What are the most effective ways to communicate trends in interior design?

In most cases, you are presenting your ideas with someone who has no expertise in design, or the ability to visualize a space. Your clients or general audience would find it difficult to grasp the full potential of a trend from mere sketches and descriptions. 3D visuals, in this case, can work as a stronger medium to present your ideas.

This can be done with mood boards, colour palettes, sketches, and 3D renders - serve as a universal language, transcending verbal descriptions to vividly convey design concepts.

Long-form communication such as a blog or journal post can be very effective in communicating trends to watch for. One of the things we do in our business is determine if the trend is going to be a long-standing staple or a fleeting moment. This helps us communicate to our clients whether it's worth investing in or not, or how much of their budget to allot towards certain trendy details.

As an Interior Designer, storytelling connects with audiences on an emotional level. It's about articulating the 'why' behind a trend, its relevance, and its potential impact. This approach can transform how we pitch proposals to clients.

You might create a beautiful and trendy design, but the key is whether or not your client sees it. When we help interior designers create storytelling 3D visuals, we usually discuss the following questions: - What makes your client tick? - What brings your client joy? - What sparks your client's imagination? - What are your client's hidden desires? Let these insights help you curate the right trends and give them a relatable, personal context of how they can implement such trends into their space.

As part of our yearly journal post on upcoming design trends we like to share how people may be able to integrate the new styles into their current home or future design plan by sharing examples and using stories. When people can see themselves using the trend and living in the space they're more likely to adopt it in their own home.

Besides the classic mechanisms, you can communicate trends in interior design in a more casual context, like a coffee chat or in the audience's own space. When your audience feels more comfortable, they tend to express stronger preferences and provide insights to help you improve your trendy designs that really speak for your audience.

We share our journal post on upcoming trends to our Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn pages to illicit feedback and gain the understanding and participation from the public and our network. It can be difficult to introduce trends that are far outside the box to the everyday client when they are not seen as mainstream concepts. Unless the client is very trend-focused or fashion-forward it can be hard for clients to trust that it will work for their home, lifestyle, and personal style.

Recently there has been a rising interest in having a guide/trend reports for interior design. Before you create a guide, you should research what interior design trends people in a specific country are looking for, so that you can concentrate your ideas and focus your marketing in that direction. With a guide / trend reports, you will be able to inspire many new interior designers. You won’t struggle to search for designers to work for you. And you can get more potential clients, who find your guide while searching for their interior design inspirations online.

Potential clients are more likely to adopt trends and "out of the box" styles if they see them on a regular basis. As designers it's our responsibility to show clients what CAN be done so that they can make educated decisions on what works best for them, their space, and their budget. Social media is a great tool in this regard as it allows people to engage with new ideas and receive their real-time feedback.

Case studies and examples enriched with data insights are pivotal in sharing and understanding trends in interior design. They provide a concrete, evidence-based approach to illustrating how certain layouts, technology, strategies, materials, or color schemes are gaining popularity. This method allows clients and designers to see the practical implementation of trends, rather than just theoretical or aesthetic concepts. It also ensures that the trends highlighted are not just short-term but are backed by practical utility and widespread appeal, making them more reliable and valuable for both designers and clients or end users.

Design trends are a tricky subject because it often takes years for them to be adopted into mainstream design. Then, as they're finally becoming mainstream and clients are seeing (and loving) the trend they start to adopt them in their own homes. The problem is that by the time trends reach our market (Canadian prairies), they're on their way out which usually means our clients are requesting things that are "behind the times". At our firm we are adamant that our clients' homes reflect THEM. Sometimes this means that a current trend fits them perfectly at which point we try to push them to adopt it, not simply to be trendy, but because we know that it's the best thing for them and their space.

Trends are just that: what the masses seem to be eyeing in any given time. What populates as the next "big thing," is what gets feature time or real estate in magazines. It's no wonder that's also what gets copied. I challenge everyone to stop looking at the trends. Ask your client the questions that get to the heart of their challenges, their unique why's. Understand their needs, and the functions that will serve THEM. We don't need to know what the trends are to design well for our clients. It should be what is going to be the solution best suited to them, not what's trending. As creators, this doesn't need to come from others' ideas, it needs to come organically from the problem itself, which is unique. Set your own "trend." Rise above.