WHAT IS AN INTERIOR DESIGNER?
& WHY DO I NEED ONE?
The field of Interior Design has evolved greatly over the last few years. Many people don’t actually know what an Interior Designer does, other than decorate. Don’t feel bad, before I started school, I wasn’t really sure of the level of detail necessary either.
Interior designers are trained to design from the ground up.
Along with the basic classes needed for any bachelors degree, interior designers take classes in the fundamentals of drawing and design to instruct them on perspective drawing, shading and color theory. Other Classes include: Architectural Drafting, History of Architecture, American Art History, History of Architecture – Interiors and Furniture I & II, and Intro to Interior Design.
After drafting basics are achieved, a designer moves on to digital drafting. These classes include Design Basics 3D, CAD I, CAD II, and Digital Modeling I & II/Revit. Using CAD & Revit, I took Construction Documents I & II as well as Interior Detailing to be able to produce construction documents like those you would see an Architect produce.
Other design classes that are vital to the degree of Interior Design: Space Planning, Sketching and Ideation, Materials & Specifications, Lighting Design, Human Factors, Codes & Regulations, and Textiles. These classes teach space planning, how humans use those spaces, as well as accommodating those with disabilities.
There is even a science to lighting a space well and highlighting certain aspects. Think about museums, libraries, restaurants or jewelry stores, they all have different levels of lighting. Textile classes helps designers understand how fabrics are made, the different qualities that each one has, and applications certain fabrics are best used for. For example, if someone has small children or pets, they need fabrics that are easily cleaned and will stand up to more wear and tear. An interior designer can help you make choices that will save you money in the long run.
After these classes come more to build on, and develop, those skills: Commercial Design I & II, Global Design, Residential Design I & II, Residential Kitchen & Bath, Environmental & Sustasnable Design, and Hospitality Designs. The projects I designed in my classes were a Hotel, Luxury Gym, Historical Home turned into a Community Event Space and Museum, ADA compliant Residence and Mobile Rescue Shelters for several areas of the World.
For my Senior Project we were allowed to design anything we were passionate about. I chose redesigning a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to better serve babies and parents. You can see this on my Gallery page. I wrote my research paper over the history of NICUs and their progression over the years. After completing the research portion, I used that information and completely redesigning an entire NICU floor plan.
From a blank slate to a fully designed space, complete with hand-rendered and digital drawings. I really enjoy space planning and thinking through what makes a space function well.
The last phase of my Senior Project was the Construction Documents class. I took my floor plan and produced the Construction Documents that would allow the space to be built. In the real world, engineers, architects, and contractors would go over these plans, and make any changes before the final drawings were approved to be built.
You see, there is far more to Interior Design than you might think. An Interior Designer can take a design problem and skillfully apply their knowledge and design solutions to produce a space that is not only beautiful, but integrates your ideas and lifestyle, to create a space you want to spend time in.
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