Accessibility Means Anyone Can Be a Designer
Having all of the tools, rules and inspiration at your fingertips allows virtually anyone to become an interior designer. Like graphic design or architecture, interior design is a professional discipline that has long-standing rules regarding color, space, psychology and even anthropology in order to better understand how interiors are interpreted and used. The conventionally accepted traditions of what dictates good design are not always reflected in whatever interior style is trending, however, and those designers with a formal education from an accredited institution may hold the belief that the internet cannot provide the proper knowledge, skills and training to become a “good” interior designer. Then there are others who believe some just have an eye for design, and whether they’ve been formally educated or not does not dictate their ability to curate a beautiful interior.
Overly Saturated
The only real downside we can think of when it comes to social media is that it can lead to a lot of copying or repetitiveness, which ultimately results in less originality in designs and an overly saturated feed of the latest design trends. For example, when the hit show Fixer Upper was in it’s prime we saw a huge rise in the farmhouse style home trend. As mentioned previously, hashtags and other trending topics provide instant access to the latest and greatest in any subject you can think of, so when farmhouse was all the rage searching #shiplap, #farmhouse or #shabbychic would provide an almost endless sea of farmhouse interiors. Of course the farmhouse vibe is still highly sought after, but it’s since branched off into subgroups like modern, rustic, coastal, colonial or even French or Scandinavian farmhouse.
The rise in social media has also brought about a new profession: the influencer. An influencer is a social media user (most likely Instagram and/or Youtube) who has a well-established audience and well-perceived credibility. Brand’s employ influencers to promote their products and services to their audience and through their trustworthiness and authenticity, influence their followers to purchase these products and services. Home design influencers do just that: influence their audience to buy a certain chair, rug or media console that a company has paid them to promote. While this is a fine method for business owners to advertise and sell a product, the downside is that suddenly you and everyone in your condo complex has the same pieces of furniture styled slightly differently and you don’t know whether that’s because a well-respected designer vouched for the piece or a design influencer made a commission off the piece.
Keeping Up With The Joneses
The first few yeas after Instagram was created pixelated photos shared by regular people with dark and blurry filters were the primary images being posted. Shortly thereafter people started to explore the idea of turning their accounts into a business, coordinating posts and creating an “aesthetic” for their feeds. Home interior aficionados and influencers began posting gorgeous photos of impeccably tidy interiors with crisp, perfectly kept furniture – and people wanted to emulate that in their own homes! Soon the term “insta-worthy” was being used and hashtagged throughout the interior design social media community.
The every changing and elusive algorithm of Instagram keeps designers on their toes as well. The amount of interactions your posts receive impact your posts performance and whether it’s pushed out into people’s feeds or not. Finding out when your audience is most active is another great way to ensure your posts are seen by those who follow you. Comments, likes, shares and reviews are crucial, so encouraging your followers to engage with your posts is a great way to give yourself a little boost. We say a little boost, because the fact is the algorithm is machine learning and changes constantly based on user trends, so one day you might be up, the next day you might be down.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! Are you an interior designer? Comment below how social media has changed or affected your business.
