Becoming a professional interior designer requires a qualitative interior design education. It is not enough to have good taste, be creative, or have a flair for decorating interior spaces.
A good interior decorator can achieve all these, but interior design goes beyond all that. You must have an accredited interior design education, and an associate or bachelor's degree is a requisite for working in the field. Today's building industry seeks professionalism, so if you desire to be a part of this lucrative industry, you'll need a proper education.
The minimum qualification required to become a professional interior designer is an Associate Degree in interior design. This course takes about two years to complete and will provide you with the practical skills you'll need to build a successful career.
While the associate degree is the minimum qualification needed to get into the industry, the highest degree required is the Master's Degree program. However, you should have a Bachelor's Degree in Interior Design, Interior Architecture, or Architecture to qualify for the MA study.
Once you've earned your degree in interior design and worked for a year or two, you should apply to sit for the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exam, which qualifies you for licensure. With this, you will become a certified interior designer.
Interior Design Education: What You Will Study
To become a professional interior designer, you do not need any mathematical, technological or science-oriented skills. Taking an interest in art and creative subjects is a great advantage. If you appreciate the unusual, or if you are “remotely creative”, fashionable or even flamboyant, you will most likely make a great interior designer.
The basic courses you should expect to study in most interior design schools are listed below. These courses, which may vary slightly from one college to another, are the foundation required for a successful interior design career.
- Style and Design
- Colour
- Surfaces and Surface Finishes
- Soft furnishings
- Lighting
- Presentations
Style and Design
As a professional interior designer, you will have the ability to create schemes that are almost timeless with a striking appeal.
The enduring quality of style is usually a good testimony to the skill of an interior designer, whether it's their personal style and taste or not.
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| Stylish interior design theme - (Image used under license from 123rf.com) |
A successful designer must be able to design functional, practical and stunning interiors in various styles, with each and every style reflecting the tastes and ideals of each client. Topics covered include:
- What Makes Style: You are taught how to analyse the key elements of designs and how to identify a variety of styles.
- Categories of Style: You will learn about all the major designs and styles around the world through the times.
- Eclectic Designs: You'll be taught how to work and design for individual clients by going beyond style, including how to blend styles and designs of differing times.
- Elements and Principles of Design: Shape and Form; Pattern and Texture; Rhythm and Harmony; Art and Origin—these are the building blocks of design that you will use to optimal effect in spaces and interiors.
- Achieving Visual Balance: Balance, symmetrical and asymmetrical aspects of designs will be covered in this class.
- Space Planning and Design: You'll learn about open-plan designs and how to plan spaces effectively. This is a major aspect of this class.
- Finishes and Accessories: You will create stunning and up-to-the-moment designs using decorative details.
Colour
In this section of the diploma course in interior design education, you will explore important aspects of colour. You will learn how to apply it in interiors, as these topics will be covered in great depth.
One of the main reasons many design areas fail is the inability to use colour successfully. This is the most valuable tool interior designers have at their disposal.
Getting the right colour balance is paramount to the success of any interior space. For example, clashing colours will give you a garish and cheap look.
Whilst designing, the colour scheme is very important to your client, so you can’t afford to get it all wrong.
Some people are naturally gifted and can get creative with colours, but in most cases, the ability to use colour is a skill that can be learnt using powerful yet simple tools and techniques.
Successful interior designers use this time and time again to produce winning colour combinations for their interior design tasks. Topics covered under colour include:
- The Science of Colours: Learn about the relationship between light and colour, what light is, and how it is formed. You will also be taught how the relationship between the two works.
- The Theory of Colour: Learn about the natural laws of colour and how to use them effectively.
- Colour Combinations: Acquiring skills with successful colour combinations and making any colour look great is the emphasis in this class.
- Characteristics of Colour: Using colours as an illusion in interior schemes, to disguise, emphasise or accentuate.
- Psychology of Colour: Why do colours affect us, and is it true that they have an effect on our emotions? You will also learn the importance of colour psychology to an interior designer.
- Colour Notation: Learn to understand colour so that it can be communicated confidently in design decisions.
Surfaces and Surface Finishes
In interior design parlance, the surfaces referred to here are the floors, the walls, and the ceilings. They undisputedly are the largest surface areas in any interior space.
Finishes chosen for them are of extreme importance and have an impact on the overall design when completed.
There are many possibilities and choices available, but practicality and functionality must be addressed so that the overall design can stand up to the wear and tear of everyday use.
Classes include:
- Walls and Ceilings: Find out about the available varieties and options. Learn about all the installation techniques and the impact of the materials used on your designs.
