Interior Designer

Interior Designer Career

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Interior Designer your main objective is create the look, feel, and style of inside spaces. To do this, an Interior Designer needs artistic skills that let you pair colors, shapes, textures and sizes in your imagination. You also need the technical skills to understand building structure, building codes, wiring, and plumbing so that you can make your design fit within the physical limitations (and opportunities!) of a space. On top of this you need the people skills to communicate your ideas to your client, and manage the workers who will create your vision.

You won’t be stuck sitting at a desk day in and day out. Instead your time as an Interior Designer, will be spent noting the electrical sockets on your technical sketch, working with electricians to rewire for a ceiling fan, and helping your client envision the final outcome so they will stop insisting you install green shag carpet. On the whole you need to envision what an interior space could become, communicate that vision to your client, then manage the actualization of the vision.

Most designers work on a mix of residential and commercial properties, which range from living rooms to restaurants to the conversion of industrial factories into residential lofts. And while a great sense of style is obviously helpful, there are many different areas within this field in which you can specialize—and some don’t require you to stay up on the latest color trends. If you specialize in health care design, for example, you focus on clean lines and functionality instead of striving for a 17th-century, Parisian feel.

How do I become an Interior Designer?

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A degree is not strictly necessary to enter this field, but because it is very competitive an associate’s or bachelor’s degree will earn you some credibility. Some states require you to pass a licensing exam before you practice, which will make you all the more thankful for your education.