UX and Interior Design: a match made in heaven
Bridging the gap between UX and Interior Design.
Admittedly as a teenager, choosing glittery hot pink paint with canary yellow ‘splats’ for my en suite was a trend that didn’t take off, but that aside, I have always had an affinity for interiors and home styling.
Like many others during the Covid19 lockdown, furloughed and unfulfilled with baking banana bread, I considered it as good a time as any to fuel my passion with knowledge by completing an inexpensive online Interior Design course.
Now, having worked as a UX Researcher for just short of 12 months while simultaneously trying to make our new rental a home, I started to think about the similarities of the techniques and processes followed in both fields and this article simply serves to identify those.
Much like the principles of UX Design, Interior Design is not just about aesthetics and appearance but more about the functionality, desirability, and overall experience of using the product. Both professions follow a user-centred approach to ensure that the people intended to use the product are considered at every single stage of the design process.
In the case of Interior Design, ‘the product’ is a physical space rather than say; a website, but both share an end goal of optimal usability.
In order to design spaces that feel as good as they look, Interior Designers and UX Designers (and Researchers) also share traits such as being empathetic, being strong collaborators and communicators, using creative approaches to problem solving and having an overall passion for improving or enhancing the experience of those that use the space, product or service.
Interior Designer and founder of Blue Feather Designs, Natasha Gupta said in an interview with international property search company, Galleon that:
“Interior Design is a combination of art, science and psychology. Creating spaces that enhance productivity and wellbeing through well-considered research and planning.”
The Similarities
Stakeholders
A stakeholder is a single person, group, or organisation that can affect or be affected by a project. Technically, this implies that stakeholders are also users but I believe the key distinction is, stakeholders have other motivations and goals for the project that may conflict with good usability. (End) users however, provide feedback in order to enhance the experience for themselves without consideration of scope and limitations.
In the context of an Interior Design project, clients such as building representatives and contractors, architects or even local government authorities would be considered ‘stakeholders’ and the people intended to use the space, would be the ‘end users’.
Occasionally in private, residential Interior Design projects, the stakeholder and the end user may be one and the same. While you can be a user of your own product, UX project stakeholders are not considered as intended end users and utilising them for research activities can often lead to biased insights.
As with both fields, stakeholder buy-in is essential for the success of the project. Therefore prior to starting, it is common practice for an Interior Designer to conduct informal interviews with their clients to uncover goals, concerns, constraints, and deadlines.
Consistent communication about design choices and early involvement in them is another way to gain imperative stakeholder buy-in and according to this article;
“[good communication] can be the difference between a good relationship with a client and a bad one.”
An example of how an Interior Designer may achieve this is by introducing product samples and mood boards or schematics which is akin to designers demonstrating ideas with mock-ups, wireframes or prototypes.
Briefs
A brief is the foundation for any design project and goes in conjunction with stakeholder interviews.
If you were to interchange the word ‘space’ with ‘product’ here, similarities in the brief requirements include; understanding where the need to create or re-design the space arose from, scope such as which and how many spaces are involved, the purpose or objectives of the space(s) — including what activities may take place there, constraints or concerns for the project, budget and deadline for completion.
Personal preferences and ‘taste’ are not usually considered in UX like they are in Interior Design, unless referring to the use of brand guidelines such as colour scheme and fonts. Additionally, while it’s important to ask… what users want and what users need are rarely equivalents and as UX Designers and Researchers, it is our job to establish designs that bring about the best possible experience.
A similar principle can be applied in the context of Interior Design by reading between the lines — what a client may want is to knock down several walls, but what they actually need is more space to utilise the room as intended which can be achieved with smart furniture arrangement and clever storage solutions.
Personas
As explained in this Adobe article, Personas are archetypical users whose goals and characteristics represent the needs of a larger group of users. They are created based on real data obtained through research.
In the world of UX, Personas are commonly used to guide the ideation process and to form direction when making design decisions. This is where the metaphor doesn’t quite fit for Interior Design given it can be so completely based on individual and personal preference, however there are enough commonalities to warrant a discussion.
It’s vital for Interior Designers to have user empathy in order to understand who is going to use the space they are designing, how they want them to feel in it and what activities are going to take place there, alongside any specific needs or requirements. Factors such as gender, age and physical or mental impairments are taken into consideration simultaneously.
While there are definite similarities, I couldn’t find any solid evidence of Interior Designers using Personas in their work process but this article outlines how Hotels can use Guest Personas to influence their marketing strategies, a similar approach could be followed by the company responsible for designing the hotel spaces and rooms.
