Interior design students visit Charleston to help prepare for national competition
Interior design students in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences recently visited furniture suppliers and interior designers in Charleston, South Carolina, to review products to use in preparation for an upcoming national competition.
Under the guidance of Erica Bartels, lecturer in the School of Human Ecology and program coordinator for the interior design program, the students visited Young Office, a corporate office furniture supplier, to prepare for their project in the Steelcase NEXT Student Competition. Additionally, the students visited high-end residential interior designer Alecia Stevens’ French Quarter studio for an inspirational conversation on becoming an emerging design professional.
“It is important for interior design students to take trips, even to locations just a few hours away, because it nurtures curiosity and discovery about people and places,” said Bartels. “Our faculty encourages students to enhance their observational skills and look into the meaning of designed spaces. For example, the designer we visited with on this trip challenged the students to find motifs and patterns that are often repeated in the art and architecture of Charleston. Also, emerging design professionals need to be very resourceful in terms of products and materials that are human-centered. Touring the corporate furniture showroom allowed the students to view products that they will be specifying and customizing for the competition project. As a bonus, the students learned more about a potential career option in furniture dealerships.”
The students were also able to tour Charleston to view architecture and visited the historic City Market to see local goods.