Example design dissertation topic 1:

Interior design: A profession at risk of debasement by television.

As a career choice for design professionals, interior design requires a number of inter-related skills. These include, at their most basic, the ability to develop ideas conceptually, co-ordinate and liaise with stakeholders, management of the design and build process, and successfully bringing the design to completion. In contrast, television ‘make-over’ shows suggest that the skills required can be realised in, on occasions, no more than 60 minutes, but more usually 2 days. This dissertation asserts, through the reviewing of such programmes and their ‘results’, as well as by undertaking primary research data collection by interviewing professional interior designers, that such programmes devalue the profession and result in members of the public having unrealistic expectations as to their own abilities in the field of interior design.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Beegan, G. (2008). ‘Professionalism, amateurism and the boundaries of design’, Journal of Design History, Vol. 21(4), pp. 305-313.
• Lees-Maffei, G. (2008). ‘Introduction: Professionalization as a focus in interior design history’, Journal of Design History, Vol. 21(1), pp. 1-18.
• Piotrowski, C. (2004). Becoming an interior designer. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.