There are many reasons you may want to learn interior design. First, it is a great way to express creativity and make spaces look inviting through colors, textures, and layouts. You can learn to transform a space from cold and awkward to warm and inviting. It’s more than just making rooms look good, however—it is also about connecting with people on a different level. After discussions with clients, you’ll gain a better sense of their personality and what they would want or need from their space. Whether you design family homes or office floors, you can get creative and offer a user-centric design that works for everyone, which can be a very fulfilling and personally rewarding experience.
Moreover, there’s a lot of variety in interior design. You can design all kinds of spaces—residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, and even medical centers. The possibilities are endless and no two projects ever feel the same. This keeps the work exciting and keeps you on your toes. Over time, you’ll learn to tap into different challenges and face them head-on simply because of the thrill of helping a client get what they want. The variety goes beyond the projects as well since you can also find a wide range of job types in interior design. Companies and firms often provide remote and freelance opportunities but there’s always the option to branch off, harness your entrepreneurial spirit, and start a business too.
Overall, learning interior design can give you practical life skills that go beyond the workplace. From your lessons, you’ll gain the ability to curate your living space to suit your needs. As you grow and evolve, your living space should adapt to do so along with you. With proper training, you will become adept at problem-solving, communication, and creative expression, which are all transferrable skills that can be applied to numerous parts of life. On the other hand, there are so many learning methods to choose from, between self-paced, live online, and in-person options, you can choose a class that suits your life. There are short courses, bootcamps, certificates, and all kinds of programs available. It’s a career that’s not only professionally rewarding but one that sparks creativity, innovation, and excitement.
Learning interior design gives you life skills such as the ability to curate your home as you evolve and make people feel invited to your living space. You can change up the vibe of your home as much as you like or help friends and family re-design their homes. Your skills open new doors professionally but also for personal connection. Moreover, interior design training helps you become a strong communicator, problem-solver, and creative individual worthy of sharing your vision with the world. With all the options available to you, there’s no telling where interior design may lead you.
What is Interior Design?
Interior design is the art and science of creating aesthetically pleasing and functional spaces that work for the people who use them. It involves more than just picking out pretty furniture and choosing a color scheme. This field dives into everything from layout and material options to sustainable design efforts and fixtures. An Interior Designer is concerned with considering how the space will be used and curating a space based on that need. In addition, they are tasked with ensuring the room is comfortable and tailored to the needs of the occupants, whether it’s a living room in a home or a waiting room in an office building.
Learn Interior Design
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- Create your own portfolio
- Free student software
- Learn at your convenience
- Authorized Autodesk training center
This field blends technical knowledge with creative ability in a unique and exciting way. Designers need strong knowledge and experience with architectural processes, building codes, and human psychology to understand what makes a space preferable. These professionals work toward creating a visually appealing, safe, accessible, and productive space. Whether it is a residential home, a commercial office, or a public space, Interior Designers work with every element of the design to shape an influential, productive environment.
Interior Design Careers
The most common career path for someone who learns interior design is becoming an Interior Designer. It is all about making spaces look great and work well for the people using them, whether it’s a home, office, restaurant, or any other kind of space. Interior Designers work with clients to figure out how to make the space they want happen. They handle everything from layout and furniture selection to lighting and color schemes. Interior Designers focus on every detail, down to the slightest decor, making sure the space is beautiful, on-brand, and functional. Whether they work with individuals in their homes or businesses with their new location, they are valuable parts of the design process. Indeed reports that Interior Designers earn roughly $69,000 per year in the United States; however, the average will vary based on experience and location. For example, Philadelphia-based Interior Designers earn closer to $84,000 while those in Miami earn slightly less than the national average of $67,000. Moreover, a junior designer could earn closer to $55,000 but could potentially work their way up and earn salaries surpassing six figures.
Interior design requires learning computer-aided design, so you could also become a CAD Designer. In this specialized role, you would use software like AutoCAD to create detailed plans and blueprints for projects in all kinds of fields, like architecture, engineering, or interior design. You’ll create technical drawings and help take projects from ideas to reality. These designers often work behind the scenes, making sure the dimensions and design elements are precise and accurate. Indeed shares that these professionals earn an average base salary of $69,000 across the United States. However, expect a range in salaries as you search for jobs. First, your location will play a role in your expected salary. For instance, a CAD Designer living in Houston can expect an average salary of $79,000, an entire ten thousand dollar difference compared to the national average. Additionally, factor in your experience. While Junior CAD Designers earn an average salary of $54,000, those in senior-level positions earn closer to $85,000.
