“2B or not 2B?” That is the question that Dr Hatice Ohzisar, founder of Edinburgh-based interior design and architectural services firm, HaticeXInterior, asks herself on a regular basis. When AutoCAD, SketchUp, V-Ray or Photoshop aren’t open on her Macbook, that is.
Because the humble pencil, when in the hand of an experienced and qualified designer such as Hatice, can be as powerful as the most sophisticated software. Here, digital is as much about fingers as it is computers.
And in these ever more cyber-driven times, a drawing on that otherwise passé creative medium, the piece of paper, is there for the client to look at immediately – without trying to remember in which folder it has been saved.
Hatice explained: “My chosen profession may be one where traditional methods retain a continuing relevance, but using modern technology allows me to provide the best possible service to my clients.”
Her Macbook is very rarely outwith her immediate reach and not being able to use her phone would be little short of disastrous. Hatice told us: “To me, communicating effectively with my clients during the design process is essential.”
Technology allows Hatice to maintain a both national and international client base, as well as helping her to express her creativity. The programmes she uses allow her to provide clients with design advice, room visualisations, furniture layout, shopping services and project management, wherever they may live or run their own business.
THE FUTURE WORKPLACE: ARE YOU READY?
A short film-inspired debate panel with architect Hatice Ozhisar, Director and founder of HaticeXInterior and Alena Rogozhkina, Founder of Sonas a behavioural change startup, discussing the evolution of the workplace and the role of people in it.
Hatice said: “I see my experience, in both architecture and interior design, as allowing me to help realise my clients’ dream designs.”
She continued: “I want to inform, inspire and assist them whilst their home or workplace is transformed into the personal space that they themselves want to see about them… and just enjoy.”
Hatice believes that technology can actually help make the design process more personal. She said: “Emails are one thing, phone calls another, but video conferencing means that I can discuss projects face to face.”
While HaticeXInterior is still a relatively new business, its owner has a wealth of experience, both here in Scotland and abroad, including working on the design of the United Nations building in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
Looking into the future of her profession and her own business, Hatice sees innovative thinking and finding creative solutions as becoming ever more important. Further improvements in technology and the development of new design tools will change how her concepts come into being.
Hatice expects that virtual reality will become a feature of most drawing programmes, commenting: “Clients will be able to ‘feel’ what I am creating for them”.
“I do, however, really believe that to truly bring a project to life, clients will need the guidance of an experienced designer such as myself and the creativity of that most amazing natural computer, the human brain.”
It could be that Hatice’s pencil sharpener will be finding gainful employment for a while yet.