Hi-tech creativity

Daniel During.
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CID asks what impact technology is having on design methodology– and what’s being lost in the process?

In 1997, the Italian-headquartered architecture and interiors firm, PLS Design, worked on a project in Abu Dhabi. In those days, communicating with a client across any kind of geographical divide was still a complicated, time-consuming process.

“Sending an image over the Internet was a massive headache; it was so complicated. You had to find alternative ways of doing everything. You had to photocopy drawings, and then try to send them by fax,” remembers Lino Losanno, a partner at the firm.

Just over a decade later and things have changed beyond recognition. Technology has globalised design, making it easy for ideas, inspiration and information to travel from one end of the world to the other, and then back again, in a matter of minutes.

“Designers are able to consult on international projects in different countries, without actually having been there, which is truly amazing and efficient, and it allows us to use materials from all over the world and to recreate a particular country’s look and feel in any other country,” noted Daniel During, managing partner of Thomas Klein International.

Technology has been instrumental in enhancing communication across the design chain, and in making design more accessible to a wider audience. “It enables us to visualise the final product better in terms of what the design will look like. The technology helps us to produce 3D renderings of the design for the client, which is very helpful,” During detailed.

“Basically, it enhances the communication process between us and our clients in terms of conveying a design idea, which is usually subliminal and subjective,” he added.

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Speed, freedom, ease and efficiency are technology’s greatest gifts to the design industry. “It allows much more flexibility in terms of ease in making small changes, and also allows more intricate and complicated designs. Before technology we had to redraw the entire design from scratch to add any changes. Technology has also allowed us to be more efficient, and can combine different areas of specialisation at the same time,” During continued.

Technology also facilitates the creative process, encouraging designers to question and challenge existing boundaries, suggested George Katodrytis, associate professor at the American University of Sharjah’s School of Architecture and Design.

“Technology has made interior designers imagine and fabricate new and complex forms, and unpredictable colours and textures. It has made interiors fantasy-like, almost like renderings as seen on a computer screen. This new visual language and synthetic materiality has been synonymous with new technologies,” Katodrytis explained.

AutoCad, Photoshop, 3D Max and Maya are some of the more commonly used tools currently employed by designers in the creative process. Form-Z is another, more niche, platform, while web-based softwares that allow designers to sample a variety of materials, in varying colours and textures, in virtual and interactive environments, are growing in popularity.

“Our application of technology in design relates to our desire to test new construction processes and apply new methods and approaches to the design process. We are working on a number of schemes currently that are genuinely groundbreaking with regards to the application of alternative construction technology,” said David Rooney, design director, Luxe Interior.

Whatever the technologies employed, it is essential to use a common platform that is shared by all of the various stakeholders involved in a design project, warned Zain Mustafa, founder of Zain Mustafa Interiors.

“The technologies that we use in the office are 3D Max and AutoCad, primarily. We also end up using a lot of Photoshop to layer over the 3D Max. We will also use Illustrator and PowerPoint but these are mainly communication tools, they are not about the design. The design is done in AutoCad – after we’re done with the 2B pencil, obviously!

“The reason one uses AutoCad is it is technically sound. Any engineering company can also read it. So when you send it and it’s done on a PC format, it’s a platform that everybody can read and understand. Its unilateral quality allows it to be flexible, so we stick to that,” he continued.