Cheryl Durst, Executive Vice President and CEO, International Interior Design Association
jason wambsguns
Strategic foresight is an increasingly important competency for individuals in all types of professional roles, including managers, researchers, product developers, real estate agents, executives, entrepreneurs, and manufacturers.
Future Today Institute (FTI), one of the leading forward-thinking consulting firms, ensures organizations are prepared for an unknown future and helps clients decide how to evolve. I will.
An interior designer is one of those professionals whose success depends on looking into the future. That ability is necessary to design spaces for clients that function aesthetically and functionally now and for years and perhaps decades to come.
In an effort to quantify the value of advanced design thinking, the Chicago-based and globally active Commercial Interior Design Association (IIDA) recently launched the Certified Design Futurist (CDF) program. IIDA collaborated with FTI through an exclusive partnership to create a curriculum based on FTI-approved, research-supported methodologies. Curriculum development and testing took place earlier this year, and the beta version is expected to end this fall. The program’s first class will begin in 2025. Course participants can look forward to making a significant difference to their companies by contributing to shaping the future of this field.
valuable credentials
CDF’s curriculum teaches participants how to examine 11 macro sources of change that are catalysts for major changes in the world.
These are changes in government, wealth distribution, geopolitics, education, demographics, infrastructure, environment, health, economics, media, and technology. Coursework also takes into account human-centered behavioral change, cultural change, and professional and aesthetic transformation. The result was a broader perspective on the world and its future, rather than just an industry insider’s perspective.
Cheryl Durst, IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO. “Foresight training expands and formalizes the capabilities that already exist in designers.”
“The design process involves anticipating future use cases, and designers are professionals who work with an eye toward change and evolution. It’s natural to add foresight to the equation, and FTI , we bring decades of rigor and expertise to the field and build future scenarios based on intensive research and analysis. This type of training becomes a designer’s secret weapon.”
look far away
How exactly does the ability to predict design trends benefit a designer’s job? “Think of it like the workplace,” says Mark FTI Senior Foresight Manager. Brian answers.
“Designers could have used their foresight over the past decade to identify trends around the value of space for collaboration, the impact of commuting on work, and the increasing challenges of work due to high levels of stress. All of these trends point to changes in the way people want to work in the future. Today’s news and conversations tell us what workers want now. This allows us to continue to drive our designs forward for what’s next.”
The reality is that no one can predict the future, adds FTI Founder and CEO Amy Webb. However, it is possible to use data in ways that anticipate change. “For example, we can predict how people will communicate differently in the future,” Webb says.
“More and more people are now talking to and sending messages on smartwatches and other wearables, and that’s really useful data. We’re seeing this fundamentally change the way we design spaces and products. This type of data allows us to anticipate and prepare for future needs today.”
The CDF program could begin to create a community of design futurists while providing designers with additional tools to help ensure a vibrant future for interior design, Durst says.
“This is broadly important not only to the design industry itself, but also to any business that relies on design,” she reports, adding that “in the future, courses that include additional layers that address specific market segments We could see an evolution in healthcare, education, entertainment (and) hospitality. ”
