I remember my days on my college campus fondly. The smell of fall in the air as the first semester of the school year began. It was not long until I was assigned my first design projects of the term. Being over ambitious, of course I wanted to create the most impactful and awe-striking presentation boards. The only problem was that I lived on the opposite corner of campus from the interior design instruction facility…ugh…which meant the bigger the boards, the more “sailing away” would happen during the travels to and from class. If you don’t already know, design boards are heavy, large, awkward and expensive! So the last thing you want to happen is to have your project fly away in the wind, or worse yet, having the large flat object cause you to fly into traffic!
Designers have come a long way in the last 5 years in regards to presentation methods. I think as an industry we have become a little more mobile, streamlined and all around “slimmer.” I am not saying a good ol’ fashioned presentation board isn’t ever called for – I have just experienced less and less requests for them. They cannot be altered as easily and quickly as digital presentations, not to mention they can take more time to fabricate, as well as to be shipped or delivered. So, as we become more tech-savvy and digital as an industry do you think we are losing something?
The “green” side of my brain says no, but the side of me that enjoys classical music and board games says yes! In regards to designers being more environmentally conscience, I think by creating more digital presentations, we are drastically reducing the amount of embodied energy we put into developing end results (this does not mean we skimp on brain power and the wonderful intangible parts of design work). The amount of shipping that takes place to get samples and then the amount of mounting materials it takes to create presentation boards can be substantial…not to mention that the more digital we go, the less chance there is to experience accidents with Exacto knifes and hot glue guns! I bet you did not know being an interior designer could be so dangerous.
In the end, I still think making work more portable through online meetings, graphic presentations and research via the internet is inevitable in order to keep up with the pace of business today. But it is still nice to see a well crafted presentation board on display and think…yeah , I could still do that!