Designing Inclusion: Semiotic and Cultural Frameworks for Gendered Spaces in Contemporary Interior Design

This study investigates the intersection of semiotics, gender theory, and inclusive design to explore how interior environments operate as visual and spatial discourses that construct, reinforce, or subvert social narratives of power, identity, and belonging. Drawing upon critical theory and feminist design scholarship, it interprets interior design as a semiotic system in which material arrangements, spatial hierarchies, and aesthetic choices communicate cultural meanings (Barthes, 1972; Bourdieu, 1984; Hall, 1997). The paper adopts a critical–theoretical approach that integrates semiotic analysis with inclusive design principles to illuminate how gendered codes are embedded in, and can be reconfigured through, spatial design practices. Three original conceptual frameworks are proposed: the Gender–Power–Design Interaction Model, which maps the relational dynamics between gender identity, spatial representation, and domestic power structures; the Semiotic Layers of Interior Space, which identifies how meaning is generated across denotative, connotative, and ideological levels; and the Inclusive Design Continuum, which outlines a progression from traditional to equitable design paradigms. Collectively, these frameworks offer an interpretive methodology for understanding interior space as both a cultural text and a site of negotiation where inclusion, accessibility, and social equity are contested and redefined. By situating design as a form of cultural authorship, the study advances a humanistic and ethical understanding of spatial practice, one that foregrounds diversity, representation, and the semiotic construction of social identity. The findings highlight the urgency of embedding critical reflection within design pedagogy and professional practice, positioning inclusive design not merely as a technical criterion but as a transformative cultural process (Imrie & Hall, 2001; Papanek, 1985; Preiser & Ostroff, 2001).