Connect with your Passion
When I did an interior design course, I would think the only profession that I would be in is being an interior designer or decorator. Today, when I see we have an array of professions students, can pursue who has learned interior design is way too many.
While there are many exciting career paths in the interior design, mostly a designer still decides to specialize in more than one area of practice. One needs to have an understanding of the subject and the passion for making it as a career of being creatively different.
Let us look at a few career paths in designing
1. Interior Designer:
It is the most obvious option for designers. The job involves the design or renovation of internal spaces for residences, offices, retails and hospitality, etc. It allows one to combine the efficient and functional use of space with an understanding of aesthetics. The designers also get to work with various materials like furnishings, fixtures, lighting, color schemes, and various other agencies as well.
2. Interior Decorator / Stylist:
Decorators are all mainly about aesthetics. It involves selecting colors, arranging furniture’s, buying accessories, deciding on any new products that suit a space. Conceptualising the entire theme for space and working towards it to procure all the right products and create it.
3. Furniture Designer:
This is a specialization job for designers. In this, you can work with furniture companies as a designer or start your boutique and guide the carpenters in the production of the same. When working with clients, you would get to arrange furniture’s at homes, showrooms, offices and use the space optimally. It is a vast field, and it helps one gain intricacies and delicate nuances of furniture.
4. Exhibition Designer:
Designers here help provide layouts and decide on the décor in exhibition halls. The designer needs to have proper knowledge of modular stand design, custom build design, lighting design, load calculations, safety procedures. The things to be kept in mind are also the traffic flow, visuality and the theme of the brand. The other skills required are CAD and 3D packages like 3D Max, Adobe Suites, etc.
5. Lighting Designer:
Lighting designers need to know a lot of about the lighting specifications, should know the basic electrical wirings to bring out the best effect of creative lights in a space depending on the nature of the project. They also work on decorative products such as light fittings, shades, and luminaries for manufacturers. Proper knowledge of lighting and its effect is very crucial.
6. Kitchen Designer:
It is again a specialized career that involves kitchen aesthetics and human ergonomics for people who use them. Designers understand the client’s requirement of the space and try to balance both design and functionality recommended in the kitchen. Along with this, the designers also consider kitchen temperature for the décor, and maintenance required and replacement procedures.
7. Set Designer:
Currently there is a considerable demand for designing various events, award shows, parties, weddings, etc. The designer needs to be innovative and creative for the design to stand out and be different than the rest. In this one also needs to know about lighting, load calculations, good sketching, and 3D skills.
8. Model Maker:
A crafty job that involves building the actual space in a required scale with various materials. One can be an interior or architectural model maker it needs a lot of time and patience. Mock-ups are generally a part of the design process. Model makers mostly work as freelancers, and their scaled models are used in museums, movie industry, private studios, corporate offices, etc.
9. Interior Journalist/Blogger:
Many magazines are featured on the world of interiors that are brimming with articles, interviews, inspirations, etc. If you like writing and have a good background in interior design, this is the best place to be. The area teaches a lot about the industry, latest trends, and fashion, try different roles and a great place to build new contacts.
10. Teach Design:
It is such a pleasure to share your knowledge with the passionate students and give them the technical expertise, encourage them to be creative and trigger their design gene to be talented designers. A tutor can share a lot with the experience that they carry and guide students in the right direction.
Interior design is one of the best course in the creative department. One needs to have an aptitude for art, design and décor and the ability to challenge oneself to come up with new ideas and concepts.