What does an interior designer do?
Interior designers work on interior space planning and architecture, creating aesthetically pleasing cohesive designs for building interiors and businesses for clients ranging from homeowners to large corporations. In addition, many interior designers specialize in particular design fields, such as home design, corporate office spaces, commercial interiors, environmental design etc.
Using varying furniture placement, functional décor, colour palettes and, decorations, interior designers can create a variety of spaces, from halls and living rooms that are aesthetically pleasing yet functional to offices that people love to work in. Elements such as lighting, flooring, artwork and window treatments work together to contribute to an overall pleasing look, satisfying the client’s needs.
What qualifications and skills are needed to be an interior designer?
Interior design degree:
It is mandatory to have an interior designing degree and at least one year of experience to get knowledge on building codes, inspection regulations, building permits, contract administration, contract standards, professional practice, design application, and project coordination.
Artistic mind and design eye:
Interior designers pay attention to interpreting different designs, for instance, seeing a particular piece of art and recognizing how it affects the mood through subject matter, colour or style.
Developing your “design eye” and sense of style is a significant part of becoming an eminent interior designer, so start thinking critically and pay attention to the world around you, from building decorations and clothing shops to homes.
Project Management skills:
Polishing project management and communication skills are crucial for hitting deadlines, keeping the projects organized, communicating with vendors, and building contractors to fulfil clients’ expectations.
Designing software :
As sketches and drawings are part of the interior designing process, almost all professional-level interior designers finalize their project blueprints in specialized software programs called computer-aided design programs (CAD).
Jobs in Interior designing
Interior designing job salaries vary based on a person’s credentials, degree, professional organization, and geographic location.
The average monthly salary for an Interior designer in Pakistan is Rs 80,000.
Enlisted below are types of interior designing jobs.
- Executive
Job titles: Founder, Co-founder, Principal, Partner
- Director
Job titles: Design director, Junior partner, Junior principal, Creative director, Senior associate, Managing director, Studio director
- Senior Designer
Job titles: Senior Interior Architect, Senior Interior Designer, Associate Architect, Senior Project Designer, Studio manager.
- Project Manager
Job Titles: Planner, Strategist, Project manager
- Designer:
Job titles: Architect, Designer, Project designer.
- Junior Designer
Job titles: Architectural Designer, Interior design assistant,
- Interior Decorator
- Technical Designer
How do I start an interior design career?
There are few essential steps to be utilized to get started on the career path:
- Educate your eye:
You can sharpen your eye at any age level, whether you are starting your training degree or entering the practical field. The most critical point for developing sensibility of keen designing is the awareness of your surroundings, i.e. pay attention to architecture, graphic design, clothing, landscape designs etc. Everything has emotion and meaning. Furniture galleries, museums, art, vintage, clothing shops etc., are great places to start developing interesting ideas about various kinds of designs, including playful, bold, muted, futuristic, classic or whatever you are naturally drawn to.
- Study Interior design:
Formal education is required to practice Interior designing, at least a bachelor’s degree, but sometimes an associate or master’s degree is a criterion depending on the firm you will be working with. While related accredited degrees like design theory and architecture are preferred, don’t be discouraged if you have a degree in something else; instead, consider enrolling in some design-related coursework (like art and design, fine art, colour theory or computer-aided design) to round out your knowledge.
- Seek out formal training :
Its time for seeking out building career experience and opportunities after graduating to initiate building a portfolio. In general, you will need a minimum of one year of full-time on-job experience and training before you can market yourself officially as an interior designer, so peek around for entry-level jobs, internships or apprenticeships at interior design firms. Solving problems, creativity and detail-oriented approaches are fundamental things to prosper in this field.
- Work for a branch or firm on your own :
Once you are eligible to practice in this field, you are free to pursue any design work you are interested in – whether that is work or an established firm or to start one’s own small business for design services to seek out new clients on your own. The main point is listening to the interests of clients.
Do you need math for interior design?
Interior designing is not limited to colour harmony, ornamentation, furnishing, lightening and other treatments; instead, there is a reality of compulsion for an Interior designer to be aware of (but not a master of) basic maths concepts, keeping aesthetics aside. He should be well aware of architectural systems and components, including structures, materials and mechanics, to design pieces not only in compliance with the design and structural integrity of the architecture but also with local code requirements.
Though the artistically creative mind functions quite differently from the mathematical, analytical mind, yes, maths is vital as both are related. If your field of work is more toward interior architecture, it requires more technical knowledge and maths. An interior designer needs to have a good understanding of basic geometry, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, as knowing about how to work with geometric spaces and using them as a foundation is a valuable skill, so one can be capable to correctly calculate the area and apply the material cost and labour to those areas, to track expenses and develop budgets.
Interior designing is not just about making spaces look pretty; it is about making them functional for the owner. Life safety issues are involved in commercial interior designing, and the maths and physics aspects are precious for managing.
