Special Issue for the Journal of Interior Design (JID)Under the auspices of the Interior Design Educators Council

The JID has a call for Papers for a Special Issue of the Journal of Interior Design. The theme is Crafting Environments: The Impact of Digital Technologies on Interior Architecture and Design

Crafting Environments: The Impact of Digital Technologies on Interior Architecture and Design

Are digital technologies redefining interior architecture and design? Do they help address the pressing challenges of our time?

We have been confronted recently with exponential innovations in digital technologies, automation and communication, but their impact on interior architecture and design needs further exploration. In contrast to industrial design or product development, the interior design discipline is not focused on the prototype, but on the tailored interior, the interior designed for very specific spaces. This likely explains the limited exploration of digital tools in interior design. Nevertheless, this issue invites the exploration of this interesting territory and the paradox it
presents.

May 1, 2025

Registration of Interest Deadline

December 20, 2026

Full Submissions Deadline

July 31, 2026

Final Submissions to Publisher

December 2026

Publication

Some questions have already emerged, including whether automated and augmented interiors create transformative interior experiences (Moujan 2022). What forms of interaction between physical and virtual spaces do we experience with increasing frequency and what is their impact on us (Barankevich and Stokols 2023)? What is the emerging potential of virtual simulations and immersiveness in interior design research (Kalantari and Neo 2020)?

The use of emerging digital technologies such as extended realities, generative design, and biometric sensing – spanning software, hardware and methods – offer opportunities for innovation. However, their integration requires a shift in the way we approach interior design practice and research. Digital tools promise to redefine the epistemology of interior design, pushing the disciplinary boundaries of interior design and industrial design. Interior architects and designers are uniquely positioned to bridge aesthetics and functionality while redefining spaces, improving user experiences, and addressing global challenges like sustainability, diversity, and heritage preservation.

This special issue asks how digital technologies can best support research, education, and practices of interior architecture and design and how they affect the field. It invites research that challenges conventional approaches and explores how digital tools can foster interdisciplinary collaboration, empathy, and innovative solutions in interior architecture and design.

We welcome contributions in areas such as:

  • How might digital technologies shape the design and representation of interiors? (examples: digital sketching, simulations, CAD/CAM/BIM, prototyping)
  • What roles do virtual and hybrid spaces play in redefining interior design and its practice? (examples: metaverse, digital twins, augmented interiors, physical–virtual continuum)
  • How does education in interior architecture and design integrate digital advancements and how do educators and students combine digital approaches with analog ones? (examples: digital narratives, photography, the digital in pedagogy, new media, environmental analysis)
  • How do interiors adapt to and influence user perceptions and emotions? (examples: responsive interior atmospheres, biometric studies, space perception, emotions)
  • How can user-focused and computational methods advance interior research? (examples: generative design, biometric sensing, space syntax, user experience)

This special issue aims to address the current use of digital technologies in interior architecture and design and explore future directions for their application in real-world scenarios.

We welcome empirical research, pedagogical innovations, theoretical discussions, and state-ofthe- art reviews that bridge digital and analog methods to advance research and practice, from home environments to urban interiors and everything in between. We particularly encourage studies that demonstrate the potential of digital technologies to contribute to design, analysis, and pedagogy. Scholars are strongly encouraged to submit multidisciplinary, collaborative work involving fields such as interior architecture, interior design, industrial design, architecture, user experience design, design history and theory, human factors and ergonomics, behavioral science, computer science, psychology, and other relevant disciplines.

References

Barankevich, R. and Stokols, D., 2023. Environmental Design for the Physical–Virtual Continuum. Journal of Interior Design, 48 (1), 6–11.

Kalantari, S. and Neo, J.R.J., 2020. Virtual Environments for Design Research: Lessons Learned From Use of Fully Immersive Virtual Reality in Interior Design Research. Journal of Interior Design, 45 (3), 27–42.

Moujan, C., 2022. The edge of experiences. Towards a material ecology of augmented interiors. Interiors: Design, Architecture, Culture, 12 (2–3), 307–329.

Submissions should expand and question our conventional understandings of the topic and its complex relationships to interior space. All work must demonstrate new knowledge and ideas. Papers must be original work of the author or authors and are not being considered for publication in other journals. Submissions may be checked for originality using plagiarism detection software.

