Today, many young people are interested in the question of how to become an interior designer, where to start. This profession has become popular relatively recently. But today, the services of talented people in this matter are used very often.
General information about the profession
The designer designs the appearance of the house, chooses furniture, combines colors. A true specialist is able to make a masterpiece out of an unremarkable apartment. Often people say that those who choose this profession have no chance to realize themselves. This is a false opinion. If a person is devoted to his dream, if he is attracted to design art and he skillfully fights his own laziness, then he will certainly be noticed and appreciated by society. After a positive assessment, there are excellent earnings. If you said to yourself: “I want to become an interior designer. Where to start? ”- let's study all the subtleties of this profession.
Drawbacks of Design Art
Like any other occupation, the design profession has certain disadvantages that you will have to face if you want to devote your life to this. Consider in advance whether you are ready to overcome obstacles to achieving your goal. Get ready for such cons:
- You will not immediately be able to swim in the rays of glory, fulfilling expensive orders. You have to work at a loss in order to gain recognition and acquire profitable customers.
- In order for people to contact you, you must have certain connections. It will take a long time before you can get worthy partners who will sell high-quality furniture and building materials to the client.
- At first, you may experience a severe shortage of money, because few will risk paying large sums to a beginner.
- You will have to master the basics of psychology and work on the stability of the nervous system, because often clients do not agree with the views of the designer.
- If you undertook to carry out a certain project, then you will have to finish it. Customers are not interested in your medical condition or special family reasons, because of which the order breaks down.
- Modern design art is not complete without knowledge of computer programs. A decent amount of time will be spent on their development.
- Before you become famous, it will take more than one year.
So, if you decide that you will cope with these difficulties, we’ll talk about how to become an interior designer. Where to begin? First of all, you need to cultivate certain qualities of character in yourself.
What character traits in yourself to educate
An interior designer, training on which is impossible without certain character traits, should have such personal characteristics:
- The presence of taste, innovative thinking and a creative approach to any undertaking.
- The desire to work constantly and a lot, the presence of patience.
- The desire to communicate with any people, to fulfill the wishes of the client, even if his idea seems bad to you.
- The ability to present your project, tell about it in all colors.
- The ability to combine any colors and shapes and create a single whole from the details.
If you think that all of these points are about you, let's talk about the pleasant side of the profession, namely about career growth.
Career opportunities
Remember that it is very difficult to move up the career ladder if you are an employee without connections. If you are interested in how to become an interior designer, where to start, then first think about whether you are ready to work a lot and almost for free to get a certain circle of clients. You will have to create your own portfolio. To become a successful designer at the peak of fame, you will need:
- Get a special education. If you want to become an interior designer without education, you will have to be even more difficult.
- Get a colorful portfolio.
- Learn to work in special computer programs.
- Learn several foreign languages.
- Complete several voluminous and expensive projects.
- Get good recommendations from major customers.
Prepare for the fact that you will have certain responsibilities and not always they will be associated with creativity.
Responsibilities of an interior designer
When you think about what it takes to become an interior designer, remember the immediate responsibilities and whether you are ready to fulfill them. This is the first step towards mastering the profession. So, your responsibilities include:
- Both work on bulk orders and completion of projects after other specialists.
- Submission to all customer requirements.
- Taking measurements from the premises and its parts, creating models for these measurements.
- Work with 3D modeling.
- A selection of all the small details that complement the interior of the room.
- Calculation of future financial costs of the project.
- Work with people participating in the improvement of the premises, monitoring their activities.
- Making changes to the work plan if unforeseen situations arise.
Only at first glance it seems that these are easy duties. Performing them every day is difficult morally and physically.
How is the implementation of projects
We examined how the work of the designer as a whole proceeds. The implementation of each individual project looks something like this:
- Meeting with the client, the formation of the first impression.
- Discussion of the assignment, all its details and terms.
- A visit to the room to be worked on, photographing its parts, working on drawings and drawings.
- Making the appearance of the premises in the drawings.
- Comparison of all figures and drawings, troubleshooting.
- Discussion of the result with the customer.
- Constant control over the implementation of your project in practice.
And remember that at any of these stages, the client can stop working and demand to redo everything. It’s hard to prepare mentally for this, but almost every designer faced a similar phenomenon.
How to become an interior designer : where to start
So, if you decide that you want to be a designer, then two ways have been opened for you to achieve your goal. The first and easiest of them is getting a special education or completing specialized courses. If you can afford it, then your training will take place according to this plan:
- You pass the vocational counseling test.
- If you do not have an art school, you need to graduate.
- You create a portfolio of your own drawings and on its basis enter the university.
- You are studying at a university in good faith and with enthusiasm.
- While you are studying, you will have to independently master the basics of working at a computer in design programs, learn several foreign languages, start looking for the first customers, create a positive reputation for yourself, learn from specialists who have already taken place, and monitor new trends in your business.
If you graduate, you will have many chances to work in your specialty, because good universities provide graduates with this opportunity. But if you do not have the finances to get an education, then learn how to become an interior designer yourself.
How to become a designer without special education
Despite the fact that you do not need to seriously spend money on self-study, this option requires you to work hard and long. In addition, your fate largely depends on a successful combination of circumstances.
So, how to become a good interior designer if you decide to learn on your own? The action plan is as follows:
- Learn the design architectural process.
- Get the basics of building knowledge.
- Learn modern design computer programs.
- Learn the basics of lighting design.
- Learn the theory of culture and art.
- Work on knowledge in the field of accounting and financial accounting.
- Learn all kinds of design methods.
To learn these skills and gain special knowledge, take the appropriate textbooks in the library or use the Internet. To get started, you need to find the first customer.
But if you managed to find a client, do not think that the difficult moments were left behind. In design, the most difficult work begins after training.
Where to look for orders
When you get all the necessary skills, you have to do the hard work of finding the first customer. To find a customer, use one of these options:
- Advertise yourself in several newspapers or magazines.
- Talk about yourself as often as possible. News about you will disperse in society very quickly.
- On special sites, post your resume.
- Create your own website dedicated to your activities. Place a portfolio on it.
- Hand out creative flyers about your work.
- Contact your close and distant relatives with a request to find you customers.
- Contact large and small firms. Perhaps they need a full-time designer.
- Go around cafes, restaurants or shops known to you with a proposal of cooperation.
The first rule when realizing yourself as a professional is not to sit around. Perseverance and patience are your trump cards, which, combined with a wide knowledge base, will lead you to success.
Useful Tips
And finally, some more useful information. What does it take to become an interior designer, in addition to obtaining specialized knowledge? Check out the list of recommendations from successful experts:
- Understand that you have practically no right to make mistakes in the implementation of any project. Spoiled reputation is difficult to restore.
- Don't be afraid to seek the advice of more professional colleagues.
- Improve your skills through trainings, seminars or workshops.
Remember that if you want, you can achieve absolutely any goal. Good luck!