- Flooring: The most wear and tear occurs on the floor. Your choices as an interior designer will be determined by their practical implications. You will learn about soft floors, semi-hard floors and hard floors.
- Wall finishes—painting and wallpapering: Learn about calculating requirements and the use of guides. These two finishes play a predominant role in the final works of an interior.
- Specialist Finishes: Murals, Trompe l'oeil, faux finishes and other unique finishes to achieve dramatic looks.
- Kitchen Designs: Learn how to plan out the kitchen. The various layouts, such as the L-shape, the U-shape, the work triangle, etc.
- Bathroom Designs: Learn how to create and use space effectively in the toilet and bathroom areas.
- Storage: How to squeeze out space for storage facilities is always essential. Learn how to maximise space for improved living.
- Practical Planning: Learn about creating a schedule and order of work. Know how to form a logical work pattern.
Soft Furnishings
In interior design and decoration, soft furnishings refer to curtains, cushions, sofas, rugs, window treatments, etc.
Window openings determine the view and the amount of natural light that permeates the room. You will know as an interior design student that the window is really about framing the outside view as well as adding style to the interior.
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| (Image used under license from 123rf.com) |
You will be taught how drapes and curtains are made and fitted and how you can use simple techniques to achieve a beautiful and successful interior. You will learn about fabrics and their varied construction.
You will enjoy this interior design subject tremendously. Class topics include:
- Curtains and Drapery: Curtain headings, bodies and edges and how to vary each of the three elements to make curtain designs
- Valances and Pelmets: Learn about the many types and styles of valances and pelmets and how to use them effectively to enhance windows.
- Fabrics: Practical considerations and the ones to avoid
- Poles, tracks, and accessories: Learn which one works for what style of curtains and pelmets
- Soft furnishings and curtains (ready-made): Learn how to use them successfully.
- Ways of using fabrics: Which fabric to use for soft furnishings, such as beds, upholstery, chairs, etc...
Lighting
Lighting is used primarily to light up a place but skillfully to draw attention to decorative details. It is also a great way to create mood and ambience. Studies have proved that proper interior lighting enhances health and well-being.
In interior design education classes online, you will learn the different approaches to lighting and the appropriate choices and types.
At the end of your lighting course, you can successfully incorporate lighting into your interior scheme whilst possessing the tools to communicate professionally with electricians and architects.
The following topics that will be covered in the diploma class include:
- Natural and Artificial Lighting: Learn to create effects using natural light on mirrors, glass, stainless steel etc. See the varied effects of lighting and how to use them effectively.
- Quality of Light: About bulbs, light fixtures, and fittings
- Adaptation Levels: How to choose appropriate levels of light for different requirements
- Technicalities of lighting: The relevant lighting used in commercial and residential spaces
- Wiring and Switches: Practical and safety considerations
- Electrical Planning and Specifications: You’ll learn how to prepare instructions that are clear for interpretation by electricians and contractors.
Presentations
A presentation illustrates your skills as a professional interior designer.
After an interior designer develops the design concepts, it has to be communicated to their clients. The means of communication used to be strictly through drawing plans, working drawings, specifications tables, mood boards, etc. These are then presented professionally to clientele and contractors.
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| (Image used under license from 123rf.com) |
Today, interior design software is greatly encouraged and learning how to use it has become a part of interior design education's curriculum. Presentations can now be seen virtually, with walkthroughs possible, all on a computer screen.
Presentations are important because they allow you and your client to experiment with different layouts, design options and colour schemes before making final decisions.
This class will teach you how to create impressive presentations that help put your ideas forward and sell them. Topics covered should include:
- Design Preliminaries: You are taught about meeting with your client and defining their design requirements. This is more of an in-depth dialogue period to know exactly what goes on in your client's mind as per what needs to be done.
- Visual Communications: Exactly what this means - using your mood boards or computer interface to enable clients to flow with your design ideas
- Site Measurements/Surveying: Teaches you how to do site measurements and records relevant details you will need during the development of your concept.
- Scale Drawings: Step-by-step drawings, to show you how to produce scaled plans, elevations and sectional drawings.
- Briefs and Specifications: How to present clear and detailed instructions for contractors so they can easily interpret and produce your designs.
- Contracts: You will learn how to deal as a professional interior designer with clients, suppliers and contractors
- Pricing: Learn how to charge your clients for services rendered.
The presentations class is one of the most important in interior design diploma courses because it doesn't matter how good a designer you may be. Only professionally put-together presentations will "land" you the job!
(Article originally published by me at https://hubpages.com/@viryabo)
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