Katelijn Quartier

Rethinking the education of retail design. What are the competences a retail designer needs in this fast evolving discipline

Abstract: It has been our hypothesis that designing for retail in the future would strongly benefit from more specialized education and training programs, truly integrating social sciences and design disciplines. To this end, we are currently aiming to launch a postgraduate certificate program on retail design. In preparing this program, we have critically reviewed the three different educational programs that we already organize on retail design.To have a first indication of the validity of this approach, we were able to use interviews with senior and junior designers of 10 retail design agencies. The results suggest that there seems to be both a demand and an opportunity for a retail design program for (young) professionals who will work together in group on a (preferably realistic) design assignment, which offers a sufficiently deep handling of issues, an integration of theory and practice via a work-shop set-up and should most likely be offered in English.

Light: Towards an Inclusive Perspective

Current research was conducted to gain more insight in how staircase design can contribute in creating a safe and pleasant home environment for older adults. Participants of varying ages (from students to older adults) took part in three studies that combined experimental designs with semi-structured interviews. Renderings of a staircase were created showing different light settings in a nightly situation, from a downward view as well as from an upward view. A mockup staircase with five steps, five different lighting settings and three possible cover materials was custom built. The following specific questions were addressed: (1) which light setting for which cover material can be considered as the most clearly visible and preferred option and (2) what type of additional lighting is best suited at what illuminance level to increase depth perception in stair descent. Guidelines regarding staircase design are formulated by and for (future) interior designers.