Professionalization of Interior Design

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A3: Professionalization of Interior Design
The website Prodraft.net reviews interior design from the history of the subject to famous interior designers and contemporary interior design. The article highlight that interior design can be undertaken for either residential or commercial buildings, which require different styles residential décor, is more personalized. Prodraft.net cites the work of Lees-Maffei, focusing on the professionalization of interior design and the role of women towards the spread and popularity of the art form. It is noteworthy that interest in interior design has increased since the WWII, when people took a more keen interest in interior decoration in their private residences (Prodraft.net). Additionally, the need for standards adoption to govern the profession has made interior design to develop distinctly from the related fields of design and architecture.
According to the article, many of the published books dealing with interior design have mostly suggested that the profession is dominated by the women. The authors rely on past research including the work of Lees-Maffei to demonstrate the history of interior design and its evolution from being viewed as an amateur endeavor. According to Lees-Maffei (3), interior design has been viewed and judged within the realm of home and the majority of interior work is indeed carried out by the amateurs. However, interior designers are different from interior decorators with the designers more likely to work with allied professionals.
The article captures the thoughts of Lees-Maffei where the change from interior being an amateur craft to professionals has evolved with specialization among interior designers. Prodraft.net quotes other articles to point out that the professionalization of the interior design profession was also associated with separate development from mere decoration of the interior. In designing domesticity, the article highlights that women have played a crucial in professionalizing the home making process. The interior design profession gained momentum where Elsie De Wolfe who had already designed the interior décor of her home and started offerings services to others. The changes from merely decorating for fun to professionalization and considering the tastes and preferences of diverse clients also demonstrate the evolution from domesticity to professionalism.
Interior design has not always been viewed as amateurish since even the earliest designers were inspired by modernism and this set a standard for other interior designers (Lees-Maffei 4). At the same time, even as design historians have looked into the work of professional interior designers this does not equate to the professionalization process of designing. The article rightly represents Lees-Maffei’s observation that professionalization has been achieved through efforts to develop interior designers as a separate discipline worthy to stand alone. As such, the importance of government regulations in calling for standards to govern the work of interior designers has resulted in the establishment of interior designing professional organizations. “For these reasons the government of interior design standards and qualifications...