With adequate training, you could also become an Architect and create detailed plans for building designs. This includes anything from residential homes and condos to skyscrapers and commercial properties. Architects have training in CAD, building codes, zoning laws, project management, and interior design. Indeed states that the average base salary for an Architect in the U.S. is roughly $108,000. This average varies greatly from city to city, however. Compared to the national average, Austin-based Architects earn closer to $159,000 and those living in Orlando can expect an average salary closer to $97,000. This career path also offers opportunities for advancement as well, which means an increased salary. While a Junior Architect may start by earning $66,000, there’s a chance to work up to Lead Architect and earn closer to $125,000. However, there’s even more room for advancement as Chief Architects earn an average of $226,000.
Reasons to Learn Interior Design
If you are looking for a reason to learn interior design, you will be happy to know that there are many. To anyone curious about expanding their professional opportunities and expressing themselves in a new and creative way, the interior design field is a great place to start. Noble Desktop offers many certificates, bootcamps, and classes that would be useful during your path to becoming an Interior Designer. Consider some of these key reasons why interior design is such a great skill to learn and explore some of the many complementary lessons that can help you reach your goals.
Professional Development
Learning interior design can help you start a new career or advance in your current path. Much like VDCI, Noble Desktop offers courses, bootcamps, and certificate programs that lead to professional development. For example, they provide certificate courses that provide payment plans, study resources, additional mentoring, and a certificate of completion. Through realistic projects, you can gain practical skills that allow you to find a job in your respective field. For instance, you could learn Adobe Creative Cloud and design skills learned in the Graphic Design Certificate. Although adjacently related to interior design, having these skills in your back pocket could be immensely beneficial during client presentations, while making concept boards, and throughout the planning stages of your interior design projects.
Creative Expression
Because interior design and the related responsibilities of working in the field are so diverse, there are lots of ways that you can get creative. Of course, interior design allows you to get creative by choosing furniture and decor as well as rearranging the room, but Interior Designers can get creative through other means as well such as through marketing. For example, many interior design professionals use Photoshop when editing install photos, which are a series of pictures depicting the finished product. These images should be as refined and polished as possible so they can be ready to share on social media, websites, and portfolios. Through Noble Desktop’s Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp, you can learn how to edit pictures to perfection. This transferrable skill helps with promoting your business, drawing in new clients, and expressing yourself in more ways than one.
Building a Foundation to Learn Architecture
Starting with interior design is also a great way to branch into other fields such as architecture. If you would like to broaden your design capabilities to include structural design, consider enrolling in the AutoCAD Certification Program. Computer-aided design is a necessity if you want to become either an Interior Designer or an Architect. In this certification program, you will complete three levels of AutoCAD training over the course of 54 hours. You’ll also receive six hours of private tutoring, proctoring for the exam, and a free retake of the class and the exam should you need it. This is a comprehensive program that not only helps you develop professionally as an interior design professional but can also help you reach your architectural dreams as well.
Improving Your Own Space
It’s believed that having an enjoyable, comfortable living space leads lead to a happier life. With this in mind, it seems like a no-brainer to learn a little more about interior design. Learning interior design can also help you improve your living space, ultimately improving your mood and the overall feel of the home. The education you receive from an in-person or online course will offer you practical skills and you can practice as much as you want in your downtime. In fact, you essentially have a built-in practice space at home! You can rearrange your room after a lesson on spatial awareness or start building a new color scheme by adding throw pillows and other decor. Although it seems simple enough, it is actually quite difficult to make your space feel like your own. It takes time and requires trial and error, but with interior design skills in your tool kit, you can impress friends and family each time they come to visit.
