Career in Interior Designing

Do you have an interest in physical spaces? Do you frequently make suggestions on how to improve your home surroundings, or do you like to design or redesign your personal space? Can you some day see yourself as the person responsible for redesigning the interior of your school, your favorite restaurant or shopping center? Well if your answer is yes then a career in Interior designing will be right for you.

Interior designing as a specialization became popular only in the last few years. Earlier architects did all the design work themselves. Of late people have become more conscious of the design, layout and placement of their interiors, for offices, factories as well as residences.  This has opened the door for a large number of professional interior designers. Most interior designers specialize in a particular area. For example, some may concentrate on business design, while others focus on residential design and landscape designing.

Interior designing involves organizing, managing and planning of the interiors of rooms at homes, offices, retail shops, showrooms, hotels, airports, exhibition halls, conference centers, theatres, TV and film studios and commercial establishments etc. The objective of designing space is to achieve functionality and to create the right kind of atmosphere for the right budget.

With a client's tastes, needs, and budget in mind, interior designers prepare drawings and specifications for non-load-bearing interior construction; this includes choice and decoration of walls, floors, roofs, choice and placement of furniture, window treatments and other indoor objects, lighting and control of visual and sound effects.

Qualifications

Like many careers, the basis of a career in interior design is a college degree. Clients that hire interior designers recruit candidates with at least an associate interior design degree. For more complex, larger or higher profile jobs, clients prefer to hire someone with a bachelor's or master's degree. So, to get your career off the ground, formal interior design study is a must.

Skills

To succeed in this field an interior designer requires energy, technical proficiency, vision and dedication. They should be creative, imaginative and artistic.

Interior designers must be comfortable meeting and dealing with many kinds of people. They must communicate clearly and effectively, as well as be attentive listeners. They should also have excellent time and project management abilities since they frequently work on more than one project at a time under demanding deadlines.

Interior designers must also know about the materials and products that will be used to create and furnish the space, and how texture, color, lighting and other factors combine and interact to make a space. In addition, they must understand the structural requirements of their plans, the health and safety issues, building codes, and many other technical aspects.

Career Options 

Job prospects are rosy in the Interior Design field. There are lots of employment opportunities for interior designers in various fields.  They can find employment with architectural firms, builders, public works department, hotel and resort chains, hospitals, town planning bureau, regional and metropolitan development works, private consultancies, studios and theaters and exhibition organizers. etc. Interior design also offers excellent opportunities for those who wish to be self-employed, or work part time. Once they make a name, it is a very lucrative profession.

Remuneration

Career in interior designing brings attractive remuneration and perquisites. Earnings for interior designers vary widely depending on the type of design they do. Beginners' monthly salary range between, Rs. 5000 to Rs. 8000 while established designers gets Rs.50,000 to Rs. 75,000.