New year, new spirits, new goals… The beginning of the year is always exciting as we look forward to how it will unfold. Adding to the buzzing energy, we are pumped up to make resolutions to implement positive behaviors so the new year will be better than the last. These resolutions reflect our priorities and interests in life. When you sum up the top New Year’s resolutions for 2017, it’s clear that health and well-being, growth and improvement, and relationships are essential to us. In order to successfully accomplish these objectives, consider setting goals and brainstorming ideas for immediate action.
Let’s take a look at these resolutions as they apply to the interior design profession and consider how research and other resources can help achieve them:
1. Health and Well-being
Health and well-being is a popular topic all around. An increasing amount of research surrounding the topic of healthy foods, products, materials, and even behaviors are flooding in to help us master this lifestyle. It has also made its way into the design of built environments through guidelines such as the WELL Building Standards and FitWel. While clearly a mainstream topic of interest, we’re still seeing health and well-being as a luxury for those with access to it.
GOAL: Design reaches far and wide. Let’s bring the power of design to those that are most in need of health and well-being and use research to support the impact of design on their lives.
IDEA: Join the design research efforts to bring well-being to all people. Check out the ASID Foundation’s Transform Grant program and this year’s Request for Proposals (RFP) for research on “Well-being for All”. Connect with your network to develop a research proposal and submit!
2. Growth and Improvement
Similar to enhancing our quality of life through health and well-being, we also strive for improvement through personal and professional growth. Creativity is key for developing a competitive edge in this fast-paced world and is required for generating innovative design solutions. To build our creativity, we’re challenged to keep up with research and knowledge, explore new products and materials, and learn new skills and technology.
GOAL: Design comes from creativity. Let’s replenish our creative juices regularly by optimizing the knowledge and resources available to us.
IDEA: Take advantage of your ASID membership (or join if you’re not a member!) by accessing resources and materials curated to enhance your career and business. Read ASID research reports (free ASID member benefit) and get ahead of your CEUs by taking a webinar on our ASID Academy.
3. Relationships
We can achieve a lot on our own, but we also learn and grow significantly through our social interactions with others (e.g., conferences, design critiques, client feedback, etc.). On a larger scale, the relationships we establish and the conversations we have with design researchers, educators, and practitioners can further advance the interior design profession. These connections seem natural and probably already exist in your network, but may not be fully activated to reach their utmost potential.
GOAL: Design continually evolves. Let’s put our creative minds together to generate meaningful research that stimulates innovative design solutions, communicates the impact of design, and enriches the design practice.
IDEA: Be part of the dynamic discussions taking place at various conferences and events. Have a pressing thought or idea that can’t wait until the next gathering? Share your research ideas, potential collaboration opportunities, and interests with us at research@asid.org.
About the Author
Susan Chung, Ph.D., is the senior research associate at the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) where she connects design and research for improving human experiences in the interior environment. Valuing the needs of design practitioners, her work at ASID translates research on interior design issues and trends into applicable design implications, and directs projects that investigate positive impact on human experiences. She also devotes her summer time teaching students at Cornell University on how design is interconnected with our daily lives and how they can make a difference in this world through design. With a background in both interior design and organizational behavior research from her doctorate degree in Human Behavior and Design at Cornell University, she has a particular passion in how design attributes are related to creative performance in workplace environments.
