In 2002, Daniel Kahneman, a neuroscientist, received the Nobel prize for his work in behavioural economics. He wrote a book titled “Thinking Fast and Slow” which became a bestseller. In the book, he explains that the human mind has two modes of thinking. The first is the fast, automatic, instinctive, unconscious system. The second is the slow, effortful, analytical system. The first system is responsible for intuition, creativity and emotions. The second system is responsible for logic, reasoning and complex skills.
He also discovered that our brain switches between these two modes based on the situation. If there is any stress or danger, the brain switches to the logical system to figure out how to get out of that situation. When we are in a safe environment, it lets its guard down and switches to the intuitive system. This is why technical people perform better under stress and creative people perform better when they’re given freedom.
With this understanding, let’s look deeply into interior design.
Creativity in interior design
Interior design is a highly creative endeavour. There is joy in taking an empty room and creating a beautiful living space out of it. That joy is the source of passion for most of us who get into interior design.
Design is the process of making hundreds of small choices about the layout, the spatial arrangement of objects, the shapes and sizes of the objects, the materials used, the intensities, shades and orientation of the lights. All the permutations and combinations of these choices lead to an infinite number of possible designs. As designers, we express ourselves through these little choices. In the end, the design we create is a unique expression of who we are.
The requirements that customers give us are constraints of the design. Within reasonable bounds, constraints help creativity. The wise customers know this. They know it’s better to just give us a rough direction and let us fill the gaps with our creativity. At the end of the day, creativity is what they come to us for. As a designer, it is our privilege to have the creative freedom to express ourselves and get paid for it.
The bane of complex software
The software tools that we use today to design are complex. From the soul-corrupting experience of installing cracks to the drudgery of complex UI, these software are the antithesis of the creative spirit.
When you use a complex software, it blocks your creative flow by taking your attention away from the creative idea and swallowing it. The complexity forces your mind to turn on the analytical system in your brain. The creative system starts and stops immediately, then starts again and stops immediately. So, you never achieve a creative flow. With time, the creative spirit gives up and you only do whatever is needed for the client, not what is creatively possible. The passion for design starts decaying into boring work.
It’s like trying to surf the waves with an anchor tied to your feet. It’s like making a kid, who wants to paint, learn differential calculus. It’s like keeping a beautiful parrot who is supposed to fly over a tropical forest locked up in a cage to perform circus tricks.
But fret not, the times..they are a-changin'
Introducing EmptyCup 3D
EmptyCup 3D is a web-based interior design software that optimises for creativity. It has a simple UI that feels like a breath of fresh air. It lets you do the most common things without thinking but also has a lot of power if you go deep.
EmptyCup 3D introduces a simple design flow where you plan the layout in 2D in the top view and the 3D is automatically generated. Here’s a screenshot of the 2D design page:
When you finish the 2D layout, you can customise the materials and lights in 3D. You can also get thumbnail previews to see how the scene looks rendered.
If you’re happy, you can get an HD 1080p render in a few minutes. No graphic card needed. Here’s a sample HD render.
The great thing about EmptyCup 3D is that it also supports designing customised furniture like woodwork. There is a front view UI specifically to design modular furniture.
EmptyCup 3D lets you revitalise your creativity by simplifying the design process.
Happy designing…
You can take advantage of the creative boost from EmptyCup in a few different ways:
- You can now design for what is possible, not just the bare minimum. Surprise your client by showing 3 full-fledged designs instead of 1. They’ll tell everyone they know about you.
- Design one extra project a month on freelance. Build your personal portfolio and pocket the extra 10K. Money is good.
- Escape the headache of explaining your design ideas to an artist. Save time in revisions and money in outsourcing.
- Finish your design work in half the time and learn about other aspects of the business. Increase your worth in your business and develop depth to your design at the same time.
Whatever the motivation, stop selling out your creativity to complex software. Try EmptyCup 3D today. #careforcreativity
