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.
We admit it – this is a really weird word. It reminds us of the word matrimony, but it’s really a verb meaning to enroll as a member of something, usually of a school. You probably won’t ever use this word yourself, but you will probably come across it at some point – that’s why we are including it. We want you to feel smart, you know.
Example: Several decades ago Bobbie, Sara and Julie all matriculated together at the Rhode Island School of Design, and after graduation they started their own design firm together.
We love this word for some reason. (Maybe because it sounds so British?) Anyway, it can mean either lacking taste, having an unpleasant taste, or being childishly sentimental.
Example sentence: Elle was shocked to see how much her clients fawned over some antique prints they found in a Parisian flea market, for she thought they were unbelievably mawkish.
A Latin term translated as “through my fault” and used as an apology or a formal acknowledgment of personal fault or error.
Example: “Mea culpa! I am horrified that I purged those documents from the hard drive. I swear I thought they were the old versions of our marketing materials!”
What a fabulous word. Just say it out loud. Doesn’t it sound like what you would imagine honey sounding like if that lovely golden substance had a sound? That’s a good thing because mellifluous means having a silky, rich flow or being full of something (like honey) that sweetens.
Example: When project meetings became heated, Vivian always took the lead because her mellifluous voice calmed the others down, diffusing any flaring tempers and opening up discussion for compromise between all those in attendance.
As you might imagine, the origin of this word is the Roman god Mercury, after which the planet is named. Due to Mercury’s darting about, traveling the earth and heavens as a messenger, the word mercurial is used to describe something/someone that has been influenced by the god/planet – i.e., a bit unstable, erratic, unpredictable or even volatile. Though Mercury was also clever and eloquent, his lesser qualities tend to be associated with this word.
Example: Geoff’s mercurial disposition was getting in the way of his ever being promoted to the firm’s healthcare division’s primary project manager position.
Most often used to describe the proliferation of cancer within someone’s body, this word, which means to expand or grow out from an existing site, is also used to describe the spreading of (often) negative concepts, attitudes, opinions, etc.
Example: Once the idea took hold within the management team that the firm couldn’t survive the slowing economy without laying off several team members, it was only a matter of days before poor morale metastasized throughout all of the project teams, leading to low productivity, high tension and heated arguments.
Since you know what the “metric system” of measurement is, it probably wouldn’t surprise you that a metric is simply a standard of measurement.
Example: While the firm’s principals were formulating their 18-month strategic plan, they were very careful only to include tactics to which metrics could be applied so that they would be able to gauge their progress in absolute terms.
Remember this word by thinking of its homophone: metal. Metal is strong and durable. Likewise, mettle is a noun meaning stamina or staying quality, as well as strength of temperament and spirit.
Example: Vickie knew that if by staying at the office until 2am three days in a row in order to complete the set of construction documents for her firm’s biggest boutique hotel project yet didn’t prove her mettle to her boss, then absolutely nothing would.
“No, I was talking about YOUR asthma!” Sorry, we couldn’t resist, but our lame attempt at a joke should help you recall the meaning of this word. Why? Asthma refers to a respiratory disease, and miasma refers to a very unpleasant smell, unhealthy vapor or foggy atmosphere (that we imagine could probably act as the catalyst for an asthma attack). However, the term can go even further and describe an air of corruption or negativity.
Example: Hannah was so relieved to finally be able to quit her job at the showroom because the miasma of bitterness and backstabbing made it a most unbearable place to work.
This important sounding word means a small portion or a limited quantity. For whatever reason, in our minds the word conjures images of tiny dust particles floating in the air…
Example: If her project leader had but a modicum of communication and delegation skills, Veronica knew that her team could easily knock out the construction documents by the end of the week.
(pronounced MOH-duss-op-er-an-DEE or MOH-duss-op-er-an-DIE)
A Latin term that mean “method of procedure” or a pattern of behavior. On cop shows you often hear characters refer to a criminal’s “M.O.”, which has given the term a somewhat negative slant.
Example: Since the client’s modus operandi was to reject the first couple of options, the designer always presented her preferred choice last.
Also spelled “monicker,” it’s a name, nickname, or pseudonym that you gives to yourself or to a group to which you belong. Usually this renaming is done for professional or creative purposes, to set you or the group apart.
Example: When the talented bunch of designers, architects, and engineers decided to go into business together, they gave themselves the moniker Collaboratory, which was unusual enough to gain them needed attention and catapult them to the forefront of Miami’s design scene.
From the Latin roots “mono” for one and “onyma” for name, you can probably offer a pretty good guess of what this word means. Yep, if you are mononymous, then you are well known enough to be referred to by only one name.
Example: Our favorite mononymous designer is the Irish-born Clodagh, the nomadic, multi-faceted creative pioneer who has put her stamp on everything from makeup packaging to million square foot hotels.
These days, we’re so accustomed to using the “mute” button on our TV remotes and cell phones that you might think this word means “able to be silenced.” Well, you would be wrong. Instead of mute, think mutation. As in alteration, change, evolution. So mutable means capable of, prone to, or given to variation. Though change can be good, mutable can also have a more negative connotation. As in fickle or indecisive.
Example: Jesse’s increasingly mutable moods did nothing but cause his clients to doubt him, his sub-contractors to distrust him, and his architect interns to completely lose their respect for him.
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.
