Everyday, I see interior designers and other creatives struggling with AI (artificial intelligence) and what it could mean to their future. And in my private Facebook community for interior designers, Design Wealth, we’ve had many conversations about this.
Digital marketing for individual interior designers has been my business now for the past 17 years, (as well as structuring innovative online programs for manufacturers and trade shows) and helping designers learn how to communicate their value, online – in the age of AI – is top of mind for me at the moment.
Pros’ Favorite Parts of the Design Process
I know that, for many designers, what they love more than anything else about the design process is the creative process of design…but that’s not true for every designer. Some designers I know love the project management phase of design more than anything. They love seeing a vision realized. They love solving problems on the spot with multiple trades involved. It fulfills them to know they untangled a knotty problem that will save the client money, time and aggravation. They love it when the client recognizes their ability to do that, and to bring a difficult project in on time and on budget.
Some designers I know love managing a team more than anything. They’re experts at hiring great people and building a culture that brings out the best in each employee, which allows their employees to do great work for the firm’s clients. Their happiness comes from seeing their team working together like clockwork, delivering highly stylized and personalized solutions to multiple clients around the country or around the world. Ferris Rafauli comes to mind…
Some designers love managing the procurement process more than anything – handling all of the sourcing, knowing where to go for customization and/or for finding those one of a kind products that an AI bot will never be able to find or have access to. They love choosing fabrics and finishes and materials that flow from room to room, making sure they all arrive on time, handling all the delivery and logistics aspects and handling any returns or damages that arise. This results in the client ending up incredibly satisfied and with a sense of joy, well-being and happiness because their home has been completely personalized to their tastes.
Where AI Stands
So, now, let’s go back to AI. We’re at the point, today, when what AI can do is the worst of what it will be able to do in the future. In other words, these bots are getting better every single second at what it is possible to do with AI.
Can AI design a room, right now, and suggest furniture for it? Yes. Can your clients upload an image of a room in their home and ask AI how to design it? Yes. Can AI make suggestions for a room designed in a certain style and link to vendors whose products reflect that aesthetic? Yes.
BUT… it’s all generic. The furniture suggested comes from the same 15 ecommerce sites. It’s no different than if homeowners were using an e-design site with real humans or going into a big lifestyle retail store. If your clietns are using AI, they are getting a generic room that might suit their needs, but they are not getting a home personalized down to the last inch – just for them.
The Benefits of Real Design
Interior design is not about buying furniture. It’s about the way each element in each space is proportioned correctly relative to the scale of the room. It’s about establishing visual rhythm from room to room, it’s about establishing flow from room to room so that, when your clients are in that home, they feel a deep sense of well-being, harmony, comfort and delight … without even knowing exactly why.
That’s what you as a human interior designer can do for your clients. You can bring them a home that takes all these elements into consideration and personalize it exactly to your clients’ tastes and imbue it with soul – yours and theirs.
So, your clients have to decide what they value. Do they value generic rooms that a robot spits out? Or do they value the depth of connection and caring that a human interior designer can offer?
Your clients might think that a human designer is too expensive. But, that’s not the case anymore. Most interior and kitchen and bath designers I know offer many levels of service these days, from a short one-hour consult to solve one specific problem all the way to full-service design.
There are new tools popping up every day for your potential clients to use, but you needn’t worry. However, it IS important for your design industry organizations – and you, as individual interior designers – to focus on communicating your value to your clients in ways that express what you do that AI can never do. I hope this post has given you some ideas for how to do that.
Most of my life has been devoted to interior design, in one way or another, and I firmly believe educating people about how to use AI is important, as it’s here to stay, but I also believe that AI will never, ever replace the profession of interior design. Interior designers must learn how to communicate their offerings and their value in ways that resonate with those potential clients who value human connection and the timeliness and precision that comes from having a real human solve a problem versus a robot.
—By Leslie Carothers, principal of Savour Partnership
