How to Become a Interior Designer

About Interior Designer

Individuals who work as interior designers create various spaces, from indoor to outdoor spaces, providing a pleasing home environment as well as beautifying the outdoor environment. We frequently visit restaurants, office buildings, and even homes with aesthetically pleasing interiors. But are you aware that professionals are hired to make a place look so visually appealing? Do you want to be remembered every time a visitor compliments the interior design of a place you designed? An interior designer's job is to study the art of transforming a space into what the client desires. There are numerous things and designs that an interior designer implements, whether it is designing a restaurant, the interior of a home, or the creation of office spaces.

Interior designers are people who work for clients to create visually appealing rooms and spaces. Interior designers work with a diverse range of clients, from small home owners to large corporations. Interior designers transform offices, hotels, and other spaces to meet the needs of their clients. Interior design courses can be taken by students who want to work as interior designers.

The job of an Interior Designer is to come up with ideas and conceptualise the design keeping the environment of a particular space in mind. The next step for them is to transform their ideas and concepts into reality. Drawing skills and sense of creativity are the two most important aspects of this business. More than a thousand Interior Designers graduate every year to pursue their dreams. While there is no dearth of opportunities for Interior Designers in India, the options to make a career in this field is relevant across the globe.

Responsibilities of Interior Designer

Here are some of the major responsibilities that an interior designer enjoys.

• Brainstorming and conceptualizing ideas.
• Visualising and sketching design plans for interior spaces.
• Keeping an eye on the upcoming trends.
• Ensuring that the end result is aesthetic and functional.

Eligibility to become Interior Designer

Provided below is the basic eligibility criteria required to be an interior designer. The table includes the education qualifications, work experience and skills for the aspirants. Go through the list to understand the requirement of the job better.

Courses to become an Interior Designer

Check out the top courses, fee and colleges that an individual can consider in order to establish a strong career in Interior Design. You can click on the college links below to directly apply for admissions or you can also fill-up the Common Application Form. For a hassle-free procedure, get in touch with our admission experts by dialling the toll-free number 1800-572-9877.

Types of Job Roles Interior Designer

After successfully completing a degree in interior designing, candidates can opt for a number of interior design job profiles. The common thing required for all the jobs is to be creative. Few top job profiles for interior designers are mentioned below:

• Interior and Spatial Designer: These designers are responsible for renovating and designing the internal spaces. These spaces include furnishings, colour and lighting schemes, structural alteration, fixtures and fittings. The platform for work for these designers can comprise of the commercial, domestic or leisure settings.

• Lighting Designers: These designers focus solely on the variety of lights and their impact on the surrounding environment. What lights should be used in office space, at home or at commercial outlets are the decisions taken by the lighting designers.

• Visual Merchandisers: Designers of this job profile are responsible for creating interesting and innovative designs for visual displays at the retail outlets. Visual Merchandisers make the outlets fascinating so that the customers are attracted towards the shop.

• Production Designer/Art Director: These are the professionals in the entertainment industry. They are responsible for creating, maintaining and executing ideas of the director by putting in their creativity and thoughts. Production designers are responsible for set designs that we see on our television screens or in films.

• Exhibition Designer: As the name suggests, an exhibition designer works on large projects and exhibitions on a commercial basis. The main aim of these designers is to convey the message of their client to the audiences.

If you are confused about which career profile suits you the best, take our Career Profiling Test. It will analyse your aptitude, personality and interests and present you with the apt choices.

Skills Required to be an Interior Designer 

Interior designers have the ability to take a colourless space and turn it into something vibrant. If you have the ability to draw and think outside the box to meet the needs of the client, you are on the right track to begin your career. People who are creative are needed in this field. Students who want to be a part of a fun-loving and fascinating career should develop some skill sets. Below are some skill sets that an aspiring interior designer should pursue in their interior design career path.

