With a seven per cent increase in the number of jobs available for product, clothing and related designers predicted over the next six years, there is no better time than now to start your career in interior design.
What is an interior designer?
Interior designers are involved in the design or renovation of internal spaces, including structural changes, furnishings, fixtures and fittings, lighting and colour schemes.
They work in a range of commercial, leisure or domestic settings, combining the efficient and functional use of space with an understanding of aesthetics.
What does the job involve?
As an interior designer you would plan and supervise the decoration of people’s homes, offices, hotels, shops and restaurants so they are attractive places to live and work.
It would be your job to come up with designs for the inside of buildings. You’d work with clients to find out what they’re going to use the room for and create a scheme that is practical as well as beautiful.
Interior designers will usually be based in a studio but will also spend a lot of time visiting clients and sites. If you become a freelance designer, you may work from home, share offices or rent a studio.
Hours for interior designers can be quite long and you may have to work irregular hours including evenings and weekends. Salaries can vary quite a bit but the average UK salary is over £33,000.
What skills will I need?
There are a host of important skills that interior designers possess. These include:
- Communicating with people
- Working with your hands
- Using computers
- Finding solutions to problems
- Planning and organising
- Being creative
- Time management
- Making decisions
Where can I gain these skills?
Fife College is the perfect place to start your career in interior design. Throughout our HNC: 3D Interior Design course you will learn the knowledge and skills you’ll need to develop the creative, analytical, and technical skills needed for jobs in the interior design profession.
A one-year course, the HNC will give you knowledge and skills in areas such as developmental drawing, the creative process, digital imaging (2D CAD), art and design project, interior design projects and construction and detail. The HNC can then led to an HND year which builds on the skills and knowledge learned the HNC.
Move onto university study – with direct access to second or third year of a degree
Not only will our HNC and HND courses set you up for your career, we also offer progression to year two or three of the following degrees at Edinburgh Napier and Heriot-Watt Universities, on completion of the HND:
- BDes (Hons) Interior and Spatial Design at Edinburgh Napier University
- BA (Hons) Interior Design at Heriot-Watt University
To find your ideal route into your career as an interior designer, visit our course page.