Inclusive Design
Ensuring your ‘product’ can be used seamlessly by everybody (or as many people as possible) is the process of inclusive design. A primary outcome of an effective inclusive design process is Accessibility.
There are overlaps between the definitions of both but in the field of UX, Accessibility is predominantly interpreted to describe the result of designing websites, software and other technology so that people with disabilities can use them. This article demonstrates the ways we make User Interface designs accessible as per the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
In the context of physical spaces, designs should not hinder independent use by people with permanent and temporary disabilities but this does not mean compromising on style. Award-winning accessible Interior Design specialist, Motionspot, combine style with functionality to create beautiful accessible spaces.
Other physical accessibility affordances include:
- Establishing minimum dimensions (e.g. door frame widths and counter heights)
- Configuring the location of appliances and furniture (e.g. placing the oven next to the sink for easy transfer of cooking apparatus)
- Choosing the correct flooring (e.g. non-slip or hard-wearing)
- Obtaining ergonomic furniture (e.g. chairs with lumbar support)
- Considering the impact of light (e.g. Increasing lighting to maximise useful sight for visually impaired people or making amendments for light that affects health conditions)
I’ve not focussed on Interior Design for cognitive disorders and mental health but I found a fantastic article that dives into this topic, and another article that considers Interior Design for neurodiversity.
Localisation
Localisation in tech terms is ‘the adaptation of a product or service to meet the needs of a particular language and culture’ but this extends beyond language translation.
Other factors that must be localised include; time zone, time and date display, currency, tone of voice and microcopy. Additional considerations must be given to how different cultures perceive and use colours, layout, symbols and images.
Understanding how people in different cultures and regions live is vital when designing and localising physical spaces. These lifestyles, beliefs and requirements should be documented as part of the brief and subsequent client interviews.
Internationally renowned Interior Designer, Tara Bernerd spoke about designing hotels around the world with New York magazine, Gotham. Their article said;
‘When taking on a new project, her team researches everything from local design elements to who exactly will stay in this hotel, and what the city or location represents.’
Referring to the design concept for the hotel, Zentis Osaka, they explained;
‘Imagining the guest rooms like traditional Japanese bento boxes, interlocking layouts were devised to optimise on the limited floorplate and create a functional yet inviting sanctuary for guests.’
Signage, artwork, furniture sourcing and selection, room layout, materials, textures and colours are all elements to consider when localising an interior space. Here is an article that illustrates Interior Design trends from around the world using beautiful infographics.
Design System
A Design System is often referred to as the ‘single source of truth’ for Product teams. It contains a Component Library — a centralised repository of reusable and customisable components (such as buttons) and patterns (such as tables), that UI Developers use to build websites, software or apps. It also documents design principles, style guides and rules for using the component library.
More often than not, Interior Designers utilise a physical library of design materials to catalogue samples of flooring, wallpaper, tiles, surfaces, paints and fabric including pricing information. Others curate digital (interior) product libraries. Sites such as Fohlio have written about Interior Designers, architects, and design-build firms using their service for exactly that. Interestingly, much like a UX Design System, they claim that;
‘Your practice’s digital materials library should be like a braintrust, the one, single, universal source of truth.’
Interior Design companies also utilise guidelines in order to maintain brand identity or expression. These guidelines govern tone of voice, messaging and branding alongside the library of interior products that are ultimately selected for clients.
If you have been watching the recent reboot of the UK programme, Changing Rooms, it would be hard to mistake the designs of a duo known as 2LG, with literally anyone else’s. Much like their on-screen counterpart, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, they have a very unique, signature style which they describe (quite modestly) as ‘Simplicity, elegance, functionality and our signature use of colour.’
They have also collaborated with a number of brands to create furniture, wallpapers and soft furnishings which has formed a library of products they use frequently in their own designs.
While I may have stretched the analogy here, Interior Designers use a form of Design System (in a less restrictive way) to design efficiently and stay true to their identity.
To Summarise
Both UX and Interior Design professions, including the processes they follow, ultimately strive to enhance the experience of those using the space, product or service without compromising on design.
Now if you’ll excuse me, this banana bread isn’t going to bake itself.
Sources and Further Reading:
‘What Is Interior Design (And Why Can It Really Make You Feel Better)?’ by Materials, March 2020
‘Writing a great Interior Design brief’ by Gilmore, August 2020
‘Bringing UX Design and Service Design into Interior Design’ by Cipher Mak for UXPin, 2021
‘An interview with Interior Designer, Natasha Gupta’ for Galleon International Property Search
‘User Needs & Wants’ by Sumit Narang on Medium
‘Empathetic Design: Putting People First’ by Axis Architecture
