What You Learn at Interior Design School
Interior designers are hired to re-structure, re-arrange and re-design spaces for their clients. With that comes great responsibility and a particular creative and technical skillset to execute a project. Attending Interior Design school provides students with the education, qualifications, licenses, and general knowledge of budget and safety to be a successful designer. We asked Ivy Interior Designers to provide their biggest technical, business, client management, philosophical, and experiential learnings from attending Interior Design school.
Technical
1. The Principles & Elements of Design
2. AutoCAD, Rendering, Space Planning/Ergonomics, Scale
3. Learning to draft by hand
4. Critical design thinking
5. Color theory
6. Construction principles and building code
7. The ‘design lingo’
8. How to think critically and holistically about the narrative of space
9. Aesthetics divorced from function are meaningless
10. Pay attention to every detail
Business & Client Management
11. How to network
12. The power of working while you’re taking classes. Internships give you real hands-on experience outside of the classroom. Your internship experience can also help you land your first design job.
13. Business workflow including design programs and time management
14. Various methods of conveying ideas to clients
15. How to help clients stretch from the status quo
Philosophical & Experiential
16. Fail faster
17. Personal acknowledgment of what you’re capable of
18. Don’t only learn from your instructors – listen to your fellow students. Everyone has something to share with you, you just have to look and listen.
19. Don’t fall in love with your first idea because it may be your last idea
20. Understanding that your skillset of creativity, technicality, spatial and critical thinking is perfect for executing great interior design projects
21. Work hard for you passion
22. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, change your process and try different ways that work for you. Change is a necessity and makes you grow. Just as you get creative in your designs, you have to get creative in your business model.
Here at Ivy, we’re more than just an interior design software. Our mission is to provide interior designers with the community, resources and tools needed to manage your business beautifully. Are you searching for a business management tool to help streamline your workflow as an interior designer?