Sonali Ashar, Creative Director and Principal Designer at Sonali Ashar Design, emphasizes how the worlds of interior design and technology are converging like never before. AI and AR are no longer futuristic concepts—they are practical tools reshaping how spaces are imagined, planned, and experienced. From predictive layouts to immersive virtual walkthroughs, these technologies empower designers and clients alike to make informed, confident decisions. Ashar believes this blend of creativity and technology is making design smarter, more interactive, and accessible for everyone.
Traditionally, interior design relied heavily on intuition, mood boards, and gradual visualization. Today, a digital transformation is underway, where imagination intersects with intelligent computing. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) have moved beyond futuristic buzzwords—they now actively shape how we envision, plan, and inhabit our spaces. According to Sonali Ashar, Creative Director and Principal Designer at Sonali Ashar Design, this fusion of creativity and technology is redefining design, making it faster, smarter, and deeply immersive.
AI: A Designer's New Creative Collaborator
AI now plays the role of more than a digital assistant, it's becoming a creative partner. Designers can engage with AI tools by inserting themes, color schemes, how a space can function, and in a few short minutes, AI will produce several unique designs. These algorithms analyze dynamic design principles on a global level, designers preferred materials, and even user behavior to help facilitate data-based design decisions that are also very aesthetic. AI gives designers the ability to design predictively, with the comprehension of how the space will be used that can evolve layouts for highly optimized efficiency.
AR: Try Before You Live
Eliminated are the days when clients had to rely on 2D sketches and imagination. AR allows clients to walk through their future residence or office before the first nail is hammered. With a smartphone or headset, clients can place furniture, change wall colors, visualize light, etc all in real time, As a result, easily and confidently make decisions faster while making fewer mistakes.
From Shopping to Experiencing
Furniture shopping has also become an experience. Brands are using augmented reality (AR) in their apps, allowing customers to "drop" products into their actual spaces to visualize them. This new tool not only reduces returns and saves time, but transforms shopping from a lottery of guesswork into a personalized, guided experience.
Precision Meets Poetry
Designers can now utilize technologies that assure they can have precision in their design without sacrificing creativity. AI helps to optimize layouts and best space utilization, and AR ensures accurate scale and proportion. This combination marries function and aesthetics, where every corner is a deliberate choice, and all design decisions are data-driven.
The Future: Co-Creation
The future of design is about co-creation. AI and AR will not replace design, but will enable designers to co-create with their clients in real time. Client experiences will become increasingly interactive, personalized, and sustainable democratizing design and making beautiful spaces accessible to everybody.
