Note to Interior Designers

I believe that design communicates.
And that good communication should be designed.
I created the phrase DesignComm to cover both these beliefs.

Here's a lesson in DesignComm.
Design doesn't just communicate by how it looks.
Just like words represent only a fraction of communication, visuals only represent a fraction of design.

Case in point - The Hilton Cabo San Lucas Resort.
Our room is beautiful, it really is.

I love the colors. The room looks Mexican.
A pet peeve of mine is hotel rooms that are of 'International' design. I don't know what that means, except "no place on earth really looks like this".
I should be able to wake up and, without leaving the bed, tell you what country I'm in.
The Hilton succeeds at this.

Now the bad news. Cabo is a hot, humid, seaside environment.
And our room is filled with fabric.
Look at the photo above... 6 pillows and a ton of cushions. There are more pillows on the bed and there are fabric curtains.

What does this mean? Must and mildew.
The room smells like my grandmothers closet. We have to open the patio doors, which freshens the room, but brings in more sea breezes to continue the cycle of humidity.

Now, I'm not an interior designer, but even I wouldn't load a seaside villa with fabric.
Why do they do it? Because they don't have to live in it?

How about some blinds? And taking away 9/10 of the pillows?

If design communicates, then this room communicates, "We weren't thinking when we designed this!".

Where Am I? (A light rant...)

Where am I, indeed?
It's a very good question...

I asked myself that very question, when I woke at 4 a.m. today, in a place that was unfamiliar and completely indistinct.

It's one of my pet peeves. Shouldn't you be able to wake up in a hotel room and immediately know where you are?
Wait, I'll answer... YES!

A Japanese hotel room should look vaguely Japanese. A Chinese hotel room should look vaguely Chinese. Right?

Well, look at the room above. See anything Singaporean? Or Malaysian? Or Indonesian?
Neither do I...

I've never understood why some people expect every hotel room to look like 'home'.
Or why hotel designers cater to that expectation.
And why is that 'home' a Euro-American mix?
My favorite hotels always reflect the culture that surrounds them.

Prime examples would include almost any Thai or Balinese hotel. They always include local art, local fruits, local woods, etc.
The Grand Hyatt Shanghai does this, as well.
Japan and Singapore, however, are not good at this.

We're staying at the Intercontinental in Singapore, but I don't mean to single them out.
Many hotels make the same mistake.
They strive for 'international', but end up with 'lowest common denominator'.

Shouldn't your product say who your are?

And shouldn't 'who you are' reflect where you are?

Do your products have a sense of place?

And is that 'place' appropriate?