commitment,and autonomous working conditions. On a more positive note, the authors discuss how both law and medicineupgraded their images beginning in the latter half of the nineteenth century by focusing on the aforementionedcriteria. Interior design has attempted to do the same, but as yet has not been successful.Journal of Interior Design xiiiVolume 35 Number 1 2009
P E R S P E C T I V EThe study concluded that Western designers should rightfully be concerned about theirlack of recognition and understanding. Further, ‘‘design does not carry the same level ofprestige and social standing as engineering or architecture, even though the impact of thedesigner on society may be equally significant’’Whitfield and Smith (2003) conducted a study to determine how society perceived the design professions(i.e., graphic design, industrial design, fashion design, interior design, and furniture design). Six dimensionswere used to measure the perception of social standing: (1) level of social standing; (2) education level;(3) income level; (4) amount of responsibility; (5) usefulness as a profession; and (6) proportion of womenin the profession. On the basis of the premise that ‘‘design suffers from an identity crisis—no one is quitesure what it is,’’ subjects both with and without design training were drawn from Australia and SouthKorea (p. 116). The authors determined that in Western societies, income and education were importantpredictors of occupational prestige. The design subjects consistently rated the design occupations higher thanthe public group. With the exception of graphic and industrial design, the Australian public group rated allof the design professions low in occupational prestige, and all respondents ranked the design professionslow on the service to the community dimension. In addition, both design-educated and public Australiangroups considered fashion design and interior design as ‘‘female’’ occupations, which Grimm and Kronus(1973) suggest negatively affects the perceived status of these occupations. The study concluded that Westerndesigners should rightfully be concerned about their lack of recognition and understanding. Further, ‘‘designdoes not carry the same level of prestige and social standing as engineering or architecture, even though theimpact of the designer on society may be equally significant’’ (Whitfield & Smith, 2003, p. 133).It is worth spending a few minutes examining the effect of gender on perceived occupational status. Bothengineering and architecture are considered by many to be predominantly male professions although increasingnumbers of females are pursuing these degrees. By contrast, the roots of the interior design profession viainterior decoration were predominantly female. Massey (2008) details the emergence of interior decoration,which catered primarily to the rich and famous so that they might express their power and prestige. Shenotes, however, that interior decoration was one of the few professions led by women, particularly womenof ‘good taste,’ which she suggests has led to a continuing lack of occupational prestige or ‘‘seriousness’’ (seealso Turpin, 2007, p. 124).One can only wonder how much these early female-based roots in interior decorating have continued toinfluence the occupational stereotypes of the interior design profession. Oswald’s research (2003) revealed thatoccupational titles associated with men were perceived as more prestigious than those associated primarilywith women. Further, men and women did not differ in their evaluations of these occupations. In particular,Oswald noted that architecture was perceived as an occupation mostly associated with men, and her researchconfirmed the expectation that sex-based occupational stereotyping still exists. Thus, the question mustbe posed: If we changed our name to interior architecture, would we automatically gain more perceivedoccupational status as a profession, or does the perception of high occupational status have to be earned?Identity in the WorkplaceAs documented by Martin (2008), ‘‘Interior design has worked for the past 50-plus years to gain identityin three key areas: the workplace, the legal arena, and the public’s opinion’’ (p. 10). A recent panel ofleaders from International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and American Institute of Architects (AIA)acknowledged the importance and necessity for collaboration in the workplace (Bowles, 2007). Accordingto architect Richard Logan, ‘‘There has always been collaboration on interior projects, but the nature ofthe interaction has become more respectful and symbiotic as interior design education has become moreprofessional and broader-based, and as licensing has become more prevalent’’ (Bowles, 2007, p. 10). Massey(2008) contends that by upgrading its educational standards, the interior design profession is gaining morestature and is coming into its own as a separate and distinct discipline. The Foundation for Interior DesignJournal of Interior Design xivVolume 35 Number 1 2009
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