The most important thing learnt when studying interior design

We all studied and worked in certain environments, mastering our technical skills and knowledge, gaining more confidence and moving up the career ladder. Our minds are often getting stuck in the comfort zone of repeating and mastering the same skill to perfection, however, with a rear exception (for instance, mastering wheel-throwing pottery skill requires 10,000 hours of practice according to Japanese craftsmen), such practice can only provide you with a limited progress in today’s rapidly changing world.

The ability to swiftly adapt, innovate and solve complex problems is becoming increasingly vital. You might want to ask where is this holy grail and what shall you do to finally make this giant leap forward. The answer is that you need to embrace the creative way of thinking and discover what design mindset is about.

The creative thinking is all about opening your mind to scan horizontally for any possible solutions, curiously looking for out-of-the-box ideas, indirect connections. Design mindset is always based on empathy, prioritising client’s needs and developing the most efficient solution, which will relate to the vibe of a particular client.

This is the mind map of my graduation project at KLC School of Design (now part of West Dean). Initially, I struggled with this approach, it took me many attempts to find the best way for me to visualise the brief and unleash my creativity.

Connecting to your clients on emotional level, not being shy in asking questions, observing and listening with curiosity, challenging the status quo allows you to break free from traditional constrains, reframe the challenge, discover innovative ideas and hidden opportunities. Collaboration and teamwork also plays an important role in this process, where you can bounce the ideas off your colleagues, bringing together diverse perspectives and skillsets.

Whilst design thinking is going to help all of us to unlock our full potential and keep up with the technical progress, you are invited to explore the design process with us! Click on the button to check what we offer and arrange a free discovery call to find out more.

Where to Find Inspiration?

Have you ever asked yourself why there was no depiction of the landscape in the ancient Greece? Nature was all around them so this seemed to be unnecessary. How things have changed since then! Like many others, I seek inspiration in the natural beauty.

From one of my hikes in Sennon, West Cornwall

I love the sea and its strong blue colour on a sunny day. A lot of my pottery pieces are green or blue or a bit of both resembling the colours I admired so much during my hikes in Cornwall. I find this remote place in the UK one of the most inspirational and relaxing, where I can walk across the wild cliffs completely loosing the sense of time and hassle of busy life in a big city. I often paint during my hikes inspired by a striking view or the power of nature.

It’s not just the colours, which I find appealing but also the incredible textures and surfaces: from hard, weathered stones to bubbly sea foam, from strikingly bright wild flowers to muted solemnity of ancient rocks.

The shapes I create are also inspired by natural curvaceous lines and organic patterns. I enjoy the imperfection of hand made pottery pieces and invite you to join my world and explore my works here.

Sunset watching at Gurnards Head, West Cornwall

Functions of Art

Sandro Botticelli. Primavera. Galleria Uffizi, Florence.

We admire art often without realising what the art helps us to achieve. Even in digital age, art certainly helps us to remember and keep the special moment close to our hearts.

Sometimes, we don’t really understand what an artwork is about, what is depicted and why. A visit to museum or a gallery prompts us to research more about the culture and ideas from the past time or unfamiliar environments, educating ourselves and enriching our experience.

Art can also be used to escape the tough reality and visualise the dreams. Think of the stunning serene renaissance paintings (such as the Botticelli’s masterpiece to the right) full of strikingly beautiful dancing ladies wrapped in feather-light delicate fabrics and compare this picture with the harsh reality the artist lived in when this painting was made.

Johannes Vermeer. Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window. Gemäldegalerie, Dresden.

In the meantime, art can help us to find the better balance of life. If you live in the middle of busting busy city, you are very likely to fill your flat with plants, wooden furniture, organically shaped ceramics or landscape paintings or prints depicting nature subconsciously trying to bring the outside greenery in.

Creative process is not only about channelling positive energy or escaping reality, it can be a medium to express our grief and sorrow. Such expression can be cathartic and help to release the tension and stress, which has been eating us from the inside. Observing deeply moving art work also helps us to relate to and empathise with others. Art helps us to better understand ourselves and improve our communication with others.

