One of the features of the IIDA Campus Center at San José State University is the Interior Design Student Organization (IDSO). IDSO is a student-led association for students studying or interested in the field of interior design. With over 100 student members, IDSO serves as one of the main sources of enrollment for student membership in IIDA. We are an organization that shares amongst its members a love and passion for interior design and learning.
SJSU has seen rising growth in its student membership numbers in the past two years, largely in part due to the existence of our very own studentrun interior design organization. Student leadership in IDSO hold a membership drive at the beginning of each academic calendar year to inform new students about the benefits of possessing a membership with both IDSO and IIDA. IDSO also regularly promotes participation in IIDA events, explaining the importance of being involved in the industry as a student. Race to Design IIDA & IDSO recruitment night Portfolio Review Ice and Dice Festivus Leaders Breakfast
IDSO heavily utilizes social media to reach its members, often to inform students about upcoming IDSO and IIDA events. We have 243 members in our IDSO Facebook group, which is a number that is steadily rising each semester. 95% of the group s members are SJSU interior design students, making it convenient for IDSO to disseminate IIDA-related information. The remaining 5% of members are alumni who are now professionals working in the industry, and will often post threads giving advice or offering internship opportunities. Due to the reach of social media, our members usually have a very high attendance rate for the majority of IIDA NC events.
IDSO and IIDA membership numbers at SJSU has seen rising growth in the last two years, in part due to the variety of educational events organized to promote membership. To advance the understanding of the field of design, guest lecturers are often invited to speak on their work in design. Lectures can vary from subjects such as 3D design and printing to topics such as architectural building and theory. In addition to these lectures, guest speakers are also brought in from various firms and professional organizations to develop student knowledge about the industry. EVENT LIST FOR 2017 3/23 AIA Architectural Intelligence Conference 4/19 Interior Design Major Spartan Showcase 5/18 An Evening of Conversation with Brian Graham 9/6 Presentation from Nick Steele: Advocacy 9/5 Speaker Ronald Rael: Borderwall as Architecture 9/15 T-shirt Design 9/27 IIDA &IDSO Membership Social night 10/26 Halloween Night
This year, the SJSU Campus Center s Best Thing Ever (BTE) is a community outreach project for a middle school in the San Jose school district. Archipelagos in Asphalt was a 6 week design and construction project that was developed and executed by interior design students at SJSU for Lee Mathson Middle School. The objective of this project was to design a set of benches for the students at the middle school that functioned not only as seating, but also as a garden for various flowers and vegetables. The design of these benches was inspired by the cracks in asphalt blacktop at the school. Here s a quick video that was made by the students involved that documents the various phases in the project: https://vimeo.com/219413483
Although it is not specifically an interiors project, this project exemplifies IIDA s vision by creating awareness for and elevating the field of design. The vibrant sets of benches sit at the center of a school courtyard that is devoid of color, where it serves as a lesson for the students that design has the potential to transform spaces and environments positively. By changing the students experience at their school, the hope is to instill in them the knowledge that design as a practice exists, and that it is wildly effective in shaping our world.