Yesterday, I had the opportunity to represent Fanimation at IUPUI’s annual student design show. We first attended this event last year and it was such an inspiration to meet the passionate young interior designers and see their work. This year, the primary focus for several projects was lighting. As I strolled by the exhibits words like, “baffled downlights,” “LEDs” and “retractable accent lights” jumped off the project boards and caught my attention. As a recently certified Lighting Specialist, I now understand this terminology and was excited to see the creative lighting choices made by the students. The design projects ranged from health care facilities to fitness centers and met the essential needs of lighting by using a variety of techniques to enhance the space, improve functionality and set the mood. The students I spoke with shared their career goals and motivation to pursue interior design degrees. Most were driven by the desire to have an impact on society by creating beautiful spaces to live, work, heal and grow.

The show was also focused on the use of environmentally conscious methods and products to improve the efficiency of the interior design. Many students were unaware of the energy and cost saving benefits of using ceiling fans which made for some interesting conversations about Fanimation. Most were surprised that such unique, cool looking ceiling fans also function to reduce energy consumption and improve air quality. For more information on the IUPUI Student Design show and interior design program, please visit IUPUI’s Student Design Organizations’s web page.