Skilled interior designers are highly sought after professionals
and can therefore earn quite a lucrative income so if you are thinking
about taking an interior design course with the intention of becoming a
professional interior designer afterwards, then it is a good idea to
know what it involves.
A professional interior designer can be
more or less described as someone who has the necessary education,
qualifications and experience, as well as the imagination, creative
talent and artistic flair to enhance and transform interior rooms into
spaces that are aesthetically pleasing and at the same time functional.
They also have to bear in mind and consider health and safety laws,
building standards, their clients’ taste and of course their clients’
budget. No two projects will be the same either and each one will bring
its own individual issues and challenges.
In other words, a
professional interior designer has to develop and use a variety of
skills to produce a standard of work that is not only acceptable, but
also fully embraced by their clients and to do this they have to be able
to anticipate, understand and deliver their clients needs as well as
their personal preferences. So the first step to gaining the education
and the qualification would be to take some sort of interior design
course.
There are also many people who want to take an interior
design course simply to learn the skills that will enable them to
practice interior design in their own homes. Fortunately, there are many
different interior design courses available throughout the country and
whatever your interest in interior design, there will be one that is
suited to you and the following list will give you an idea of where to
start looking.
UCAS
You can search for suitable interior
design courses at [http://www.ucas.com] where there are details of over
50 universities and colleges across the UK offering interior design
related courses. UCAS is the central organisation that processes all
applications for full time undergraduate courses taking place in the UK
so if you want to study at this level; UCAS is a good place to begin.
The Interior Design School
The
school, which is situated in London, provides a number of different
courses, which include day courses, professional diploma courses as well
as summer and evening courses enabling you to learn the necessary
skills you need to practice interior design professionally or within
your own home. You can find out more at
[http://www.theinteriordesign.school.co.uk]
The American Intercontinental University School of Interior Design
This
university enables students from the US and from other countries
including the UK, to embark on a career relevant degree programme and
also offers some students the opportunity to work towards an American
and a British Batchelor’s Degree at the same time. Students can opt for
an Associate of Arts in Interior Design or a Batchelor of Fine Arts in
Interior Design. On completion, students are automatically entitled to
become International Interior Design Association (IIDA) members. There
are certain criteria that a student has to meet before being accepted at
the University but full information is available at http://www.aiulondon.ac.uk
KLC School of Design
The
KLC School of Design situated in London offers comprehensive training
in Interior Design and also Garden Design with a Diploma or
Certification on successful completion. The courses are run on a full
time, part time, and open learning basis and are delivered by
professionals in the industry. They claim to be the only school of
design accredited by the British Accreditation Council and the Open and
Distance Learning Quality Council. If you are interested in learning
more about the KLC school of Design then you can visit their website at http://www.klc.co.uk.
British Interior Design Association
Membership
of the British Interior Design Association is open to students who are
studying Interior Design or Decorating to Degree or Diploma Level or who
are studying towards a professional certificate or who are undertaking a
professional level home study course. Membership is valid for a year
and after they have completed their course they can apply for associate
membership.
Conclusion
A good course will help you unlock
your own potential as a designer, will teach you the basic philosophies,
the industry standards, the key elements of interior design and
naturally through the course you would be exposed to what works and what
doesn’t and would learn hints, tips and tricks to create a certain look
or feel to a space. After that of course whether you use your
imagination, cultivate your own artistic flair and develop your own
unique style is completely up to you, no course can teach you that.