Design Sauce: Style WARS! Episode 2: Attack of the Trend Clones

Continuing on from Episode 1: The Signature Style Menace, we move our attention to the 2nd of the 3 design company types - The Trend Clones...

You may remember that these were the design companies which are heavily influenced by the current design trends and fashions available.. In not only the design world, but society in general - fashion is a key influential element of our day-today lives.. Many of us shop for the latest clothes, search for the newest gadgets and culturally spend our time in the new trendy bars, clubs or restaurants in the cool parts of town. It's just a way of life so why shouldn't the way we decorate our homes or style our stores be any different??

First of all, I have to admit that fashion is also a key element to my life too.. Interior design is an image based industry and so, looking the part and having the latest tools available to do my job is important - but so is authenticity... I think this is where the companies might need to adjust their design choices...

Sticking with the trends or latest products is fine, but don't be too regimental with the choices - you need to inject the character of the space, the personality of it's occupants and the authenticity of the design needs of the client into the palette too.. I think this is the only way to run a successful design studio that's influenced in this way.. If you were to stick to the boundaries of the trends, your designs might appear to be too regimented, too straight or strict so to speak - you know what I mean??? They'd have no character or individuality - and that is IMPORTANT!!!

I may go on to add that although I feel the inclination to just stick within the design trends is a bad idea (design trends change and therefore become dated quite quickly), some of the latest products of their time - such as the Eames Chairs, are still available today and continue to sit well within a wide variety of interior styles... So fashions or trends do have a part to play in the design field of today, but it certainly shouldn't be your only influence... A box is to be opened, a door is to be walked through and a light is to be switched on - do the same with your designs and you shall enjoy the fruits of your labor - leaving the box closed, waiting at the door and indeed designing in the dark will only lead to design disaster after design disaster....

Don't be a Trend Clone - be you, yourself, your own...