Interior Design
Interior design is all about creating the space within a space for example designing the interior for a hotel, or shops. It can also be the space outside for example, promoting an exhibition, you could have one of the pieces outside with directions for the public to follow. Although really it can be anything and anywhere.
Now there are certain sectors within Interior design;
- Residential – Houses,Flats, Canal boats. these can be new builds or existing builds.
- Workplace – Factories, Offices
- Temporary exhibition pieces – Museums, Gallery’s
- Commercial – Shopping malls, Warehouses, Conference centers
- Leisure – Cinemas, theaters, Health centers
- Hospitality – Hotels, Restaurants,Pubs, Cafe’s and Nightclubs
- Education – Schools, colleges and Universities
- Health care – Hospitals, Care homes and Nursing.
Salary
Many Interior designers are self-employed so they could be charging anything from £30-£50 an hour.Depending how experienced you are, you could be charging up to £100 per hour, for your time. Junior Interior Designers will be empoyed by an agency and could earn anything from £15,000 – £20,000 a year.
In 2008 the average salary for someone who has been working in Interior for 3 years was £23,000 year. With 5-6 Years experience can earn up to £25,000 – £30,000 a year. Designers with over 10 years of experience can earn up to £32,000 a year.
Responsibilties
In interior Design, tasks and responsibilities may vary depending on how experienced you are and also the size of your company, however the following would usually pop up in your contract.
- Client briefing – this might include a dissuction of needs, desires and initial ideas. Branding consideration may also need to be considered. Also the budget and also a time scale.
- Research – This will involve showing your client photographs and mood boards, with samples of furnishings and lighting (basically anything that will be going into the room/space)
- Proposal – This involves producing sketches and more detailed drawings, sourcing and choosing specific fabrics and also fixtures and fittings.
- Monitoring costings and timescale.
- Preparation of a contractor brief and selection of contractors who will help you on your build. Also a list of suppliers, budget, experience from the workers.
- Project management – Supervision of the work on site.
- Project delivery and handover – Making final inspections and handing all the information to your client.
- Follow up – Resolving any problems that may have happened.
Qualification
A professional qualification is essential in order to pursue a career in Interior Design. There are a wide range of courses available as well as extra training. The British Interior Design Association provides a list of higher education establishments offering Interior Design courses.There are hundreds of courses ranging from a 10 week certificate to a full time 4 years BA Honours degree.
It depends which area of Interior Design you are interested in and what one would suit you best. You also need to look at the entry requirements and what restrictions there might be. also the distance and time scale.
The following City & Quilds courses are a good option which will get you started in Interior Design:
- Level 1,2 and 3 Certificate in Design & Craft
- Level 3 Diploma in Design & Craft
- Level 1,2 and 3 Award / Certificate / Diploma in Creative Techniques.
You could also study for a BTEC National Certificate and Diploma in Art & Design or ABC Diploma in Interior Design.
Degree courses may vary from 2-4 years. Although there are many different courses such as: Interior and Spacial Design, Interior Architecture, Interior Decoration, Interior Textiles, Furniture Design.
There are also elements that will be included for example:
- History of the discipline (art, architecture, interiors and furniture)
- Theory of design
- Materials studies (finishes, furnishings for interior design)
- Drawings, photography, also including technical drawing applications such as Auto Cad
- Spatial layout and planning
- Budgeting and time planning
- Professional practice (communication, office organisation)
Skills
Interior Design employ wide range of skills for example:
- Technical skills are important, especially in Auto CAD and drawing and sketching ability.
- Good spatial awareness, imagination and creativity are also essential.
- you will need excellent communication skills, both for client liaison and research plus to manage to talk to your suppliers and contractors.
- Team work and management skills are important especially in Interior Design. Its important because you have to direct the build and supervise the contractors and any work going on.
- Motivation and the ability to work unsupervised are also important, especially for freelance designers.
- Business skills will be important for most designers especially if you’re self-employed. This includes budgeting, marketing and time management skills.
- The ability to work under pressure and attention to detail is also important.
Interior Design is the career choice i have always wanted to get into, although from doing these course i would like to become a lecturer and teach in a college rather than a secondary school or primary. Although i have the patience to work with children at those ages, coming from Interior Design wouldn’t be enough to work from as in school they cover a wide range of art, although i have previously done BTEC National Award in Art & Design as well as a Diploma.
Also from college i have been accepted for interviews from Hertfordshire, Writtle College, Suffolk – Ipswich and Canterbury all doing Interior Design, Interior and Spacial Design or interior Architecture. From then on i will be either accepted from all 4 choices or from 1 and my university application will be verified and i will be going to the university that accepted me. After 3 years i will be then graduating and applying for a TLLS – Teaching for life long learning sector.
Hopefully after a year of the TLLs course i will applying to any colleges around my area, and waiting for reply’s to see if i have been accepted to work. From there on i will be a lecturer and although i wouldn’t mind doing secondary work, I’d prefer to work with the older students, although know that i may not be working for an entire week so may end up having to look for another career in between.
