Embedding Activism in Interior Design Curricula

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Abstract

Interior design aims to initiate change while creating appropriate interior environments; this is why it is crucial for designers to understand the effect of the things that they create on people who see and use them, as well as society at large. Such change that design is capable of making can be closely related to activism as it is driven by the identification of a problem that needs to be addressed and changed. This article discusses design activism and its role. As interior design students and faculty members could act as activists, the article also discusses socio-political aspects and design aesthetics from a conceptual interior design perspective. It then explores integration models and creative teaching methods that initiate student awareness and understanding of the activist approach to interior design, thereby demonstrating the extent to which we can formulate a more useful, robust characterization of design concepts that are based on activism and that reflect a community’s socio-political aspects.