Human Economy

Economies get labeled according to the work people predominately do in them. In the human economy, the most valuable workers will be hired hearts. The know-how and analytic skills that made them indispensable in the knowledge economy no longer give them an advantage over increasingly intelligent machines. But they will still bring to their work essential traits that can’t be and won’t be programmed into software, like creativity, passion, character, and collaborative spirit—their humanity, in other words. https://hbr.org/2014/11/from-the-knowledge-economy-to-the-human-economy

In past years I would have advocated for interior design to be understood as knowledge work. The case is still being made strongly throughout the profession that indeed it is. Interior designers have had to struggle against the harmful misconception that their work is not intellectually demanding or knowledge work. Ironically, just when that argument is being won that we are knowledge workers, we are finding it is our soft skills that will ultimately propel the profession into its future.

Think about this…if you find something you like on Pinterest and do a Google search on that idea or item, all of those cookies you drop are going to generate articles and advertisement about that thing you like. It’s almost irritating how much you will get back. It’s like no one has an original idea! With efficient machines ready to provide you ample data about your project idea within minutes, why then would you consult a designer? Your computer has already found thousands of related images and technical specifications of what you desire that you can take to your local retailer, architect or contractor. So why not just do that and save yourself the expense of working with a designer or just use their ‘free’ design services?

The simple answer is this: as design thinkers, interior designers are there to immerse themselves in YOUR experience while applying knowledge and technical expertise to the best outcome for YOU. This can only happen effectively when your project objectives are properly aligned within the context of your life. Your life cannot be simmered down into a few data points. Any software that spits out a design solution for you is most certainly not using enough data in order to do so. You might get what you think you want based on the inputs you provide in your search; but it might not also be what you need or even what you really want after all.

This type of work is best suited for the interior designers who understand it is their role to work with you this way. Humans are emotional beings and our personal choices are typically the result of an emotional process. Clients often come to us with a solution created in that context; vulnerable to all of the fun, faults and foibles of subjective reasoning when it comes to our own lives. Because you show up with images and specs, others will most certainly oblige your solution for you, no questions or few questions asked in order to close a sale. The role of the independent designer is to really, really ask – to better understand the problem underlying your solution before giving you an estimate or ringing up a sale for something that doesn’t meet your needs.

A good interior designer will be passionate about design; a great interior designer will also be passionate about getting to know you and the best design for you. This takes time, energy and trust in someone’s ability to help you tell your story while also applying years of knowledge and technical skill to a design. That kind of connection can only be developed on a human scale. It can only take place in the context of immersion in our wonderfully diverse, typically complicated and often quirky human existence.