Knowledge in Interior Design

Abstract

Anna Marshall‐Baker teaches in the Department of Interior Architecture at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she focuses on sustaining design and the reciprocal effects of environments and human development, particularly in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). With academic and practical experience in fine and commercial art, interior design, and psychology, she serves as a member of the Recommended Standards Consensus Committee for NICU Design, Interim Chair of the Sustaining Design Task Force for IDEC, Department Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Past‐President of IDEC, and a reviewer for the Journal of Interior Design.

A Survey on Practitioner Attitudes toward Research in Interior Design Education

“…For example, ASID requires professional members to complete six contact hours of continuing education coursework (0.6 CEUs) every 2 years to retain their ASID membership (ASID, 2010), which is hardly comparable to the amount of time and other requirements for original research needed to complete the graduate degree. Graduate education provides the individual with the knowledgebase to conduct research that expands the body of knowledge in the area of expertise and contributes to design theory, which is one characteristic of a profession (Anderson et al, 2007; Marshall‐Baker, 2005). A master's degree often takes a minimum of 1–2 years to complete versus the 1–8 credit hours offered through CEUs (ASID, 2010).…”

“…Students should be informed that a bachelor's provides broad‐based knowledge, while a master's not only allows for specialization in an area of interest but also provides more research experiences that helps expand the body of knowledge for the profession. Make sure that undergraduates understand that a profession defines its own specialized knowledgebase and that one contributing factor to this knowledgebase is research (Anderson et al, 2007; Birdsong & Lawlor, 2001; Blackmer, 2005; Marshall‐Baker, 2005; Thompson & Guerin, n.d.). Educate undergraduates on the differences between a first professional versus a postprofessional master's degree. Market graduate education to undergraduate interior design students (Dohr et al, 2008).…”

“…According to Piotrowski (2008), a profession has a number of common elements, including the use of skills based on theoretical knowledge, education and training of skills, the competence of professionals ensured by examinations, a code of conduct to ensure professional integrity, performance of a service that is for the public good, and a professional association that organizes members (p. 6). Many scholars agree that a profession defines its own specialized knowledgebase and that one contributing factor to this knowledgebase is research (Anderson, Honey, & Dudek, 2007; Birdsong & Lawlor, 2001; Blackmer, 2005; Marshall‐Baker, 2005; Thompson & Guerin, n.d.).…”

Creating New Identities in Design Education

“…We use delimiters such as 'interior', 'fashion', 'graphic' or 'landscape' to determine which aspect of the design process we are aiming to achieve. As Anna Marshall-Baker has stated, we should beware of 'unidisciplinary education and praxis [and acknowledge] an "expansive landscape of knowledge" necessary for designers faced with complex issues that cannot be addressed "using the tools of a single field of study"' [15].…”

Interior Design at a Crossroads: Embracing Specificity through Process, Research, and Knowledge

“…This is what is commonly known as a priori knowledge, knowledge founded on what we know to be true (O'Brien, 2006). However, if we consider "design research" a fundamental means for growing new knowledge (Marshall-Baker, 2005), and if we consider new knowledge as that which is built on empirical or a posteriori Journal of InterIor DesIgn…”