Interior design: A lucrative career option

Do you have a habit of scourging furniture shops? Do you always critically look at someone's home decor? Do you keep doing up your home with newer and better knick-knacks? Do you sometimes feel that some homes do not reflect the owner's personality?

If you have said yes to any of the above, you are well on your way to being a good interior designer.

Interior design does not require an introduction. Most of us have come across this speciality sometime in our lives and like all careers, it is boom-time for interior designers too. So, if you are looking at making a career in interior design, here's some helpful information.

What is interior designing?

Interior design is the process of shaping the experience of interior space. So it's not just interior decoration but it also involves aspects of environmental psychology, architecture and product design.

While some would say it is just the art of putting some furniture together, interior designers beg to differ. Experts say that interior design is a creative process that understands the client's need, creates a conceptual design, reviews the design, and produces a final cut design document or plan.

Many a time, an interior designer works closely with the architect to define the finer nuances of a home. However, these are absolutely different branches looking at different aspects of a home. While your architect will tell you the dimensions of your bathroom and even the tiles to be used, your interior designer will tell you the best fittings and how the bathroom will compliment your mood.

Who can become an interior designer?

There is quite a big debate on that front. Everyone agrees that you need to be a creative person if you want to be an interior designer. However, some feel that you need added qualifications.

"You need creativity, financial acumen, interest and knowledge of materials to be a good interior designer," says Parthajeet Sarma, director of iDream Advisory Services Private Limited.

Sarma is actually an architect however he has been involved in interior design with as much success.

He adds, "(Some) One who has an eye for detail and loves solving cryptic puzzles would make a good interior designer. I am not an interior designer but an architect -- however I have been involved in this industry for 12 years now."

The key word then is interest. The rest falls in after that. Create a checklist and tick from interest, creativity, financial knowledge and the willingness to learn about brick and mortar.

What are the career prospects?

Interior designers are in demand. Industry experts say there is a dearth of good interior designers.

"Interior designers are in much demand now due to the retail boom in India," says Shubha Jain who offers interior design courses at the International Institute of Fashion Design (Mumbai). "Career prospects range from starting their own firms and taking up projects, to working as a designer for malls, hotels and design companies. Interior designers are also employed by big architectural firms to cope with project load."

But success will not come instantly. Once you finish your training, you will need to work hard to get some recognition. "Yes, the career prospects are good," says Sarma, "But be prepared to slog it out during the initial years. If you do that and you are intrinsically good at design, you will surely shine. Be warned however that this is not like doing an MBA from an IIM where you join at the top and retire at the top."

 

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Interior design is becoming an increasingly viable career option for creative individuals who have a flair for home and office design and decor. However, there's more to it than just the inclination -- there's also the ability. To be a good interior designer you need several skills you need -- some inbuilt and some acquired. Some of the the inherent skills you should possess are:

* Excellent design sense
* Good time management skills
* Good coordination skills
* Good team building skills
* Eye for detail
* Keen observation
* Patience

The skills that need to be acquired can be gained by enrolling for a course.

How can I become an interior designer?

It is one thing to be interested in interior design, but a whole different game when it comes to getting trained to be one. There are many who have done professional courses and have achieved a great deal of success in the business. Then there are other who have simply jumped into the industry with no training, learnt the tricks of the trade along they way and made a successful career for themselves.

However, in today's scenario of competition and constantly evolving technology, someone who wants to get into the feild would require some basic knowledge and instruction. That's where professional courses come in. "Individuals can enroll for the interior design course after their 10th or 12th standard education with institutes like INIFD. There are graduation and post-graduation courses available in interior design," says Shubha Jain from INIFD (Mumbai). "Even people who want to decorate their homes their own way pursue these courses. Architects also pursue interior design to get a glimpse of an interior designer's task."

You can decide whether you want to pursue a course or jump into the fray and eventually learn the trade. "I spent many hours in the salad days, surrounding myself with smarter people in the trade from whom I learnt," explains Parthajeet Sarma, Director, iDream Advisory Services Private Limited.

Institutes offering courses

There are many institutes that offer courses that range from a certificate course to a degree course. The certificate course would benefit anyone who wants to understand and appreciate interior design. However, for those who are looking at it as a profession, they may need to take up a degree or even a diploma course.

Jain explains, "The ID course gives the insight of the details required to do the practical work on the field/ site. The trainers are basically interior designers themselves with a good amount of work experience. However, the standard differs from institute to institute."

And some of the courses do equip students with practical knowledge too. Practical knowledge of building materials and actual equipment is critical to being a good interior designer. "Practical knowledge is of utmost importance in ID. Institutes design their curriculum to include this aspect," says Jain. At INIFD, exhibitions are conducted where the students make various models of kitchens, drawing rooms, etc. They also have regular visits to various sites to help them understand the real world challenges.

Some feel that courses are a good foundation to the actual learning. "Although I have never done a course (I am an architect)," voices Sarma, "what I have seen is that the three-year courses tend to give a good foundation in terms of planning and creativity. However practical application of ideas is what is not very well taught." Sarma resommends the JJ School of Arts (Mumabi) as a good institute to learn interior design.

Here's a list of a few other renowned institutes:

* School of Interior Design, Centre for Environmental Planning Technology (CEPT), Ahmedabad
* Birla Institute of Liberal Arts and Management Sciences, Kolkatta
* JJ School of Arts, Mumbai
* National Institute of Fashion Design, branches across India
* School of Interior Design, Bangalore
* SNDT Women's University, Mumbai
* Sophiya College, Mumbai
* Shree Devi College of Interior Design, Mangalore

Continuous improvement and specialisation

Like all professions, a course merely gives you a primer to what the profession can encompass. "Being a successful interior designer has no magic formula. One needs to be patient and really work hard in the initial years to pick up tricks of the trade," feels Sarma, "and master the practicalities of the trade. In this trade, you may create a fantastic design on paper, but if you do not know how to execute it, or how much it is going to cost you it will spell trouble."

Jain adds her advice on career advancement, "Interior designing is a hectic and tedious profession. It involves both working at sites and in the office. The person should be able to handle the pressure from clients in meeting deadlines and fitting the client's requirements in to his/ her budget."

It does not stop there. "It also involves getting your work done from the labourers or craftsmen and coordinating with various people like your client, your colleagues and your suppliers for materials. You need to develop patience and should be able to handle the pressure."

Specialisation is also seen as a must, these days. For instance, Parthajeet's company deals only with companies and commercial premises. That way, every interior designer would eventually need to identify which is his or her space preference.

You can choose from the following specialisations:

* Corporate or commercial interiors, that includes retail outlets, commercial spaces, offices and such
* Residential interiors
* Working with design firms as a designer
* Working with design firms as a project manager