Simply stated, the pound sign or hashtag is visually represented by the symbol ‘#’, and by placing the symbol in front of a word (or series of words) on a social network, it will turn that word into a metadata tag. In simple English, the ‘#’ symbol turns the word(s) immediately following it into a searchable term that can be used on that website or social network, which is activated by someone clicking on that hashtag. And, here we are yet again. It seems as though, try as we might, we just can not extricate ourselves from the ever-present eye of this social media monstrosity. In fact, it is believed that the use of hashtags began on the very popular social media platform, Twitter. Early users of Twitter figured out a way to avoid having to sort through endless mounds of random conversations to arrive at what they considered was the “meat” from the usual proverbial information overload.
It wasn’t long before companies caught on to this growing phenomena and decided to capitalize from its trending influence. Campaigns featuring new products are heavily decorated with inventive and attention-grabbing hashtags. This is especially true where Interior Design is concerned. The nature of home and decor’s existence relies heavily, if not totally, on visual impact. In a matter of seconds, one’s attention is captured and it isn’t much long after that the viewer is ushered into a trance-like engagement of whimsical design play. The use of hashtags in this sense gives homeowners and lay decorators the benefit of an abbreviated narration or description of a photo’s content. Effective use of hashtags gives this same viewer search options as well as succinctly answers questions that may arise about a particular artifact used in a photo. For example, when posting or advertising a picture of a decorated bedroom, the blogger/advertiser may use a hashtag to give information about the skilled artisan who constructed the bed’s headboard, or may give the name of the pattern used on the damask.
Some key hashtags used in Interior Design are “instadecor”, “instadesign”, “instastyle”, “walldecor”, “patternmix”, “renovation”, “designprocess”, “NewYork”, “Miami”, “California”, “instaretail”, “styleblog”, “photooftheday”… the list goes on.
The Interior Design industry continues to be a mirror to whatever is trending in all other industries. With widely-accepted nuances such as the use of hashtags in social-media networking and marketing, we are fortified with even more resources and means of turning design dreams into reality.