Let's start by getting to know you a little. Tell us a bit about yourself!
I'm a graduate from Temasek Polytechnic's Interior Architecture & Design course, currently pursuing a degree in Interior Design at SIT. This is a two year degree that is affiliated to the Glasgow School of Art.
Why did you choose to pursue further studies in Interior Design?
I decided to pursue further studies in Interior Design because design in general is a platform that allows for individual expression. You get to consider and appreciate different perspectives because there is no clear cut right or wrong answer. You are judged on creative application of your ideas rather than textbook knowledge.
Were there any particular moments in your life you would attribute to your eventual decision to study Interior Design?
I disliked the education system at secondary school level which forces everyone to go through the same educational path regardless of individual interests. You are forced to struggle through subjects you dislike rather than have the option of choosing to learn about something else that you are genuinely interested in. Rather than become a well-rounded individual that these schools claim to strive for, you just become another generic product off the educational production line. After that phase of my life, I wanted to study something that I was fascinated by and which would also allow me to break free of the shackles imposed by the education system in Singapore.
What were your favourite subjects back in school before you started university?
History.
What were your considerations before you decided to study Interior Design?
The most important consideration was the type of work I would be doing: projects one after another with little to no turnaround time. It is a different type of pressure compared to the tests and exams that dominate many other education paths. Would I be able to handle this sort of pressure?
What a day would be like in the life of a Interior Design student?
A typical day is spent in the studio, which is our classroom where we spend the majority of our time in, working on our projects. Sometimes this involves hands-on work such as model making or sketching, other times we would be on our laptops doing research on topics related to our current work. During this time we can have casual conversations with our lecturers about our work and our progress, and we can also walk around to look at and comment on our classmates' works. Peer-to-peer feedback and the open sharing of ideas is an important part of the studio culture embedded in design students.
Looking back, what are some of the challenges you've experienced studying Interior Design so far?
The biggest challenge is the mental block you sometimes get where you find yourselves completely out of ideas on how to continue developing a particular project. You struggle on and complete the required deliverables for submission, but there is dissatisfaction because you are unconvinced with whatever you have produced. If you cannot convince yourself that your ideas and schemes will work, it will be even harder to convince the lecturers who will be grading your project.
Despite all that, what drives you?
The completely opposite scenario, where you have a great idea for a project and manage to work out the problems and successfully translate it into a design that is an eye-opener and has a 'wow' factor for both peers and lecturers alike. These types of projects don't always happen but always gives great satisfaction as a designer, knowing that all the effort you put into the project has paid off.
What is the nature of your classes? Are there a lot of didactic lecture?
We spend most of our time in the studio, but there are also lectures aimed at broadening our design thinking and perspectives. The lectures encourage us to think beyond just interior design: we also consider the theories and trends that have shaped other aspects of design, such as graphic design. These lectures help to prepare us for a dissertation that we are expected to write and submit in our senior year.
Was this your first choice? What were your other courses? Why did you end up choosing Interior Design as your first choice?
Not sure how to answer, didn't really have other choices that I was interested in
What are the career prospects for a Interior Design graduate? What are your own plans?
You could join or start a firm that does interior design, exhibition design or architecture. You could choose to focus on one particular practice, such as a firm that primarily works on residential design projects. Or you could also choose to be a consultant for a particular specialization in interior design, for example being a lighting designer, where clients would approach you to discuss the best way of achieving an intended lighting effect for their project.
I intend to gain experience in the industry and hopefully be able to start my own practice one day.
Are there any words of advice or caution you may have for someone who is considering studying Interior Design?
There is never a finished or finalised design, you are constantly updating and refining your work even one day before submission. You don't finish a project, you just stop working on it as dictated by submission deadlines. Otherwise you would still be working on the same project for years!
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