Art can bring appreciation of the daily ordinary life and elevate this experience to a masterpiece. A master of genre painting Johannes Vermeer depicts a young lady reading a letter next to the open window with a strong daylight caressing her face. Looking at this painting, we are wondering whom is this letter from, why is it so important for this young woman. Vermeer gives us some clues like apples (symbol of sin) in a fruit basket or a painting of cupid on the back wall, to hint on the fact that the letter could be from her secret lover.

Art Therapy

Painting en plein air in Cornwall. It took me good 4-5 hours and a couple of sunburnt patches to complete it.

When one says ‘Art Therapy’ the first thing, which springs in mind, is immersing yourself in one of the creative hobbies whether it’s drawing, painting, ceramics or photography. Many of us have found ourselves taking up one of these activities to cope with a period of intense stress whether it was a pandemic, a loss of the beloved one, or a total meltdown in life. However, it’s not just arts and crafts making can help you to better endure a stressful time.

Surrounding yourself with beautifully designed pieces is not just aesthetically pleasing, it also provokes positive emotions and ‘feeling good’ vibes. Thoroughly selected colour scheme, decorative elements and light can help to create a desired atmosphere in each space of your home whether it’s a living room, a bedroom or a study.

I am very pleased with this painting, which now proudly hangs in my living room. It constantly reminds me of that beautiful sunny Cornish day, channelling happy vibes to help to cope with miserably cold winter days.

However, it’s not art is not purely about the aesthetics. Art helps us to deeper understand ourselves, to better tune in to the emotions of others, to develop a deeper feeling of sympathy and to find hope and the source of growth in difficult periods of our lives. We subconsciously relate to a certain art piece given a particular moment we are experiencing in our lives and it often helps us to understand and, ultimately, deal better with a situation we found ourselves in.

I have included here the snaps from one of my en plein air painting sessions, which allowed me to capture this beautiful sunny summer day in Cornwall and bring it to my flat in London. Every time I look at it, the smile appears on my face reminding of this happy moment. I could literally hear the seagulls flying by and could breathe in fresh sea breeze. Art does magic!

How Can Art Help You?

I made this sketch of Chiswick House in London on a very cold winter day. My fingers got completely numb but I am very pleased I managed to complete this beautiful drawing!

Immersing in art visiting galleries and museums fills you up with positive emotions. One can always get lost in the myriads of rooms and galleries bridging a gap with the past to better understand the present and find inspiration for the future works.

“If you have creative work, you don’t have age or time”

- Louise Nevelson

Looking at the art enriches your mind and improves your visual memory. I noticed that the more galleries and museums I visit, the better my memory becomes. You can train your eye to remember particular works, to distinguish one artist from another or identify the period when a particular work of art was made.

Art develops your brain so that it can draw parallels, associations and enriches your imagination so you can easily visualise objects in 3 dimensional space. If you try to sketch what use see, this would not only improve your drawing skills but also develop your brain and memory. This is particularly useful for the kids as they can learn how to absorb information quicker using a variety of different ways.

Why Art Matters for You?

Art existed for many centuries, thousands of years, before human generation could properly talk or write. It has been an integral part of the lives of many generations. What effect does it have on our well-being?

Appreciating or making art involves many parts of our brains involved in processing senses, emotions, memory, cognition. We are drawn to experiencing art because it creates a warm pleasant feeling, which encourages us to want and pursue more of the same - a bit like good food, fascinating movie or a love affair. Although it is, in essence, a neurochemical reaction, I much more prefer how Aristotle described it as “catharsis”. This is when the emotions you are experiencing are so overpowering that you feel more connected to yourself and those around you. Has it ever happen to you when you saw a brilliant movie or an incredible painting, you wished the moment would last forever and never go away?

Being engaged in art like going to a gallery, watching a play, dancing, listening to the music or painting can help to cultivate your sense of curiosity, think different about life, be more open to new sensations and experiences, stay open to our emotions or simply heal your soul.

Art can not only improve our general well-being, it can also help us to deal with mental or physical trauma.

I do enjoy drawing live models, capturing their physical and emotional state in that particular moment and save it for years. There is this magical connection between your eyes, mind and hands to enable depicting a human on what used to be a blank sheet of paper just a few moments ago.