In order to carry out a professional project, I wanted to look at how a professional company undertakes and carries out a project. Simmons Home Interiors is an interior design company based in Grayshott. Despite the name, the company works on domestic, and commercial projects, and from May to September, I joined them as an assistant designer. To begin my research into the design process, I am using the Simmons design process as a case study and starting point.
To introduce you to the company, I have posted the front page of their website below, which contains a brief description of what they do.
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| (Simmons Home Interiors, n.d.) |
Having worked for the company, I learnt a lot about the design process they use, how they carry out certain practices, and how they organise a project.
Below I have recapped the process, reminding myself of all the key stages. This should help me to carry out the design process for my client in a professional and methodical manner.
The design process used at Simmons contains a number of stages.
In stage 1 the designer will
- Visit the client to get a feel for the size and function of the space. It is important to take rough measurements here.
- Following the visit, scale floor plans are drawn up, so that possible furniture lay outs can be plotted on
- These can then be developed in to lighting plans if necessary
- Next the designer will begin to source fabrics and furniture
- And combine these to make mood boards
Stage 2 is the presentations stage
- Floor plans and mood boards are presented to the client for approval
- The client can object to any items on the mood board at this stage and alternatives can be discussed
- It is important to make notes at this stage as there may be changes that need to be remembered or items to look up after the client has left
- This process can be repeated over and over until the client is happy. This can sometimes mean re-doing mood boards even if only 1 thing has changed.
Stage 3
- Once all the fabric, furniture and fittings have been agreed upon, an estimate is drawn up to give the client an idea of the overall cost. The estimate should include:
- Cost of products
- Cost of fabric and quantities
- Fabric specifications
- Cost of flame proofing fabrics
- Delivery Costs
- Simmons does not charge per hour spent on the project, instead they buy products at trade price and then add on a percentage mark-up to create profit.
Stage 4
- To complete the design process a check measure is carried out
- This is to ensure all the measurements for curtains are correct, and this is carried out by the curtain maker and fitter.
- Finally all the items detailed in the estimate are ordered
- And decorators are employed to carry out painting and wallpapering
Having documented the above process, I can now use this as a rough guide throughout my own design project.
To get a more general view of the design process, I have looked at the book Professional Practice for Interior Designers by Christine M. Piotrowski. The book covers a wide range of aspects, and a chapter titled The Project Management Process is particularly relevant to my project. This chapter looks at 'the phases of an interior design project' (Piotrowski, 2011), and like Simmons, breaks the process down into sections. The title for each section is as follows:
The Programming phase
Scehmatic phase
Design Development phase
Contract doccuments stage
The programming phase is described by Piotrowski as 'the information-gathering portion of an interior design project' (Piotrowski, 2011). I have already created a project brief through an interview with my client, however Piotrowski indicates the main information that should be obtained before beginning the project. Many of these I have covered in the brief, such as the clients expectations and functional needs, however, Piotrowski also includes a form that a designer might use in an initial meeting. This I have photocopied and filled out following a second consultation with my client. This form allows me cover areas that I may not have thought about.
To Create a strong design, it will also be important to research around the clients wish for the design to connect to the natural surroundings. In this research, I should look at ways of bringing natural elements into an interior.
The next phase is the Schematic phase. This Piotrowski describes as 'The execution of preliminary design decisions' (Piotrowski, 2011). This cover areas such as design concepts, preliminary floor plans, sketches, initial furniture and materials selection. This will be the beginning of the development, and will involve experimentation into ways of connecting the natural surroundings to the interior.
In professional practice, this stage would end with a sign off, or client signature which will allow the designer to move onto the next phase. This may be a signature to say that the floor plans have been approved or the furniture selection is what the client wants. Piotrowski refers to this as the client sign-off, and explains that this is important, as any changes made after this stage will mean an additional cost. To ensure the company or designer does not end up paying this, the signature indicates that the client will absorb the costs.
The design development phase 'involves the preparation of all final furniture plans'. Looking at this section, it appears to be the most weighted section, with several elements to consider. Firstly, the final selection of furnitre muat be made, secondly visuals and mood boards must be created to present to the client. Depending on the role of the designer, it is in this stage, that construction specifications and contract documents. This should involve consultations with relevant technical consultants to ensure that all of the design elements can be carried out. This appears to be as important as the client sign-off, as it is another area that can incur additional costs if it is not consulted on.
