Get a comprehensive understanding of the essentials of interior design as this article discusses the importance of creativity, effective communication, research and application of case studies for innovative design strategies. Learn about the role of an interior designer as a project manager, the importance of understanding regulations such as the American Disability Act, and the use of different communication methods to present design ideas to clients.
Key Insights
- The article emphasizes the importance of creativity, research, and effective communication as vital skills for a successful interior designer. It recognizes that every client is unique and understanding how to convey your design ideas to them is crucial.
- It highlights the role of interior designers as project managers who work closely with architects, engineers, and contractors. It also discusses the need for designers to adhere to regulations like the American Disability Act and the importance of professional craftsmanship in presentations and projects.
- The article underscores the importance of continued learning and growth in the field of interior design. This includes conducting research on notable architects and interior designers, adapting to various communication methods to present design concepts, and seeking constant feedback for improvement.
Note: These materials offer prospective students a preview of how our classes are structured. Students enrolled in this course will receive access to the full set of materials, including video lectures, project-based assignments, and instructor feedback.
Just to get us started, we will discuss the syllabus and some learning objectives, excuse me, learning outcomes. One of the things that I think is really important when you're first starting off is to explore, to be creative. And we use design elements and principles to be creative in the industry.
And design elements and principles are not only used to be the most creative as we can, but they're also used for us to describe the environments that we create. So it's one thing to create a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing space. It's another thing to actually share this with your client and have them on board.
Every client is different. How we communicate to these clients is extremely important. We'll talk about this.
You'll also learn how to research effectively before applying your concepts. Every great design at some point or another, someone has likely either studied or researched that similar design outcome. The beauty is there's so much wonderful research out there that we can actually use this research as what we call case studies.
And those case studies can be used to understand how to approach the project, which can give you some very innovative design strategies as you're being creative and designing the space for your client. Understanding the various disciplines within the design industry. This includes architects, interior designers, yes, which is what we will be doing, engineers, contractors, clients.
Learn Interior Design
- Nationally accredited
- Create your own portfolio
- Free student software
- Learn at your convenience
- Authorized Autodesk training center
And yes, guess what? As an interior designer, you work with all of these individuals. And the beautiful thing is that you are essentially the manager of this project. You and the architect will likely work very, very close together.
We will discuss and learn about accessibility. We'll look at the Americans Disability Act, and we'll apply this to space planning. We'll talk about what it's like to execute professional craftsmanship in both presentation and projects that you create.
We'll discuss various organizations and acronyms within the interior design industry. It's important that as an interior designer, you're involved. And there are many ways to get involved with your community.
And the wonderful thing is there is a large community out there, whether it's local, national, or even international. And there are professionals who want to help you develop as interior designers. We'll talk about that.
We'll also apply how we can learn to take advantage of communication methods. Yes, right now I'm communicating with you. At the same time, we use other ways of communicating, not just voice.
We can use drawing. We can use material boards. We can use physical models that give us an idea of exactly what's going to happen in that space.
And the beautiful thing about this communication is that it allows the client and yourself to see how the project is going to look and feel before you even finish it. We're going to engage in constructive feedback. I will give you feedback on your assignments.
We'll look at some of the design aspects that work really well. And we'll look at things that you can improve as you develop as an interior designer. And we'll talk about proper presentation techniques using a variety of media, which I briefly just mentioned a few seconds ago.
We'll research and learn how and what notable architects and interior designers have done. Research is important. If we're going to design, we have to know what kind of design and creativity has been out there.
And the great thing is there are hundreds of amazing architects and interior designers who we can use in our research to understand what the best approach is, whether it's for an aesthetic reason or it's for a specific need of your client. And trust me, each client is extremely different. Designing a dental office is very, very different from designing, let's say, a residence or a restaurant.
Thinking about noise, thinking about how individuals use the space and how acoustics may have to come into play. Every space is completely different. We'll talk about a variety of different spaces.
And I have images and useful research tips that I'll give you so you can look and start to learn what it takes to really create meaningful interior design. Now, as far as the policies for the course, I think it's extremely important that you communicate with me just as much as I communicate with you. If you have a question on assignment, if you are curious about certain aspects of a lecture that were discussed, ask.
Happy to give you some clarity. The projects and grading are straightforward on the syllabus. You'll notice that there are four projects and there are rubrics for each project.
So you have an opportunity to see areas that you will be focusing on as far as what to focus on while you're creating that project. And my goal as an instructor is to see you succeed. Think of this as a mini design studio where you're working for an office and you have an opportunity to grow as an intern.
And together, we'll be tackling a variety of different topics related to interior design and we'll grow together. Feedback and advising. Every piece of feedback that we give you is constructive.
We want you to become better. So it's okay for you to be a little critical, even with yourself or with the designs. Good design takes time and good design requires some iterations, which means a variety of different tries.
Sometimes we may draw a floor plan one, two, or three times before we know it's the best. Attendance speaks for itself. I think it's important that all of you stay on track with the course.
There'll be a series of lessons. As I mentioned earlier, there's seven lessons. Keep up with the homework and keep up with the lessons and you guys will do just great.
The grading policy is very straightforward. You can read this on the syllabus. And if, for whatever reason, you have a disability or you need some sort of accommodation, please let us know and we will find a way to make this class work for you.
Academic honesty is important. You know, in the world of interior design, research is important, but making sure that we're not just copying someone else's design is important. And it's something that we use, the designers we research, as kind of a backdrop for the formula of what our design intent is.
And then we take this information and we revise it. We make it our own. We come up with our own creative solution.
Now, if a designer used blue light to calm someone down in a space, is it okay for you to use blue light? Absolutely. This is part of what it means to be a designer. Certain aspects are going to relate to many, many different parts of the field.
And many designers use certain strategies intentionally, and that's okay. Project deadlines. Each of your projects is noted, not only the rubric, but when the assignment is due.
And I will review some of the homework assignments as we move forward in this lecture series, or these lessons, excuse me. Retention of student work. We just want to be straightforward with you.
We know you're going to create great work, and we would love to keep that work and share it with other students who go down the same road you're going down. So just so you're aware, every project that you submit, we may intentionally hold on to that project so we can use it as an example to share to various students what we're doing in this course. And just think of it as you having an opportunity to share something you've done that's wonderful with someone that's just diving into this field for the first time.
Now, as far as software, this is an introductory class. And at the minimum, I think it's important for you to have Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or any type of basic software for presentations. Yes, you can use Canva.
This isn't a Photoshop class, but at the same time, we need to present, right? So using PowerPoint is probably going to be a very valuable tool. If you need to look at some tutorials on basic PowerPoint presentations, you're welcome to do so. This class will be a series of lectures or lessons, and then you'll have homework that you will create and develop through a PowerPoint.
Now, if you say you'd like to develop it in Canva, that's fine. The point is, you have to present the information that you're showing to your client. As a series of lessons, I am your client, so you're going to present to myself.
