How to Become a Professional Interior Designer

Passion, knowledge and skill. These are what it takes to get you on stage in the Interior design industry. The three keys to success go hand in hand in building your road to the top. First, one must have the eye for beauty and the passion to attain it. Being passionate about what you do can make you turn a warehouse into a bedroom with a blink of an eye. Passion is commonly inborn, but it doesn't mean it can never be acquired.

If you're finding it hard to fire up your desire for designing, taking inspiration from successful Designers can help you a lot. Some of our personal favorites are Kelly Hoppen, Kelly Wrestler and Karim Rashid. You may find that each have different styles, but Interior design doesn't require you to be stagnant, in fact exploring different design concepts makes you flexible and able to deal with different people with different taste.
In designing, you can take inspirations but make sure not to copy exactly how they built it as it may lead you into violating certain designing codes. That's where knowledge comes in.

As most of us are unaware, Interior design follows an ethical code that differs depending on which country or state you practice. So you must first know your responsibilities as a practicing Interior Designer, especially if a country requires a Professional license since you will be held liable for any damages done according to how the law subjects it.

Knowledge in Interior design is very important in practicing it because the room you design shelters people in it. This is why it is imperative to be aware of the safety standards in designing.

One must know how to balance a space user's personality when it comes to designing a room, it may also require a bit of psychology and characterizing your space users. We should always take into consideration the welfare of the users and not our own when designing.

When you become an Interior Designer, you will deal with different types of people like the client, architect, engineers, and the workers. One must also know how to deal with each type of people and treat them with equal respect. We must also know how to do the basics in construction so we can properly supervise the projects we design.

Interior design is not something we can only learn on our own, so it is still very important to enroll yourself in a good Interior designing school.

Another important thing to remember is that one must have the skill to portray the outcome of the design. 3-dimensional drawing perspectives are the client's basis of the quality of the design, especially if they're not familiar with the jargon terms used in floor plan presentations.

Aside from 3-D software's, you should still know how to do manual presentations and sketches, just in case you encounter prospective clients who want an impromptu illustration of the room. In addition to that, skill also implies how you deal with the people you encounter. It's your weapon in winning a prospective client. One must know how to do presentations properly, armed with the knowledge of your own design. We should be able to introduce them thoroughly into the different features of what we design and make sure not to miss any detail.

One must possess the three important traits in order to become a Professional Interior Designer. As Interior design does not merely create beauty, but most of all it provides comfort, builds camaraderie, and good relationships with the people you work with.

Donald Pang is the International Admissions Director of Raffles International Colleges. Start your Interior design career with Raffles! We offer Interior design courses with certification in diploma, bachelor and master degree in these Asian countries such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia, Hanoi - Vietnam, Jakarta - Indonesia, Manila - Philippines, Colombo - Sri Lanka, Phnom Penh - Cambodia, India, China, Sydney - Australia and Mongolia.