Finally in this stage, an estimate and final presentation should be given to the client for a second sign-off before the contract documents are prepared. Again this ensures that all design areas have been approved by the client, and that they are happy to pay the estimated cost.
The penultimate stage is the Final Documents Stage. This involves finalisation of all the working 'drawings... schedules, and specifications' (Piotrowski, 2011). Piotrowski looks at the difference between the commercial and domestic implications of this stage, and explains that for a domestic project, 'this stage includes preparing lists of recommended vendors or contractors' (Piotrowski, 2011). Having completed all of the above, the designer can then move on to the final stage of the design process.
The final stage will not be carried out be myself as it is not a fully live project. However, this stage, the Contract administration phase 'involves placing orders for all the furniture and equipment, as well as the actual construction and installation work. The designer or project manager will be involved with making sure the furniture and fittings are being installed properly, and includes regular visits to the site.
Having looked at these two design processes, I will now look at a few other design processes in a little less detail, just to ensure I have a solid understanding of the design process.
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| (Michael@GSA, 2009) |
The Process below is taken from a website titled careers in interior design.
This process also contains similar elements, but follows a slightly different order. Instead of choosing furniture and then presenting it to the client, the process indicates that you should present a concept to the designer and then source the final products.
Finally I have looked at the RIBA Outline plan of work 2011
This is the design process I will follow, and in a following post, I will look at transforming this into a schedule or plan of action.
- interviewing the client to determine their business objectives for the new space, and interviewing some of the employees to get a sense of what they need and want in the space
- taking an inventory of existing furniture and equipment, and obtaining information on expansion plans; assessing meeting room, boardroom, classroom and lunchroom requirements
- preparing for presentation to the client three different design concepts of the new space, each including plans for a reception area that is a modern showcase for the many visitors to the new headquarters and adequate classrooms to accommodate the numerous seminars the employer offers employees
- making the presentation to the client’s senior management team and subsequently working with the client to incorporate requested changes into the final concept that will be implemented
- preparing all the working drawings for implementation of the plan, including structural, mechanical and electrical drawings prepared by other professional consultants (e.g., engineers and architects); preparing furniture plans; and preparing detailed drawings for all custom-designed furniture (e.g., custom bookshelves, custom boardroom table)
- sourcing all products for use in the project, including new systems furniture, custom boardroom and reception furniture; carpet, paint and wallpaper; special glass walls for lobby; and lighting and floor tiles for meeting areas
- coordinating construction schedules and ensuring that all trades are working towards the same completion date
- coordinating move-in for the client, ensuring that all three locations are ready for occupancy on the targeted completion date
(Careers in interior design, n.d.)
Finally I have looked at the RIBA Outline plan of work 2011
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| (RIBA Green Overlay, 2011) |
This design process incorporates the issue of sustainability, and although RIBA is an architectural organisation, there are some similarities to the previous design processes I have looked at. The preparation and design stages appear to be the most relevant to interior design, and these stages cover appraisel, design brief, concept, design development and technical design.
Having researched some professional design processes, I felt confident in designing my own design process, tailor made to suite my project. This is shown below:
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| My Own Design Process |
Post Bibliography
Simmons Home Interiors. (n.d.) Profile. [Online] Available at:http://www.simmonsinteriors.com/ [Accessed: 7th October 2011]
Piotrowski, C. 2011. Professional Practice for Interior Designers. John Wiley and Sons
Michal@GSA. 2011. Qualities needed for making a good Interior Design / Interior Design Process. [Online] Available at: http://michalgsa.blogspot.com/2009/10/qualities-needed-for-making-good.html [Accessed: 7th October 201]
Careers in interior design. (n.d.). A Sample Design Process. [Online] Available at:http://www.careersininteriordesign.com/sample_process.html [Accessed: 7th October 2011]
RIBA. 2011. Green Overlay to the RIBA Outline Plan of Work. [Online] Available at: http://www.ribabookshops.com/uploads/9a0204f4-8775-d644-c9d1-b2d508c5924b.pdf [Accessed: 7th October 2011]
