IDM - How to become an interior designer in 2024?

Viral Patel

5 min

With the ongoing noise in the academic field and the job market, navigating your route to becoming a successful interior designer has become increasingly difficult. We have mentioned the list of factors to keep in mind as you set sail on this journey.

Read on to find out more about how to become a interior designer.

What are the roles of an interior designer?

Apart from the question of how to become a interior designer, a lot more confuses people while moving ahead in this field.

An interior designer’s responsibility goes way beyond designing the interior spaces of the building. Instead the roles and responsibilities of an interior designer include working on architecture and interior space planning and crafting aesthetically pleasing designs.

Professionals in this field specialise in home designs, corporate office spaces, commercial buildings, and environmental spaces.

The skills required to be an interior designer

The skills required for the professional in the field may help you answer the question - How to become an interior designer. The interior design course helps the candidate keep up with the soft as well as the hard skills, these skills include -

  • Paying attention to detail and inculcating the client's vision within the budget and timeline.
  • Detailed sketches and layout of how the spaces will be used.
  • Finalising the design with the help of computer software for precision.
  • Picking furniture and materials that fit well with the interiors and designs.
  • Supervising the installations and the operations until they are finally done.
  • Project management skills

Interior designers are responsible for properly implementing the project from initiation to execution. A successful project requires them to have good project management and communications skills to ensure that everything runs smoothly. This not only helps to get the job done but also helps to keep the project organized and ensures the handover isn't delayed. This also helps to ensure that the vendors, clients, and contractors are on the same page while avoiding any discrepancies.

  • Computer-aided skills

Sketches and drawings of the spaces hold an essential position in picturizing what the area will look like post-completion. To craft exact drawings, candidates must have a professional understanding of software programs like computer-aided design (CAD). An interior design course helps aspiring and beginner interior designers have a firm grip on these programs to work on the designs with precision.

  • A knack for design

An aspiring interior designer must have an eye for aesthetic details. A designer should be able to analyze how a piece of furniture or colour might feel being set in a particular space.

Developing your aesthetic sense goes a long way in developing your style and delivering precise results. This makes it even more important to keep up with the current trends and practices and ensure in the industry. This helps provide results that are up to date with the current trends. The salary after an interior design course increases as the candidate efficiently delivers modern results.

This requires the candidate to be updated about the latest trends regarding graphics, textiles, furniture, art, and graphic design.

Eligibility criteria for interior designing

Like all courses available in higher education, interior design courses also require students to meet certain minimum qualifications.

Eligibility criteria must be met for students to secure a seat in the best interior design college for their chosen course.

  • Students need to have a minimum qualification of 10 + 2 years of education from a recognized institute in India for a bachelor of interior design degree.
  • Students need a minimum qualification of 10 + 2 years of education from a recognized institute in India for a bachelor of interior design degree.
  • Students must also have a minimum of 50% marks in their 10+2 studies to pursue a bachelor of interior design degree.
  • Although the admission process to an interior designing course in 2024 largely depends on a student's merit, institutes rank a candidate's skills and performance based on merit.
  • Some institutes conduct an entrance exam to understand the candidate's skills, field of knowledge, and work profile more deeply.
  • Students have to appear for an entrance exam. They also have to undergo a third and final round of personal interviews where the Institute will judge and rank candidates' work profiles based on their performance in these three rounds.
  • A Candidate's admission to an interior design course mainly depends on their performance in the three rounds; the better they perform, the more likely they are to get selected by an interior designing institute in India.

How much does an interior designer cost

When hiring an interior designer the most important question remains - how much does an interior designer cost?

Answering this question may help you put a finger on your charges in the future.

The charges for interior designers differ based on projects, for example, based on villas and apartments.

The interior designing professionals can charge 3 lakhs - 7 lakhs based on the project they take up.

How to get started?

A candidate can get started with the help of internships or volunteering. These options can help the candidate with the knowledge of the real world along with the basics of the industry.

The candidate can opt for these options with the help of workshops, recruitment agencies, networking opportunities, job portals, and other such channels. For freshers, the university departments, as well as bulletin boards, might help you keep up with the latest job opportunities. Networking can also help you find a mentor to help you on your way to expertise in the industry. Further creating a strong work portfolio can also help you grab the attention of the prospects.

Further seeking out entry-level jobs, and apprenticeships can also help the candidate with better opportunities. Taking up design-related coursework such as art and design, fine art, a computer-aided design course, and color therapy may also help to add value to your studies.

Apart from working for firms, a candidate can also opt for freelancing or opting for their start-up. The salary after the interior design course is expected to increase after the candidate gains more experience in the field of their specialization. Finding a specialization can help you find solid ground on where to base your career.

The niches to specialize in

Specializing and working in the following niches may prove to be helpful -

  • Working in green spaces or environment-friendly spaces
  • Hospitality sectors
  • Working for building premises
  • Working for residential spaces
  • Working for corporate and commercial spaces
  • Working for healthcare infrastructures

Other resources

The other resource that a candidate should keep in mind is that they need to continue to refine their skills with certain resources. These resources may include eBooks, podcasts, books, and video tutorials. These can help keep the candidate up to date with the industry knowledge and the ongoing practices.

You must understand the concept of space. For a successful career in interior design, you must understand that practically every area serves a purpose, and to fulfill those purposes, space must be effectively designed and structured according to customer needs.

A creative mind can be aided by some instruction or a good interior design school, which will help the person become a professional interior designer. The JD Institute of Fashion Design is a well-known and top-rated interior design school.

Color can be discovered based on your preferences. A successful interior designer can deal with a variety of hues. You must persuade clients with your artwork, which necessitates color palette considerations based on the emotions and conditions of the client's perception and surroundings.

Planning for the execution of enhancement work is critical to the success of an interior designer's career. To get things done quickly, you'll need to coordinate and arrange. You'll need to put in a lot of effort to help your teamwork by providing coordination support.

The way forward

Interior design is finally turning a new page, despite being late to the party of industries that have been dramatically affected by technology. The typical client-designer connection, which used to be the industry standard, is no longer the case. Innovative interior design platforms that leverage technology to execute the process are upgrading the process without robbing people of their desired personal touches.

These interior design businesses assist in resolving the interior design industry's core problem: a lack of efficiency and ease. Clients can work with designers situated anywhere in the world, and their methods do not necessitate in-person meetings.

Working on projects in the future would require candidates to be abreast of the current changes in the techniques of preparing the layout and executing those plans into action. Skills like these will not only help them deliver superior quality work but will also allow them to have a competitive advantage over the other candidates.

Also Read - Best Interior Design Courses in Mumbai