• Visual Representation: For space planning, room function, furniture arrangements, and appliance arrangements, an interior designer must visualise in great detail. Visualisation is critical in architecture and interior design. The designer can match the colour of the walls, curtains, and furniture inside the building using highly specific computer programmes. This also promotes innovative and diverse graphics technologies
• Problem-Solving Skill: An interior designer must regularly solve problems that arise in their work as a result of client requirements as well as other external factors. Everything does not always go as planned, and there are always unexpected delays and costs. In the interior design process, a problem-solving system is essential. Each design project includes unique design challenges that require creativity and innovation to solve. To solve a design problem, a designer must have a set of ideas and motivation
• Project Planning: Budgeting abilities are essential in this profession. Negotiation, forecasting, transparency, record keeping, and identifying hidden costs all require strong numerical skills and financial creativity. The role of the interior design project manager in the development of a corporate building structure should be critical for a customer in order to achieve their desired design goals and functions during the initiative's planning phases and during the construction procedures
• Creative thinking: Interior design is a creative profession that aspiring designers can pursue if they enjoy allowing their creative impulses to hold for a longer period of time. Creativity is defined as the ability or knowledge to follow the rules while also knowing when to break them. Creativity encourages employees to collaborate. They ask colleagues for suggestions because they all have creative ideas. The design process encourages teamwork through design, which is the most significant benefit of having a workplace where innovative thinking can occur
• Logical Thinking: Interior designers must be able to think critically. Individuals who choose a career as an interior designer may have a particularly difficult space or a client with a specific set of needs, and whatever the issue, an interior designer's critical thinking skills will help to solve it. Not every interior designer gets good clients who are easy to understand. At that point, they must think outside the box in order to meet the needs of their clients
• Structural Awareness: The interior designer must use unused space to create an efficient flow of movement in office spaces. The interior designer's spatial awareness aids in achieving the goals. These people must understand how to occupy every available space and improve its structure. Spatial knowledge is an essential component of everyday life. It aids in the explanation, communication, and recognition of the world around us, and thus plays an important role in maintaining health and wellness. Apathy is one of the most serious threats we face in the workplace
• Computer Knowledge: Nowadays, interior designers use computers to create their goals. Today, computer skills are one of the most important aspects of the interior design profession. Using cutting-edge technology aids in sketching the design and creating renderings of the vision for an interior space. Today, computer skills are essential in the interior design profession. Using cutting-edge technology, designers may be able to sketch concept ideas and create vision illustrations for an interior space
• Paying attention: Interior designers must be able to actively listen in order to notice all of the detailed specifications made by the clients during a client meeting. Because this job is primarily based on the needs of the client, professionals must prioritise the client's preferences. Active listening allows you to comprehend and make logical sense of what someone is saying. Employees are more efficient when they have good communication skills. Employees can better understand their assigned tasks if they listen effectively
• Managerial Skills: Interior designers must supervise work progress while also maintaining a friendly work environment. They must collaborate closely with designers, decorators, architects, and builders to guide them as per the client's specifications. Individuals who choose a career as an interior designer must maintain a connection between the client and the workers on the job. Not only must you be in the office working on software, but you must also be physically present to inspect the work on the field

Employment Sector/Industry for Interior Designer

Interior designers can find employment opportunities in the following areas.

• Architectural Firms

• Retailers

• Interior Design Companies

• Designing Consultancies

• Construction Companies

• Set Designing Companies (for Theatre, TV or Film)

• Event Management Companies

• Exhibition Centers

Top Recruiting Companies for Interior Designer

Interior designers can look for a decent job in a number of good companies in India. Apart from giving exposure and some experience, the following companies will add brand value to your resume.

• Interia

• Acropolis

• Tag Concepts

• Livspace

• Urban Ladder

• Effervescent Technologies Pvt. Ltd

• Bonito Designs

• Films Factory

• Inch

• Homelane

Pay Scale/Salary of Interior Designer

An interior designer is paid based on the level of creativity and experience he/she has. Listed below are interior designers’ salary based on their job profiles and experience.  

Note: The above figures are an estimate and may vary from individual to individual and organisation to organisation.

Go through the figure displayed below to find out the salary growth experienced by an Interior Designer.

Books & Study Material to Become Interior Designer

To pursue this career, candidates can either opt for a degree or a diploma programme. Depending upon the type of programme the candidates choose, the admission procedure will differ. Usually for a diploma degree, candidates can take direct admission based on the marks they scored in their 12th boards. For a bachelor degree programme, the top institutions generally prefer candidates who clear their entrance exams and meet the qualifying mark. In order to prepare for such exams, candidates can take help from the following books and study material:

• NIFT/NID/IIFT Entrance Examination by Shadan Usmani

• UCEED (B.Des) Entrance Books and Test Series by AFAINDIA

• NIFT/NID/IIFT Entrance Examination 2018 by Dharmendra Mittal

• Seeds for CEED by Bhushan Patil

• Wren & Martin by P.C. Wren

• Lucent's General Knowledge by Manvendra Mukul, R. P. Suman, Renu Sinha, Sanjeev Kumar, and Vinay Karna

Pros of becoming a Interior Designer

• You get a chance to work in an environment full of light, life, and colours.

• Your creativity leads you to turn your imagination into reality.

• As part of your job, you get to interact and communicate with many people, which is good for some networking.

• Established interior designers are paid very well. 

Cons of becoming a Interior Designer

• An interior designer cannot execute his/her idea without manpower and resources. 

• One of the biggest challenges can also be dealing with clients regarding the payment. 

• The level of competition is very high in the field of interior designing.

• A single project will consume a lot of your time before it actually shapes up.

Career path for Interior Designer

The field of interior designing does not require formal education but people who have completed some professional course or those with a bachelor's degree are given more preference. Degrees at master’s and doctoral levels are also available. It has also been observed that employers in interior design businesses give more preference to those who  have an academic background related to the field of interior designing. Those who come from an engineering or architecture background before specialising in interior design are expected to have a better understanding of this field. Interior designing courses are offered by many design schools and masters degree in fine arts with a specialisation in interior design is also available at some institutes.