Developing Soft Skills
In addition to all the interior design-specific skills you will acquire in a class, you will also develop soft skills that are profoundly useful in any situation, either professional or personal. For instance, you will learn how to become more much organized and value the art of effective communication. Moreover, you will become adept at problem-solving as things sometimes go awry in the design process. Through patience and time management, you will learn to deliver projects according to plan and give the client everything they could have ever asked for. There are a few classes offered by Noble Desktop such as the Intro to Public Speaking and Applied Leadership and Management Skills courses that will teach you how to speak clearly and lead a team with strength, fairness, and confidence. Likewise, you could also enroll in the Project Management Level I course that will give you the tools and strategies needed to plan and execute a successful project. These skills are useful and highly transferrable so it is worth considering.
How Can I Learn Interior Design?
Live online classes are a great way to enjoy a traditional classroom experience but from the comfort of your home. You will learn from an experienced instructor, log in at scheduled times, and complete hands-on projects just like you would in an in-person class. You can ask your instructor questions and chat with classmates. Plus, the course is structured to give you as much immersive experience as possible despite the virtual setting. Being able to connect with others is useful for networking and gives you multiple perspectives. In the end, you’ll end up a more well-rounded interior design professional.
If you are someone who likes to learn at a pace that suits them, you can opt for self-paced, on-demand classes. They are a great option for someone who needs or prefers additional flexibility to support them through the learning process. With this method, you will watch pre-recorded lectures, go through modules, and complete various lessons to help you pick up the skills and absorb the material. While you don’t have live interaction between an instructor or peers, many of these courses offer support through emails, chatbots, or discussion boards. This option is great if you have a busy schedule or want to build upon your skills on your terms.
In-person classes are for those who thrive in a traditional classroom setting because you get to learn face-to-face. You’ll get hands-on instruction and direct interaction with the material, which is great for a beginner who needs that extra assistance. Of course, this requires you to have adequate transportation and time to make the commute. Depending on your location and schedule, this may be tricky, but if you’re someone who values a structured, traditional learning environment, this could be the best option.
Overall, each learning method has its perks and downsides that could vary based on learning needs, schedule, location, and goals. Live online and in-person classes offer interaction yet require you to follow a more structured schedule. On-demand classes are self-paced and flexible but do not offer the interaction that some students may depend on to acquire new skills. No matter which method you pick, the key is to make sure it aligns with your needs and preferences and helps you develop the skills you need to succeed in interior design.
Learn Interior Design with Hands-on Training at VDCI
VDCI offers a variety of courses that can help you build a solid foundation in interior design and other related fields and skills. For instance, the CAD Certificate Program spans eight months, totaling 280 hours of class time. This is a part-time, totally online course that offers flexibility for busy schedules but still gives you a thorough education in computer-aided design software. Specifically, you will learn how to master AutoCAD, which is an industry-standard software for creating floor plans, layouts, and design blueprints. The program covers everything from fundamental tasks like creating drafting symbols to more advanced techniques like demonstrating layer and file management. Above all else, it will prepare you for a field in interior design, architecture, or a related field. You will have access to a flexible payment plan and free student software. In addition, you’ll earn several credentials, including a verified certificate of completion and an AutoCAD Fundamentals and AutoCAD Professional badge.
Likewise, there is an AutoCAD Fundamentals course that lasts 12 weeks, totaling 60 total hours of instruction. This is a part-time, fully online course that gives you thorough instruction in AutoCAD essentials. This is a great course for beginners who want to learn the foundational skills that will set them up for success in the future. You’ll learn how to create kitchen and bath fixtures, design a floor plan, and integrate information into one concise file. In addition, you will learn how to apply layer management, user coordinates system development, and even practice creating sheet layout environments. This course gives you flexible payment options and free student software so you are set up for success.
If you want to start simple, consider the Introduction to Photoshop course from VDCI. Here, you will learn how to navigate and use Photoshop for imagery enhancement. In addition, you will learn how to adjust, enhance, and refine imagery for marketing purposes. This course can be hugely beneficial for an Interior Designer who wants to provide their clients with the best design mock-ups possible.
You could also consider the Introduction to InDesign course where you will learn how to design brochures, flyers, business cards, books, postcards, and other digital publishing projects. You’ll learn how to create and adjust graphics as well as draw shapes and design your work for a commercial printer. In addition, you will learn the design principles and practice designing images with varying file types, purposes, dimensions, and colors.