38 Interior Design Contributing to the UJ Undergraduate Research Conference Three third-year Interior Design students, Husnaa Kathrada, Jessica Pinker, and Che-Yi Lee represented the Faculty at the annual UJ Undergraduate Conference. The annual conference aims to assist in preparing undergraduate students for possible postgraduate studies. In 2024, the Interior Design students discussed how design problems could be resolved by integrating various technologies into executing a third-year design project. These students’ approach to technology in design is expressed in their presentation as “a transformative force in interior design, empowering designers to push creative boundaries, optimise processes, and craft spaces that seamlessly blend aesthetics with functionality”. The presentation aims to explain how technology assists a designer throughout the design process in resolving a design problem and communicating the design solution. The students compare the development of their third-year project by following the various design stages employed in each project. The technologies incorporated in each design stage are discussed, from the brief, the investigation and exploration of the design solutions to converting the sketch plans into detailed building drawings and rendered three-dimensional interior spaces. The presentation further explains the application of appropriate software programs with the associated specifications of technologies. The time frame of each design stage and the project execution costs are included to outline each project’s design planning and costing dimensions. In the conclusion, the students consolidated the challenges and successes they encountered in integrating identified technologies in each project. They believe that digital technologies can enable them to amplify their creative potential, assist them in collaborating with fellow students and create responsive environments that meet the users’ needs.
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