Well-designed work space doesn't just happen.

The art and science of transforming square footage into efficient, comfortable, healthy, inspiring space goes beyond casual talent to require disciplined professionals with years of formal training -- interior designers.

Professionally-designed workplaces are more common in major urban centres, however, they exist wherever:

• businesses understand the value of projecting their image or brand onto their offices and retail outlets

• public spaces are intended as practical, inspiring environments, and

• functionality cannot be sacrificed to decor

"Outside Toronto, [interior designers] have a smaller market and tighter budgets, and it's more competitive, which means we cannot specialize -- not just retail or institutional or corporate," said Sudbury-based interior designer Eliisa Petersen, BAA, ARIDO, IDC of Castellan James + Partners Architects Inc. "We must practice all disciplines. In one day, we may design a laboratory at the university, a lawyer's office and a day-care centre ... . It is more challenging as we have to wear a lot of different hats."

At the same time, Petersen acknowledges that interior designers offer their professional services through a wide range of practices—from sole proprietorships to large, multi-discipline firms—and that designers may concentrate on specific services in response to local markets. For instance, in the Sudbury area, there is sufficient demand among home owners to allow some interior designers to specialize in residential design.

Petersen, who once lived in Toronto, is well aware of the differences between Canada's mega cities and smaller centres like Sudbury, particularly as she is committed to the further growth of ARIDO's Northern Ontario Chapter, of which she is currently president. "ARIDO" is the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario, Ontario's only self-regulatory professional organization for interior designers.

These professionals should not be confused with interior decorators, made famous by fast-forward, 30-minute-make-over reality television. According to Ontario law, only professionals who meet ARIDO standards may use the title "Interior Designer." The building code includes interior designers because they are trained to provide many design services required for construction and renovation -- everything from creating working drawings to complementing the services of structural engineers. Visit the ARIDO site to locate an interior designer in your area. There are also details on hiring a designer for a residential or business project, and on developing a request for interior design services.

However well you understand your business, merely viewing commercial or retail space will not accurately indicate how successfully your specific venture would fit within the premises. Interior designers prepare feasibility plans to support evaluations of possible sites for a new business or for a relocation. Depending on the layout of the space, employee tasks, essential group interaction and the client's other requirements, an interior designer will assess the potential, and demonstrate what advantages and compromises are presented by each site under consideration. Since analysis will reveal whether the client may need less or more space in each case, the lack of professional design input may result in leasing too much or too little space, a problem that may be expensive to rectify later.

"Clients have an idea, but that is not their expertise," said Petersen, explaining that, in Ontario alone, interior design is a C$4 billion industry. "We help them solidify their needs, so that they end up in the right space. In one building, they may need 8,000 square feet, in another 10,000. Some spaces lend themselves to open planning, and some to open and closed. It depends what the client's business is. The advantage to the client is a design that actually supports the client's needs. When the space is right, people are happier and work better."

Workplace design contributes to the bottom line. From efficient workstations and streamlined traffic flow to ergonomic furniture, effective lighting, consistent air quality and other health/safety factors, good design offers economic benefit and opens the lines of communication on many levels.

"In the long term, [clients] will save money," said Petersen. "We look at their business plan, their image, how they fit into the market place -- it is based on them. [Our purpose] is to help the client and their business, and the three-dimensional space really does have an impact on that business. The business plan translates into three-dimensional space, and into communication between you and your client."

Published: January 30, 2007

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Futurist and Strategist PJ Wade is "The Catalyst" -- intent on "Challenging The Best Become Even Better." PJ earned this title by translating the dynamic impact of Boomers and their multi-generation families into relevant insights that start people thinking and taking action—in business and in life. Author of 7 books and more than 1600 published articles, PJ encourages individuals to become their own futurist. PJ writes and speaks about the insight, knowledge and solid decision-making skills that professionals and their clients need to live and work in this vortex of change. For instance, since PJ knows that home is headquarters for the new decades-long "unretirement," she wrote the popular book "Reverse Mortgages: Best Friend, Worst Enemy... Your Choice! (CatapultPublishing.com), which is filled with suggestions and insight on protecting and using home equity. Her new business book, "What's Your Point?," which identifies 7 common mistakes professionals unknowingly repeat to their detriment, will be published in 2009. As The Catalyst, PJ provides strategic communication, client appreciation and advanced education services to the financial, tourism, lifestyle and service sectors -- and the clients they serve. A frequently-quoted financial and business commentator, PJ is a thought-provoking strategic speaker who offers practical, real-life suggestions on leaving "the box" behind and embracing Forward Thinking -- a talent she regularly demonstrates in this column. For more on blogs, books and topics, visit TheCatalyst.com.