In this month’s OfficeInsight column, I am shifting my focus from broad design research topics to a more immediate and timely issue: the critical relationship between interior design education and the industry. As a newly minted interior design educator, I had the privilege of attending my first IDEC (Interior Design Educators Council) conference in March. This inspiring annual event brings together passionate educators, designers, and thought leaders to shape the future of design education. Experiencing IDEC from a fresh
perspective made me reflect on the essential bridges between academia and practice—bridges that must be strengthened if we are to nurture the next generation of design talent.
A Gathering of Design Educators and Industry Leaders
Just as the commercial interior design industry converges every June at NeoCon, the IDEC conference serves as the premier gathering for interior design educators. Unlike NeoCon, which has been a fixture at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart since 1969, IDEC’s conference moves to a different city each year. In 2023, it was in Vancouver, Canada; in 2024, New York City. This year, it was right in my backyard, Chicago, at Columbia College from March 16–19. This year’s IDEC conference tagline was fittingly, “The Future of Design Begins Here.”
Like NeoCon, IDEC featured keynote presentations and smaller sessions led by expert educators in various fields. But what stood out to me most was the deliberate effort to integrate industry professionals into the conversation. The keynote speakers were well-known figures from the design industry, bridging the often-perceived gap between academia and practice.
The first keynote was delivered by Metropolis magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Avinash Rajagopal. His thought-provoking talk, “Perpetual Futurist,” challenged us to think critically about the importance and evolving role of interior designers in society. The second keynote, by Kay Sargent, Senior Principal and Director of Thought Leadership at HOK, was a high-energy, thought-provoking session titled “The Future of Design: The Key Factors Impacting Us Now, in 2030, and Beyond.” She covered shifts in our industry, workforce trends, real estate influences, and pressing issues like neuroinclusion and sensory design in the workplace.
Another standout presentation was “Biophilia Brought to Life: Applying Fractal Design in Learning Environments,” a collaboration between Mohawk’s Royce Epstein and an Ohio State University professor. This partnership exemplified the power of academia and industry working together to amplify research and evidence-based design’s impact.
Bridging Academia and Practice: A Personal Perspective
As someone with over 25 years of industry experience who recently transitioned into academia, I attended IDEC with fresh eyes—excited, curious, and eager to understand how my new role could contribute to closing the academia-industry gap.
Reflecting on my own education, I was fortunate to attend an undergraduate program that emphasized theoretical and conceptual design thinking—honing skills in research, concept, ideation, and hands-on problem-solving. Later, my master’s studies expanded into multidisciplinary design, collaborating across fields to develop human-centered, research-driven solutions.
Academia is built on rigorous research. Universities are filled with researchers and experts conducting highly specialized, data-driven studies, often culminating in academic journal publications. However, these research findings rarely reach practicing designers in meaningful ways. When I worked in the industry, I rarely saw designers relying on academic papers to inform their work. My professional growth came through hands-on experience, learning from colleagues, and mentorship. This disconnect is a missed opportunity.
Academic research provides the scientific foundation for what designers often rely on intuition to implement. Take biophilia and neuroaesthetics, for example. We’ve long believed that incorporating nature into design benefits occupants, but what specific natural elements have the greatest impact? And how do these experiences impact our brain, body, and emotions? At IDEC, one research session explored this question, testing different natural elements in controlled interior spaces and ranking them by their effectiveness in improving well-being. This kind of scientific research is invaluable to practitioners, offering data-backed insights that can enhance design decisions, justify recommendations to clients, and shift conversations beyond budget constraints toward evidence-based design solutions.
The Other Side of the Bridge: Academia’s Responsibility to Adapt
Just as industry professionals should engage with academic research, academia must also look outward, keeping pace with industry advancements, emerging technologies, and evolving workplace trends. Universities should embrace tools like Revit, VR/AR, and AI, ensuring students graduate with both critical thinking skills and the technical proficiency to succeed in the job market. They should also explore timely topics such as the future of work, regenerative design, the circular economy, neuroinclusive spaces—all subjects shaping today’s design landscape.
This raises a crucial question: How much theory versus practical training should design programs provide? Education is where students should be exposed to design history, precedent studies, and theoretical frameworks that shape their thinking. It should be a place to explore, experiment, fail without consequence, and refine their creative process. However, students also need the skills to land internships, secure jobs, and thrive in practice. Striking this balance is one of academia’s greatest challenges.
Of course, we don’t want to produce graduates who only know how to draft in Revit and pick up redlines. Nor do we want designers who are highly conceptual but lack the ability to translate ideas into real-world solutions. The ideal interior design education cultivates both theoretical knowledge and practical expertise, preparing students for a profession that demands both.
Strengthening Real-World Connections
Another area for improvement is the direct connection between students and the professional world. The more we expose students to real-world experiences, the better prepared they will be, and the more the industry benefits from fresh talent. Universities should prioritize internships, externships, and mentorship programs. Students should tour architecture firms, visit showrooms, engage with manufacturers, and become familiar with industry organizations like IIDA and ASID.
Encouragingly, some programs are already in place. IIDA and ASID host successful student competitions, and Steelcase’s annual NEXT Student Design Competition has been widely adopted into curricula. IIDA’s mentorship program pairs students with industry professionals, providing invaluable guidance—something I’ve had the privilege of participating in for years. IDEC also introduced a Student Day this year, featuring a Fulton Market showroom tour and a student charrette tackling a real-world community service project with immediate client feedback. I was one of the educator facilitators for the charrette, and the students’ enthusiastic response to this inaugural program was inspiring and promising. We should have more industry professionals participate as charrette facilitators next year.
These initiatives are steps in the right direction, but there’s still work to do. The earlier we integrate students into the profession, the more aligned their education will be with industry needs.
The Missing Link: Recruitment and Career Pipeline Challenges
A critical gap remains in recruitment. There is no shortage of talented students looking for internships and junior designer roles, nor of firms eager to hire them. Yet, connecting these two groups remains a challenge. I have seen promising young designers struggle to find positions, while boutique firms go unnoticed by job-seeking students. How can we create a more effective pipeline between emerging talent and the design industry?
This is where coordinated efforts between universities, firms, and professional organizations become crucial. Better networking opportunities, stronger career services, and structured pathways connecting students to firms, especially smaller, independent studios, could create a healthier, more sustainable talent pipeline.
A Call to Action: Building the Future Together
As a design educator with deep industry roots, my goal is to serve as a bridge and connector between these two interconnected yet often seemingly separate worlds. While many efforts are underway, we should continue working toward a more seamless relationship between academia and practice. This requires buy-in from educators, industry professionals, manufacturers, and organizations like IIDA, ASID, and IDEC. The benefits will extend beyond students. Firms will gain better-prepared hires, and the industry as a whole will thrive.
Ultimately, this is about more than just education. These students are the future of our industry. They are the next generation of designers, Gen Z and upcoming Gen Alpha, the design talents who will lead the next evolution of our field. The choices we make now—how we educate, mentor, and integrate them—will shape our profession’s trajectory for decades to come.
Let’s not wait for the gap to close on its own. Let’s actively build the bridge, starting now. The future of design truly begins here.