In celebration of Women’s History Month, IIDA continues its annual conversation series, Women Lead Design. This year we’re highlighting three inspiring women in the industry: Imani Day, award-winning architect, founder and principal of Detroit-based RVSN Studios, Megan Dobstaff, IIDA, design director and senior associate at Gensler, London, and Tiara Hughes, Assoc. AIA, senior urban designer at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), adjunct professor at Chicago’s Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), and founder and executive director of FIRST 500, a global platform dedicated to celebrating and raising the awareness of Black women architects. They discuss their sources of inspiration, mentorship as a two-way learning process, and the evolving role of women in design in a changing world.


Who has been an important mentor to you over the course of your career? Have you mentored others? What impact has mentorship had on you?

Imani Day: My idea of what mentorship means has really expanded—I always thought mentorship needed to come from an older, more experienced person in my field. In the past year, while starting RVSN Studios, I’ve found it most helpful to surround myself with people who understand my vision and can help strategize around achieving bigger goals. I’ve always learned from every direction; older or younger, experienced or new to the field, etc. So it’s a 360 approach to support and guidance; the most important part being the alignment of our values and making sure we’re not only looking up for direction on what’s next.

Tiara Hughes: Dina Griffin, FAIA, the president of interactive design architects. She has been a fierce and phenomenal example of an architect leading in practice. Additionally, she has been a personal mentor of mine for most of my professional career. I can call her anytime for advice or guidance in a space with so few black women. FIRST 500 is lucky to have her as an advisor!

Dina’s mentorship has inspired me to carry on the torch of mentorship because guiding the future pipelines of black women's voices is critical to the survival and growth of our industry. Our voices are needed in spaces where decisions are made, policies are considered, and positions of leadership and power are earned. We offer a different lens and point of view that’s often missing from these spaces.

Where do you look for inspiration?

ID: I’m always inspired by people who are courageous enough to approach universal problems that seem impossible to solve; who dare to tackle bigger social issues that are rooted in systemic injustice through design and activism.

MD: I’ve been an avid fiction reader since I was five years old, and for as long as I can remember I’ve escaped to novels to both be inspired by other spaces, places and planets. To exercise my creative muscles I’ve been building those worlds in immense detail within my imagination. All this worldmaking comes in handy when working with clients to craft spaces that hold their narratives and tell their stories.

TH: With FIRST 500, Black women architects are my inspiration because they have paved the way for me to have a space in the profession and their contributions to the built environment should be well known by everyone. I’m also inspired by the next generation of architects and my students—their hunger for knowledge and desire to form a better understanding of the world around us is refreshing. I recently had a person ask me if they thought students would want to learn about social equity as it relates to design. I just about screamed YES at the top of my lungs because I know this generation of students are open-minded and ambitious and ready to tackle real world issues. The people and the communities I serve inspire me too; I have always lived in areas that do not have a lot of representation in places where true change happens and advocacy for underserved communities is necessary. My personal experiences and the people from these places have inspired me to take action, and to engage and empower communities throughout the design process.

Below: Tiara Hughes, copyright Dawveed Scully

What do you see as the role of women in design in light of the past few years?

ID: Women often play so many roles in design; a lot of which are rendered invisible because of how we tend to define leadership and value tangible contributions to our offices and culture. I think it's important to recognize how much we associate leadership styles with masculinity, when there is so much to embrace and celebrate about our natural ability to empathize and humanize our team members in an industry so focused on productivity and bottom lines. There is immense strength in effective communication and emotional intelligence alongside our design skills.

MD: Our voices are being listened to and respected now more than ever before. Individuality is being celebrated and encouraged. We need to feel both empowered and comfortable enough to share our true selves, and author our own narratives.

TH: Women are change makers, leaders and true purveyors of change in our industry—we see problems as opportunities for thoughtful solutions. So many things have changed since I first arrived in Chicago, in search of a strong network of black women architects. For starters, our design schools nationwide have reached gender parity on average, split 50/50 between male and female students. The designers graduating and entering into our workforce today are more diverse and empowered than ever. And supported by networks like FIRST 500, I see a future with greater access and resources available for all to advance into leadership, have greater social impact and pursue their dreams!

What is one thing you wish more people knew about women in design?

ID: See question three, above!

MD: A study published by McKinsey & Company in 2018 approximates that despite 61% of the design industry population being women, only 11% of leadership positions in the industry are held by women. In an essay published in Stanford Medicine in 2017, it is stated that “The two hemispheres of a woman’s brain talk to each other more than a man’s do.” We dominate in both population and in duality of the mind. It’s our time to shine.

TH: Women are excellent designers and should always be involved in the design process. Everyone in the industry should be working to elevate women designers—start somewhere because no act is too small. Diverse collaborators and voices are paramount to critically solving the problems communities face and creating a more equitable exchange between designers and the communities we serve.

For more conversations on being a woman in the interior design industry, register for Collective D(esign) S3, Ep1 | Women Lead Design: New Changemakers