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This section serves to expand your regular vocabulary. What separates the men from the boys (or the women from the girls, if you want to equalize things) is v o c a b u l a r y. We cannot stress this point enough. People who have a larger vocabulary have been shown to make more money and get promoted more often.
Absent the French accent of sister word piqué (see DESIGN SPEAK for that definition), pique can act as either a verb or a noun. As the former, it means to irritate, offend and awaken bitterness in, especially by provocation. As the latter, it describes a feeling of resentment or injured pride.
Example: The architect’s pointed remarks about the overall direction of the project really piqued the rest of the design team and actually caused the project manager to storm off in a huff.
The pithy little word of “pith” reflects its definition. The noun “pith” means the core or essential part of something. Hence, the adjective “pithy” means substantive, but succinct and concise in message.
Example: In the annual job evaluation that tended to tie Joey’s stomach in knots, his curmudgeonly boss actually concluded the meeting with a positive, albeit pithy, overall review.
You will sound so very smart using this word as it refers back to ancient Roman times. As a noun, a plebeian is a member of the Roman plebs, the general body of Roman citizens that were distinguished from the patricians, or privileged class. In everyday use, the word is used to describe those who are considered common, vulgar, or downright objectionable.
Example: Though she knew she shouldn’t, Victoria couldn’t help but consider her fellow designers plebeian as they all preferred TV over reading and had never traveled far beyond the state’s borders.
Whether you spell like the French or pronounce it like the Americans, it means the same thing: someone who is insincere or has an affected air about them. In the same vein, a poseur is also someone who professes to be what he or she is not. “Oh, daaahhling – you are a poseur just like that chap in John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation!”
Example: Veronica hated that her boss and showroom manager made an idiot of himself by being such a poseur in front of their most important client, who happened to a extensively-traveled, well-educated designer who could see right through John’s ridiculous façade.
This term has a couple of meanings. First, just like you deposit money in the bank, you can posit – i.e., set or fix – something in place. Posit can also mean to assume the existence of or suggest an explanation for something, and that is the definition used in the example. P.S. If you look at this word really fast, sometimes it reads as “Post-It.” Or is that just me?
Example: Considering the lack of corporate projects coming into the firm, Amira posits that her team will be the next one receiving pink slips.
Notice that this word is NOT pronounced as it appears. Say it POT PURR-ee and others will have comedy material to use against you for weeks. Disgustingly enough, this French word literally translates to “rotten pot.” Ironically, we now use it to describe a mixture of herbs, spices, and flowers that not only looks beautiful (hopefully), but also smells equally as pleasant. And you can use this odd, yet diverse, little word in one more way: to describe a random collection or medley of something.
Example: The new regional sales rep, who was on the ball and eager to secure a specification, presented a potpourri of durable fabrics and wallcoverings as he knew the firm had just landed a huge healthcare project the month before.
Are you a matter-of-fact kind of guy? Do you prefer concerning yourself with the practical and dealing with the actual? Do people refer to you as a Realist rather than an Idealist? Then you are pragmatic. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
Example: Within the firm overflowing with creative intellectuals, the financial manager was known as “Pragmatic Jack” because he only ever concerned himself with the bottom line.
Again, one of those words with multiple meaning, but all actually related. In fact, there are so many that we’re not even going to cover all of them so that we can just focus on the most common usages. When it comes to the tangible, precipitous means quite steep or overhanging, as in a slope (ex: ramp), grade (ex: hill), or ascent (ex: road). In intangible terms, the word means overhasty or rushed, especially without much thought or consideration of the lasting effects.
Example: Due to the ridiculously fast turn around on the contract documents, the specification for the hotel lobby’s flooring material was precipitous, resulting in high long-term maintenance costs for the owners.
“We’re sorry, but our regularly scheduled programming has been preempted to bring you this breaking news!” Yes, that’s how most of us are familiar with this term, but this odd little word – that’s not exactly pronounced like it’s spelled - can mean more than replacing something with something else of seemingly higher priority. It can mean to obstruct or prevent something from happening altogether, or it can also mean to take control of something for oneself or a group, essentially shutting others out. Our example sentence covers the latter definition.
Example: By mid-day during the charette taking place during state Student Career Day, the two design students from Washington College preempted the entire team’s concepts and took the design solution in a completely different – and, unfortunately, wrong – direction.
We guarantee you that this word’s popularity hit its peak in 1988 when Bobby Brown’s catchy single “My Prerogative” hit the airwaves. So what was he singing about? Having the special right or exclusive privilege to act as he saw fit. And we all want to claim that.
Example: Though Vincent advised his client not to install the dilapidated doors salvaged from the abandoned house next door, she insisted that it was her home and her money, so it was her prerogative to do what she liked.
No, we’re not referring to the noun version of this word, which means a toilet (heard mainly in the UK). We’re talking something a little more surreptitious here. Privy is an adjective meaning secret or private, most especially, admitted as one disclosing in something slightly cloak-and-dagger.
Example: Todd arrived early to the weekly project meeting, only to hear the supervising contractor and his bookkeeper discussing cheating his client. Now that he was privy to their illegal behavior, he had to decide how to secure proof.
A Latin meaning “for form”. It’s used in the sense of making or carrying out a task in a perfunctory manner or as a formality. In the design business, you will see it frequently used in relation to an invoice, as in providing one in advance to describe items or show how things should be presented. In general business, it can refer to balance sheets, etc.
Example: In an attempt to project the overall financial soundness of her small firm, the newly self-employed architect created a pro forma balance sheet to show her accountant the projected relative amount of money tied up in receivables, inventory, and equipment.
A noun that means decency, honor, and an observance only to the highest ethics. We remember it this way… Probity sounds like a “heavy” word to us, which makes us think of seriousness and honor. It’s a stretch, we know, but it works for us.
Example: From the way he calmed clients to the way he praised employees to the way he negotiated with contractors, Danny’s probity was impressive and apparent in every aspect of his job performance.
This word is a more formal-sounding way to offer or to present for consideration or acceptance. In my head, I always say it with a British accent.
Example: After the leather manufacturer’s Italian workers went on strike indefinitely, Jude proffered an alternative, locally sourced material that they could use on the 400 club chairs needed for her firm’s boutique hotel client.
This term is a sophisticated way to discuss an item’s source or history, especially when collectors are searching for rare pieces on which to spend their cash. Usually, the more detailed the history of an object d’art or painting, the more valuable it is. Grand provenance = lots o’ money.
Example: Richard’s wealthy client asked him to reconsider the design he had proposed for the company’s lobby because he had just purchased a painting of exemplary provenance and wanted to make it the area’s focal point.
To bridge the gap between the student / educational community and the professional / manufacturer community of the interior design world, and not to die of boredom while we do it.
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IFI (International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers) presents WING: World Interiors for the Next Generation and invites you to enter THINK/WORK: An IFI Design Accelerator Competition sponsored by Teknion. This competition seeks projects that re-envision, re-invent and re-design future workspaces. IFI and WING calls upon Interior Architects/Designers to submit solutions that bring value, relevance, responsibility, culture, business, knowledge and identity as stated by the IFI Interiors Declaration. The deadline to enter is June 28, 2013. GO HERE to find out more.
Enough Said T-Shirts
Created by a couple of Milwaukee interior designers with a quirky sense of humor, a healthy dose of sarcasm and a heaping serving of caring. Check out Enough Said to find fun t-shirts with a message.