Submission Deadlines

May 1, 2025

Registration of Interest – Authors are asked to register their intent to submit a paper by sending a 200-word abstract to Sara Eloy at sara.eloy@uantwerpen.be

Please put your surname and “JID Special Issue” in the subject line. Registration of interest is not refereed, nor is it a requirement to submit; we strongly encourage authors to use it, however. The acknowledgement of registration facilitates development of a proposal to full research paper by providing confirmation of fit with the special issue. Recognition of fit does not guarantee publication.

December 20, 2025

Full submissions are due. See author guidelines found on JID’s website at Sage Publications (https://journals.sagepub.com/home/IDX).

December 2026

Publication of JID Special Issue

For questions regarding the call for papers, submission deadlines, or anything related to the content of the Special Issue, contact Sara Eloy at sara.eloy@uantwerpen.be Please put your surname and “JID Special Issue” in the subject line.

Guidelines for JID Submissions

Authors should follow the guidelines found on JID’s website at Sage Publications. Please note the unique guidelines for articles versus visual essays. Perspectives and Letters are by invitation only. https://journals.sagepub.com/home/IDX

Technical questions regarding the submission of documents through the ScholarOne website should be addressed to Maddie Sabatelli, Editorial Assistant (assistant.jid@gmail.com).

The Journal of Interior Design is a scholarly, refereed publication dedicated to a pluralistic exploration of the interior environment. Scholarly inquiry representing the entire spectrum of interior design theory, research, education, and practice is invited. Submissions are encouraged from educators, designers, artists, anthropologists, architects, historians, psychologists, sociologists, or others interested in interior architecture and design.

Guest Editors:

Sara Eloy, Ph.D., University of Antwerp and Els De Vos, Ph.D., University of Antwerp

JID Award Recipients

JID Best Article
2022

PJ Carlino Ph.D.
JID 46.1 Tied to the Desk: The Somatic Experience of Office Work, 1870–1920 (pages 27-43)

2021

Giyoung Park Ph.D., Upali Nanda Ph.D., Lisa Adams, Jonathan Essary M.Arch., Melissa Hoelting B. Arch, HKS, USA
JID 45.1 Creating and Testing a Sensory Well-Being Hub for Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities (pages 13-32)

2020

Stephanie Liddicoat
JID 44.2 Spirituality in Therapeutic Spaces: Perceptions of Spatiality, Trace, and Past Rituals Manifesting Present Occupation (pages 26-42)

2019

Amy Huber
JID 43.4 Exploring Hiring Practitioner Preferences for and Assessment Practice of Prospective Candidates (pages 21-44)

2018

Xiaobo Quan, Anjali Joseph, & Upali Nanda
JID 42.1 Developing Evidence-based Tools for Design and Evaluating Hospital Inpatient Rooms (pages 19-38)

2017

Dianne Smith & Linda Lilly
JID 41.2 Understanding Student Perceptions of Stress in Creativity-Based Higher Education Programs: A Case Study in Interior Architecture (pages 39-55)

JID Outstanding Reviewer of the Year
2022

PJ Carlino Ph.D.
JID 46.1 Tied to the Desk: The Somatic Experience of Office Work, 1870–1920 (pages 27-43)

2021

Giyoung Park Ph.D., Upali Nanda Ph.D., Lisa Adams, Jonathan Essary M.Arch., Melissa Hoelting B. Arch, HKS, USA
JID 45.1 Creating and Testing a Sensory Well-Being Hub for Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities (pages 13-32)

2020

Stephanie Liddicoat
JID 44.2 Spirituality in Therapeutic Spaces: Perceptions of Spatiality, Trace, and Past Rituals Manifesting Present Occupation (pages 26-42)

2019

Amy Huber
JID 43.4 Exploring Hiring Practitioner Preferences for and Assessment Practice of Prospective Candidates (pages 21-44)

2018

Xiaobo Quan, Anjali Joseph, & Upali Nanda
JID 42.1 Developing Evidence-based Tools for Design and Evaluating Hospital Inpatient Rooms (pages 19-38)

2017

Dianne Smith & Linda Lilly
JID 41.2 Understanding Student Perceptions of Stress in Creativity-Based Higher Education Programs: A Case Study in Interior Architecture (pages 39-55)

Thank you to IDEC Sponsors and Partners

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