In speaking to many groups about the interior design profession, there is always one person raising their hand and asking the title question, representing many others in the audience. My answer starts with another question.
What are you looking to accomplish?
Finding the right professional in any field to guarantee success can be daunting and confusing, especially in interior design with many specialties and levels of accomplishment of the designer.
Most interior designers do their job well. Success depends on your needs, vision, size of the project a realistic budget based on those needs, and an adequate timeline for what is to be accomplished. That is the same for Residential or Commercial design
As an example, most designers today are educationally trained and have a 4 year degree in interior design with experience in the field. A few, “designers” can become accomplished after many years in the field and learn on the job from their experience with no educational training.. Some, like me, may hold a Bachelor’s degree in Art and a degree in Interior Design, along with successfully passing the NCIDQ, the national certification exam for interior designers. In a qualified design school, we learn scale, form, function, history of furniture and architecture, material use, drawing techniques, drafting or Auto CAD basics and design through lectures, practice, and graded school projects.
The NCIDQ, similar to architects taking NCARB, proves competency to work in the industry. Often a design school graduate continues to learn as an apprentice or junior designer under a licensed designer who has passed the NCIDQ. This is true in Florida where once qualified by the exam, a designer can be licensed by the state to “practice interior design”. That’s a big feather in any designer’s cap!
Malcom Gladwell, the writer and great thinker has written, “it takes working at something over 10,000 hours to get good at what you do”. This is certainly true in honing interior design and business skills.
In practice, many designers and their firms are licensed by their state, creating in-house interior design drawings for a GC or builder, so they and their trades clearly understand the final goals created by the designer and their clients. This helps so interior construction tasks are understood, and in sync with the client and designers vision.
Accomplished designers manage and complete each project successfully, on quality, on time, and on budget. Their portfolio of past projects allows you, the client, to have comfort and earn their trust. in their ability to complete your special home or project..
Please follow along with our next, “Design Speak” thoughts. Thank you. alene