An ISU duo took second place in the Interior Design Education Video Competition.

Anya Robson and Emily Erbes, both seniors in interior design, represented Iowa State in the competition hosted by the Interior Design Educators Council. In its 50th year, the competition hosted 30 submissions from around the world.

Each year, the contest gives students an opportunity to work on something outside of the classroom to expand their knowledge. Students were able to bring technology into their studies of interior design.

The theme for this year’s competition was ways the public’s economic well-being is affected by the skills of fully prepared interior design practitioners.

“I was really happy when I found out we placed,” Robson said.

Robson and Erbes video was called “Economic Impacts of a Qualified Interior Designer.” The video described the contributions an interior designer makes to the economy.

The winners were announced during the Interior Design Education Video Competition 2012 Annual Conference in Baltimore in March.

The video had images with voice-overs from each student about the design process: project research, design development and project implementation. Robson and Erbes showed each aspect and then referenced it.

“We were very confident with the material, and I think that contributed to us placing,” Erbes said.

It took the students about one day to make the video with iMovie in the computer lab and a few hours writing the script, Robson said.

“I wasn’t expecting this outcome at all because I had never made a video before,” Erbes said.

The idea to enter the competition was sparked by the student’s professor, Jihyun Song, in one of their upper level design courses. Song encouraged all his students to enter the competition.

Having students from Iowa State win in a global competition is a very big honor for the school, students and faculty alike.

“I think us placing shows the strengths of the programs at ISU because we used our knowledge from them to compile the information into the video,” Robson said.

The winning videos will receive cash prizes along with recognition in an issue of Interiors & Sources magazine and on sponsoring organizations’ websites.