Paulette Trainor, of Paulette Trainor Design, offers her insight into the nexus of technology and good design. For more from Trainor, check out “Performance Art” in our August issue. Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you when it’s available online.

What’s the biggest change in your industry/area of focus in the past year?

Technology and the internet. Communication is constantly speeding up, and one of the consequences is that we come to expect more immediate answers and, likewise, design solutions. We are increasingly losing the time to think. Good, lasting design take time. It isn’t an instantaneous process. Creativity and innovation helps us to save time on certain things, but not others, like research, reflection and innovation.

What do you foresee as the biggest change on the horizon in the year to come?

Smart homes getting smarter. We already have smart home control centers that act as a personal assistant, alarm and speaker. They can turn up your heater or air conditioner, turn off your music or television and remind you of upcoming appointments and take voice commands. Already in the works are smart interiors being built into the very structure of our homes. For example, a revolutionary kitchen worktop. Built from a slab of quartz composite, the smart work surface will include a sink that appears as you wave your hand over a sensor. Wave again, and the sink will rise to create the illusion of a perfectly-flush, uninterrupted work surface once again. Induction hobs are being built into the stone itself, as well as a built-in weighing scale and charging sensor for smartphones. Smart technology will apply to every room in the home. We are going to continue to see our interiors getting smarter and smarter.

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