One of the most prominent conversations in the interior design industry today: AI. AI is developing at an exponential rate and industry insiders have been quick to explore its potential as a design co-pilot, administrative assistant, communication shortcut and more. Whilst it is easy to ruminate on the latest AI developments and their potential use cases in the industry, we at Visualist decided the best way to answer this question was to ask those working in the industry themselves. And so, in collaboration with NYC x Design Week, we invited experts with a vested interest in AI in the interior design industry to join us for a panel discussion. Meet our panel...

Sally Booth

Trend forecaster and PhD student exploring what the limits of AI are in design and creativity.

"I am currently in my first year of a PhD looking into the use of machine learning in the process of predicting colour for trend predictions. I am the founder of my own trend consultancy and worked for an international colour agency predicting and writing about trends. I find AI absolutely fascinating but my research revolves around how AI is going to augment and enhance the creative process, as opposed to replacing the creative themselves."

Mayur Mistry

Founder of 3D Guru, an AI-enabled design tool for architects and interior designers.

"I did a bachelor's in civil engineering and then went on to do a master's in architecture. During my master's study, I realised there are a lot of use cases of technology in architecture and design which can be leveraged, which inspired the creation of 3D Guru—a co-pilot for 3D design."

Artem Kropovinsky

Interior designer based in New York.

"I'm an interior designer and founder of Interior Design Studio based in New York. I have always been curious about technological innovations and how they can be implemented in the interior design process, especially now that they are developing so rapidly. We are very proud to use innovations that enhance the client's experience and streamline our working process—for example, using AI and virtual reality in our renderings."

6 things interior designers need to know about AI

Alongside our panel of industry experts, we were keen to gauge the opinions of our audience— predominantly made up of working interior designers with a vested interest in AI's impact on the future of their industry. Before our talk commenced, we took a survey to assess the general feelings towards AI. Of those surveyed...

• 14% are wary about copyright issues with AI.
• 27% think AI devalues their work.
• 27% think AI makes their process faster and more efficient.
• 36% think AI could reduce their time spent on admin.
• 36% think AI sparks new creative ideas.
• 64% are curious about AI but don't know how to incorporate it into their workflow.

The overall sentiment: we're not completely averse to AI, we just don't quite know what to do with it! Thankfully, our panel discussion was there to provide some answers. As a working interior designer, what do you need to know about AI right now and where can you expect to see it in the future? You can watch the full talk here or continue reading for a roundup of the biggest takeaways for interior designers.

It is okay to be unsure about AI

The media is constantly abuzz with chatter about AI developments—but as a designer, it is okay to have your reservations. Interior design is a highly skilled discipline, and it is the personal aspect of design that makes it so wonderful. It is hard to come to terms with the idea of technology infiltrating that personal creative process. Even if you feel quite positive about AI and are intrigued by how you can use it, you might not have a clue where to start. That is okay too—according to our survey, 64% of the interior design industry feels the same!

AI's role in the future of the interior design industry is almost inevitable, but the definition of that role is up to you—the interior designers. It is okay to take your time in figuring out how AI works in your process, it is okay to get the balance wrong at first, and it is okay to reject AI altogether. You're still in control of your own creative process.

AI can be trusted

If we can learn to trust AI, we can explore the ways that AI might positively impact the workflow of interior design professionals and the interior design industry at large. Artem, for one, is keen to see these developments implemented. "Everybody hates admin work in the creative industry—they don't want be stuck running numbers and double-checking everything. This is where AI will help, it will give us back our time to create"

There are two sides to running your own interior design firm, the admin work and the creative work. Odds are you didn't become an interior designer because you fell in love with the administrative side. However, like it or not, admin is a huge part of being a creative professional. AI  could potentially work to a designer's advantage by taking over the admin side of running an interior design firm and saving time and costs for interior designers. With this perspective, we can almost see AI as a hero—tackling your mundane daily tasks in order to protect the time you need to connect with clients and tap into your creativity.

You are not competing with AI

Artem explains, "Empathy is a limitation of AI. As interior designers, we can understand the unspoken needs and aspirations of a client but AI is currently incapable of doing so. The most important part of our job is the emotional connection we cultivate with a client." A beautiful room means nothing if it does not fulfil the emotional and functional needs of its occupants. AI might be capable of crafting beautiful things, but it is not capable of interpreting the wants and needs of a client. Often clients don't even know what they want—interior designers are there to guide them through that process and AI is not ready to do the same. The best partnerships are those made up of partners that offer different but complementary skill sets. When it comes to AI and the interior designer, this theory applies. AI can do the groundwork—the calculations, the logistics, even the conceptualisation—and interior designers can bring the flare—the eye for detail, the client considerations, the nuance.

You can work collaboratively with AI

Most designers will agree that using AI as an administrative assistant is a good idea, but what about the prospect of working collaboratively with A? A good application of AI in the interior design process is in render modelling. For example, 3D Guru was made to help designers quickly whip up concepts that they can further explore with clients, or further iterate on with more personalisation based on their understanding of trends, design, and customer preferences. Mayur explains, "There are a few things which AI can do very well right now: generating pixels, render models, marketing content, etc. But there are a few things which it can't do very well, namely creativity and common sense reasoning." AI-rendered designs can help interior designers to see things differently and to think outside the realm of their normal constraints—but naturally, AI has no concept of reality. It may produce a design that incorporates a sofa that is not available locally, or a floorplan that is not structurally viable. An interior designer is then tasked with interpreting that vision in a way that is feasible in reality. AI does not have the creativity, compassion and rationality of an interior designer and it likely never will—but we can learn to embrace the skills it does have in a way that complements our own.

Predicting the future is possible with AI

To predict the future, AI looks to the past. There is a lot of evidence to prove that AI can analyse historical information and use that to inform its understanding of what is coming next. For example, the colours and materials trending at any given time can be linked to the special attitudes and events of the time, when those circumstances are replicated we can expect similar aesthetic trends to reappear. Narrative, storytelling and communication are all incredibly important in design. Trends should be interpreted in line with your ethos and your identity. Although trends follow a cyclical process, how they are interpreted each time is radically different. The interpretation is the role of the interior designer. AI could inform you of a rising trend, but how you then apply that to your client's requests and the ever-changing cultural landscape of the moment requires great skill and adaptability.

AI is a sustainable solution

AI could be a huge aid in driving the interior design industry towards a more sustainable future. One positive impact: waste prevention.  AI technology can allow designers to more accurately predict how much material they will require for each element of the room (think curtains, flooring, upholstery, etc.) This in turn will prevent over ordering and excess materials then going to waste. AI could also be used directly by manufacturers to adopt a more supply-and-demand type production method rather than overproducing and being left with dead stock. "If we can predict more accurately, we will prevent manufacturers from making for making's sake which will ultimately have a beneficial impact on the planet." AI technology is, of course, continually improving and so we can expect further developments to positively impact the carbon footprint of the interior design industry as a whole.