Interior Design Curriculum

On the whole, interior design education in Hong Kong over-emphasizes on vocational training, and graduates tend to be adept at practical skills, but weak in conceptual and creative thinking. While it is true that interior design is an applied art, an interior designer is required to have good research skills and training in conceptual thinking, which a purely skill-based curriculum cannot provide. The body of knowledge for interior design has become well-defined in the West. In the United States, for example, researchers have come up with six major areas of knowledge including Design, Products and Materials, Professional Pratice, Communications, Human Environment Needs and Interior Construction, Codes and Regulations.In Europe, on the other hand, the European Council of Interior Architecture has also set out its own body of knowledge with 13 distinct areas, which sets standards for interior design education and provides the outline of the teaching curriculum and the course of studies for higher education in Interior Architecture. Hong Kong clearly has some way to go if it wants to standardize its interior design curriculum. It could be said that this lack of uniformity allows schools the freedom to pursue different educational goals and also the ability to offer courses according to the strengths of their teaching staff. However, there is a great discrepancy in the abilities and knowledge of graduates from different institutions. With the rapid development in tertiary education for interior design in recent years, it is important that there be ways to guarantee the educational standards of Hong Kong interior design graduates.