Interior Designers are those creative people who give life to your homes and offices. Of course, there are various designers who have pursued Interior Designing as a profession after undergoing a formal training. However, this is one such field where the individual’s sense of design and the willingness to work in a challenging environment can make you a better professional even if you don’t have a formal training. In this post, MsME Interior Design has come up with all the information you need to know about becoming an Interior design along with some myth busters.
Interior Decoration and Interior Design are two different things
The job of an Interior Designer is a lot more challenging and involves various other aspects than just decorating your home. You might be good with colors, textures, selection and placement of art objects but that does not necessarily mean that you have what it takes to be an Interior Designer. Interior decoration can be considered as a subcategory under the domain of interior design. However, a good Interior decorator can help a designer immensely in his pursuits, who require much more than decorating skills.
There is more to design in Interior Design
Being an Interior designer is not just about design and related concepts. ofcourse, technical Skills like technical drawing, space design, furniture design, material knowledge, as well as familiarity with the tools of interior design are must, on top of that, you need proficiency to have great interpersonal and communication skills. Soft skills are required to maintain a good network of clients, contractors and suppliers.
You need to explore your creative abilities
You should have a critical eye for understanding space along with an intuition for balance. You also need to have an obsession for colour demonstrating the fact that you possess a natural flair for interior design. It is this creative ability that can form the foundation of your long career.
It is more about the client’s preferences
You will be hired to bring to life the conceptualizations of your client and not to enforce your individual sense of style and design. Of course if your client gives you a free hand you can suggest different ideas. Many designers make this mistake of enforcing the ideas they think they will be more comfortable working around. If they want green coloured walls with a purple feature, smile politely. As an Interior designer, it is your role, however, to suggest them the right combination. You should learn to be a ‘people person’.
Treat the profession like any other business
If you are planning to open your own Interior Design firm, keep in mind that you will be responsible for running your own interior design business as well. Dealing with things as invoicing, administration and marketing will become a part of your day to day life. Therefore, if you are not comfortable with these work areas, you may need to polish up such skills or enlist the help of someone who is.
Know the Local Laws and Codes
Suppose you are working in Miami, FL it is your responsibility to know the Building codes and local laws. Moreover, they may change with time and you need to be updated with all the amendments. They are mandatory knowledge for interior designers. As an interior designer, you will be expected to know all about plumbing codes, electricity and load-bearing, etc. Stay updated with all such things. This will certainly give you the upper hand and marketability.
A professional degree is not required
The most important qualities of an aspiring interior designer are creativity and people skills. Yes, a formal degree may polish your skills but technically speaking, there are no formal qualifications that you need. Having Specialised skills and knowledge will definitely give you an edge but if you are someone who is naturally blessed with the skill set of an Interior Designer, you can simply polish your basic intuition with further studies.
You should have the ability to multi-task
As your name becomes popular, you might have a number of interior design projects on the go at the same time. You should have this ability to work on multiple projects with multiple clients overseeing multiple designs, decisions and details.
As a Designer, you will face challenges
Interior design is not just about colour and balance. As with anything in life, you will likely experience with projects that go wrong and have to deal with clients that are not easy to handle. However, it should be borne in mind that Your defining factor will be in how you choose to react to these situations and learn each time for the next time.
Don’t Rush
Building a name for your interior design business will take time. It’s ideal to assist friends and family to boost your portfolio and encourage word of mouth about your services. Use various promotion strategies. But don’t expect to be a household name overnight. Your hard work will pay off in time.
Conclusion
It is a fact that Interior designers have very exciting work lives! They work in an exciting and challenging atmosphere. As an Interior designer, you will be meeting with clients, contractors, architects and suppliers along with working simultaneously on various aspects of a project like updating the existing design, on-site work, review of the completed work etc. So if you abhor those boring and mundane desk jobs and prefer creative work where your ideas and artistic spirit get appreciated, interior design is definitely your calling.
