How to become an Interior Designer

Earning a bachelor’s degree is considered the minimum requirement to start your career. There is no specific field you can choose for this but you could choose the coursework in interior designing such as the drawing, computer-aided design (CAD).

After completing the bachelor's degree, you could also choose the other degree levels accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design(NASAD) and Council for Interior Design Accreditation.

According to the state requirements you require licensure to work as interior designers. Hence you must clear the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exam approved by the state. The requirements to take up this exam are having a bachelor's degree and a minimum of two years of work experience.

You could find it easier to get employed with your practical experience. You could start working at a small business and Non-Profit organizations to develop skills and gain experience. You could also serve at a local center or even design for your own homes which can fetch you better results in the long run.

You must now create a portfolio to represent your work. Make sure to take high-quality photographs of the work you designed to allow clients to focus on your potential and present yourself as a creative and well organized professional. This could also include your sketches, your ideas on the wide variety of projects.

We recommend you to have your portfolio on the line media as well to increase your network and credibility.

After obtaining the license and certification as an interior education, you could advance your career by pursuing the other degree level. The master's degree helps in enhancing the skills and gaining in-depth knowledge of the subjects. You could also choose to specialize in specific fields such as sustainable design, spatial theory, corporate interior design, and designing historic spaces. 

The tip we give you is to attend as many workshops, conferences, and summits which are hosted by the International Interior Design Association and the American Society of Interior Designers and the Interior Design Society to increase your marketability.

The associate's degree in a two-year program which offers 60 credit hours to the students to gain the basic education required to start off the career soon. It acts as a stepping stone to the bachelor's degree with easy transfer of credits. The first year of the program focuses on the introduction to design and fundamentals in drawing and drafting. While the second year concentrates on the architectural lighting, color theory, and furniture history in addition to introductory business and marketing concepts.

The associate's degree helps in giving the introductory knowledge on the history of designing concepts that help you pursue your career as an interior designer. They are,

We know that the bachelor's degree is the minimum requirement to become an interior designer, students learn the technical, business, and aesthetic skills in the four-year program. The program offers 120 to 160 credit hours where students can learn diverse courses such as drafting, design, 3D imaging, and space planning with the practical experience on project management, marketing, sales, and business development required for an entry-level job.

In the four-year program, students learn diverse coursework which prepares students with the minimum education required to enter into the professional field,

The master’s degree in interior design is a two-year course that gives the courses to specialize in a particular field of interest. You could gain the benefits of enhanced researching skills, understanding the niche areas, analyze the scope of a vast industry, and stand out in the market of employment.

A Ph.D. in interior design helps students to learn the artistic techniques and principles to the professional designing, equipping, planning, and furnishing of residential and commercial spaces in-depth. This degree fetches your jobs with higher positions in academic and administrative positions in higher education and research; government and education consultation practices.

You could also choose the online certification program to become an interior designer. The online degrees are different from traditional programs at colleges and universities. This gives you an opportunity to learn the courses sooner with a flexible study plan. You could complete your coursework while gaining experience concurrently. There are many renowned interior design programs offering online learning options for students seeking a non-traditional education. Still, anyone interested in obtaining a degree online should do some research before enrolling at an institution.