The Interior Design Industry Is Surviving And Not Thriving

The Interior Design Industry Is Surviving And Not Thriving. Can This Be True?

- Low Shi Ping

Ask Amy Picanco to write a report card on the state of the interior design industry and she enthusiastically gives it an “A” for effort.

That is all she grades though, because the Founder and Design Director of Aym Design knows that there is still a long way to go before it levels up across the board.

“We continue to exist but are struggling,” Picanco says, speaking not just as a practitioner but as an executive council member of the Interior Design Confederation of Singapore (IDCS).

“The market is often misunderstood and potential clients are not clear about the services interior designers can provide and the value that this will bring to a space.”

She is not alone in having this sentiment.

Steven Shaw, Executive Principal – Singapore at Aedas, is equally concerned, “There is no growth and everyone is just ‘hanging on’ due to COVID-19 and the disruption it has had on the world.

“The industry is at a critical junction that has been brought about by the convergence of many things: the pandemic, working from home, digitisation and changing attitudes of our clients in terms of how space is used and how much is required.

“It’s been a tough two years.”

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Nonetheless, Shaw believes the future is looking brighter and that the corner has been turned.

Key to keeping up this trajectory is the acknowledgement that the way the interior design industry works needs to change.

The biggest issue confronting it is pricing, he points out.