d+a | Issue 123 • 2022

21 its fees are commensurate with the time and experience required to undertake the project. Designers should also be willing to evolve in how they deliver their services, while also supporting the upskilling of its networks of suppliers and service providers. THE BANE OF SOCIAL MEDIA A major stumbling block to achieving this is the media – specifically, social media, “design it yourself” tools and quick- turnaround reality TV shows like “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”. “Spending time looking at Instagram and Pinterest is great for idea generation, but can often lead clients to underestimate the amount of technical skills that go into putting together a well-functioning and beautiful space,” explains Picanco. “Designers have to carefully plan around existing structures and consider all the M&E functions before any aesthetic detailing is started.” Cherin Tan, Principal and Creative Director of LAANK, presents another perspective on how the industry is not leveraging the full potential of social media as a communications and promotion tool. “I think nearly 80 percent of professional interior designers are active on social media. “Yet, among them, only a small percentage feel that social media has been effective in promoting their business,” she says. On the flip side, eight out of 10 new clients she meets use social media to look for interior designers – and many share with her that the ones they meet over-promise and under-deliver. “It is critical to focus not just on ‘being out there’, but being in the right place, at the right time, and in the right way that attracts the / FEATURE / 04 05 06 04-06. Projects managed by Shaw at Aedas (left to right): AC Energy, Dyson and Huawei DigiX Lab.