Project Management

This section will serve some of you more than others, depending on your personal goals and your experience, or lack of it, in a retail setting. Every design project moves through a number of working steps in a logical order. The more complex the project, the more formally it must be organized. For this section, you will be using chapters 5, 6 and 7 of your text, and “Business Matters” on pages 561-569. Your text includes far more detail on this topic than you will need as a living space designer, because it addresses a variety of design projects, some commercial and institutional. You will be using portions of these chapters, but not all of them. Two books that I can recommend for Project Management are Home: From Concept to Reality by Kelly Hoppen and Interior Design Visual Presentation by Maureen Mitton. Additional texts are listed in the Appendix of your text.

We will not use chapter 8 in this course, Interior Design for Special Needs. It is best to use experts when appropriate, and this is a situation for an expert. However, it is wise to look over the chapter. One of the services designers offer to their clients is referral to trusted experts. How will you know an expert in this area when you see them if you are not familiar with the expertise required in designing spaces for people with limited mobility, or people challenged by physical disability or unusual size? Read about the Americans with Disabilities Act that passed in 1990 on pp. 217-218. This act has impacted design in a monumental way, and is one reason that design societies and states have become more restrictive about who can function as an interior designer. If you want to explore this topic further, refer to the Appendix, page 589, at the back of your text for additional reference books you can consult.

In private, residential projects, the ADA does not apply, so as a residential designer, you will not need to concern yourself with the legal requirements. However, as the population....