INTERIOR DESIGN CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

[Reyed Mia (Apprentice, DIU)]

INTERIOR DESIGN CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Airport Interiors
Airports have become extended living environment for travelers. Interior designers are hired to enhance the convenience and movement of people who travel by designing airport shops, small conference areas, business centers, restaurants, and cocktail lounges. There's not much that one can't do in an airport these days, from banking to getting a haircut.

Amusement and Theme Park

Some designers only work on theme parks, using fantasy, sights, sounds and smells to develop exciting and colorful visual components that are consistent with the park theme and that enhance the rides, walkways and exhibits. Theme park designers are responsible for developing permanent and temporary animated displays, unique signs, specialized fixtures, or designing and planning the many service areas of the park such as the restaurants, restrooms, and souvenir shops. Due to the large number of people that visit theme parks each day, theme park design is also about safety, effectiveness, efficiency and profitability. The design of way finding systems to help people understand how to navigate the site is an art in itself.

Apartments and Condominiums

Some interior designers enjoy residential design but prefer the challenge of designing interiors for multi-family living complexes rather than single family residences. Skilled at creating design concepts that take into consideration efficient layouts, acoustics, and privacy, these designers might also specialize in lobbies, corridors, social rooms, or other interior "community spaces" (business and conference centers, computer rooms, office and secretarial areas, and athletic areas) – highly desirable amenities that tenants of apartment and condominium complexes are seeking . Multiple-housing developments are popular in every part of the country, and so this interior specialty offers a great deal of opportunity.

Art and Antiques

Interior designers with an interest in fine art or period furnishings sometimes become professional art or antiques specialists. They understand what people enjoy and will buy, and they also know how to properly illuminate and place art to its best advantage in a room or building. This is a major asset for an art dealer, because art sells best when it can be envisioned or placed in an interior.

Assisted Living Facilities

In light of the fact that the number of elderly people living in the Unites States is increasing each year, it is not surprising that the need for more independent and assisted care living facilities is growing. Interior designers have come to realize the rewarding career opportunities available in the design of attractive, secure residences for people needing assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). Although the names used to define assisted or independent housing may vary- residential care, supported care, small houses, enhanced care or retirement centers - the need for interior designers who are able to creatively integrate traditional nursing care components into private, enjoyable, home-like environments is immense.

Auditoriums and Concert Halls

This is a fascinating field and very different from stage design. Acoustics and sight lines in theater design are vital and complex. Productions can be made or destroyed by very small design elements of the house.

Bathroom Design

At one time, the bathroom was the smallest and most insignificant room in the house. But today, bathrooms and kitchens sell more houses than any other spaces. Modern bathrooms are no longer only utilitarian, but can be luxurious living spaces and even spa-like environments with whirlpool baths, rain showers, towel warmers, TV monitors, saunas, and hot tubs. While our new fixtures may not always be more anatomically suitable than the old ones, they are luxurious.

Building Finishes

The interior building finishes industry is immense; incorporating goods and labor from both foreign and domestic sources and markets. Some interior designers work closely with manufacturers, artisans, and workrooms around the world to create innovative materials including specialized ceramic and metallic tiles, stone mosaics, laminates, resin moldings, paints and varnishes, carved wood components and veneers, and other products that will be used to finish walls, countertops, floors, cabinets, ceilings and other interior surfaces.

CADD Technician

Good visual presentations are vital to the field of interior design, and so most design firms hire talented illustrators, either as part of the staff or on a freelance basis. Depending on the size of the project and the needs of the design firm, the fees paid for creating illustrations by hand or on the computer can run into thousands of dollars; making this a very lucrative field for individuals talented at drawing interior spaces by hand or electronically.

Ceramic Tile Design

This is a larger design specialty field than one could ever have imagined; incorporating foreign and domestic sources and markets. Ceramic tile is used in murals and sculptures and furniture, as well as for flooring, walls and other finishes. Interior designers design tile and they also know how to coordinate tile with the rest of the space.

Construction Management

Interior designers work very well as construction managers because they understand just what goes into each project. Often they are hired to act as coordinator between the contractor and developer. They supervise, manage, and review the components going into a project and advise on decision-making accordingly.

Corporate Offices Design

Every major company has an administrative building -- some large, some small -- having varying demands and requiring design. The demands change as the products change, and interior designers are called in to streamline and to develop spaces supporting workflow. At one time, we just designed offices, but today social environments are also important. Sometimes, more important decisions are made over a cup of coffee than in the boardroom.

Cruise Line and Private Watercraft

This specialty encompasses all sizes of ships and boats used as pleasure craft. Cruise liners are "floating villages", requiring that interior designers interested in this career path create spaces that offer travelers a wide range of amenities in addition to sleeping accommodations - such as swimming pools, spas, health clubs, casinos, art galleries, ballrooms, walking and running tracks, and a variety of restaurants. The crew areas of cruise liners have certain basic requirements and, because crews are confined for long periods, staff dining rooms and living quarters must be as attractive and well planned as the upper decks. The interior of private yachts, on the other hand, allow the designer more opportunity for creative design and often require that the designer specify products and materials made specifically for marine use.

http://www.disd.edu/careers-interior-design.php