Page 14 - Designing Ways 253

IID

Finding inspiration

but keeping it

original as an

interior designer

Article by Hermien

Klopper, interior designer
at WMS Architects.

here is often this debate on where
inspiration stops and copying
Tstarts, and for us as Interior
designers it is a fine line to tread. We need
to stay up to date with the latest and the
most popular trends. But how do we avoid
copying the images we are looking at or
are given by our client for inspiration?
On The Block Australia 2020, there was
a copy vs inspiration controversy, when
one of the children's bedrooms was an
almost exact copy of a children's bedroom
by The Designory. While the shape and
therefore the layout of the room differed
and an extra colour was added, the rest of
the finishes and materials were so similar
that an argument could be made that the
original design was copied.
I often get sent a myriad of images by
clients and find that the more images
there are draw inspiration from, the less
likely it is to copy one specific design.
Good original design happens when the
designer is able to edit the multiple images
received into one original cohesive design,
and the final design which reflects the
style and image that the client envisioned.
It becomes more difficult when you
receive only one image or video from
the client. In November 2021 I was asked
to design a high-end clothing store, and Hermien Klopper
the client provided a video of a design
he liked from a clothing store in Cape
Town. Because I only had this one image,
it was a big challenge for me not to copy
the example provided, but only use it as
inspiration for my design. Fortunately the
merchandise and theme of the two stores
were different, which was a good start. I
started by looking at the overall feel of the
inspiration shop, which was very modern

14 Issue 253 • dw