Bridging the Gap: Leveraging Workspace Design and Behavior Setting Theory to Enhance Collaboration Between Furniture Designers and Furniture Makers

BS Interior Design

Maria Michaela H. Ferrer is a creative professional with a background spanning graphic design, branding, photography, and visual storytelling. For over a decade, she worked with start-ups, agencies, and social enterprises, while also serving as a design associate in her family’s furniture manufacturing business. In August 2025, she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Interior Design Professional Program from SoFA Design Institute. She now aspires to pursue a practice that bridges spatial and object design, grounded in the belief that both spaces and objects shape feeling, meaning, and connection. Her thesis explores how strategic workspace design can foster collaboration between designers and makers in small-scale manufacturing, integrating visual design expertise with a deepening commitment to interior and furniture design.

Thesis Adviser

IDr. Lynne I. Brasileño is a graduate of BS Interior Design from the University of the Philippines-Diliman and she passed the PRC Interior Design Licensure Exams in 2010. She taught part-time in SoFA Design Institute. IDr. Brasileño co-teaches Interior Design Thesis Class. She is also a Lecturer in DCTID of the College of Home Economics and a Senior Research Analyst in the School of Economics, both in UP Diliman.

Thesis Adviser

IDr. Che Alexei G. Ellson, is a graduate of BFA Interior Design from the Philippine Women’s College of Davao and he passed the PRC Interior Design Licensure Exams in 2009. He has been an interior design educator for fourteen years, and is currently a full-time ID faculty in SoFA Design Institute. IDr. Ellson co-teaches Interior Design Thesis Class. He is currently studying his MA in History, focusing on Interior Heritage History.

Bridging the gap: leveraging workspace design and behavior setting theory to enhance collaboration between furniture designers and furniture makers in a small-scale furniture manufacturing company in San Pedro, Laguna

This study examines how workspace design, guided by Behavior Setting Theory (Barker, 1968), can enhance collaboration between furniture designers and makers in a small-scale manufacturing company in San Pedro, Laguna. While these roles work side by side, differing spatial needs often hinder communication. Through interviews, focus groups, and on-site observations, findings reveal that designers prefer structured zones for ideation, while makers rely on open, flexible layouts. Both stress safety, cleanliness, visibility, and oversight. The proposed design applies flexible zoning and color-coded areas to balance independence and collaboration.