Steven Webber, associate professor from Florida State University and former president of the Interior Design Educators Council, shared his research on emotional intelligence and advice gleaned from years of experience in a workshop for Liberty Interior Design students Oct. 23.
Webber is an accomplished author, educator and researcher in his field. Having spent over 20 years in interior design at several different firms, he currently teaches upper-level undergraduate and graduate design studio classes and researches design processes and emotional intelligence.
The workshop, sponsored by the Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) Department, took place in DeMoss Hall, and covered emotional intelligence and empathy within the interior design field — topics within Webber’s areas of research. Webber explained to students that exhibiting high empathy and systemizing quotients, a process that depends on analytics, are traits unique to interior designers and are necessary when working with a client.
Reflecting on his years of experience at Gensler, a major firm for interior designers, Webber said building relationships with those in the workplace is important.
Many of the students in attendance were familiar with Webber, as his name is found on the cover of their Interior Design I textbook “Interior Design Fundamentals.”
Webber advised the students on how to maintain emotional intelligence despite the challenges that may come from the industry.
“The best piece of advice I can give to any design student in the room is to love the design process,” Webber said.
According to Webber, designers often have to revise and redesign projects, so falling in love with the process is vital for success.
“I really appreciated how he emphasized creativity,” senior Alayna Lestarjette said. “An environment and an interior will affect how you feel, how you see things, how you operate, so creativity is really important.”
Senior Karen Wallace found it refreshing to hear someone so respected and well-versed in the industry confirm that interior design relies on both beauty and form.
“That really stood out to me because trying to explain interior design to other people, so many people see it as just decorating and purely aesthetics, but it’s so much more than that,” Wallace said.
Webber also appeared in several interior design studio classes to offer desk critiques for students Oct. 23 and 24. Webber went out of his way to connect with students to give genuine feedback on their projects.
“I was really enjoying the creativity that I was seeing in the classroom and the dedication to the work,” Webber said. “When you see those traits in young people, in students, you have tremendous trust that they’ll do well in their profession.”
Dr. Janet Brown, department chair of the FACS Department, explained how Webber’s presence in the classroom and presentation at the workshop brought immense value to students who were eager to grow.
“The biggest thing that we want our students to learn is first of all how to network, and then also to learn from professionals in the field,” Brown said.
Webber ended his workshop presentation by pushing students to exceed expectations and assumptions in the design world. He reminded them that an interior designer is blessed to be influenced by emotion in tandem with the technical aspect of the trade.
Professor Emily Kalafian, an assistant professor of Interior Design at Liberty and host of the workshop, expressed her gratitude for Webber’s investment in student development and his passion for the Lord.
“His heart is so evident through what he shared — his heart for encouraging students both in their faith, but also in their profession, so I’m grateful for his time,” Kalafian said.
Quam is a feature reporter.