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Interior Designers Occupation Detailed Description

Interior Designers career

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Interior Designers

The main tasks and work activities of Interior Designers are to present work to clients for approval, estimate costs for projects or productions, confer with clients to determine needs, maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products. In general, for the Interior Designers, critical Thinking, speaking, active Listening, reading Comprehension and other 15 skills are required.
Interior Designers Job Description
EducationMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Related ExperienceA considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Job TrainingEmployees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
ExampleMany of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include real estate brokers, sales managers, database administrators, graphic designers, chemists, art directors, and cost estimators.
The following chart shows the education/training levels for Interior Designers jobs.
Less than a High School Diploma
0.00%
High School Diploma (or the equivalent)
0.00%
Post-Secondary Certificate
0.00%
Some College Courses
0.00%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
9.52%
Bachelor's Degree and Above
90.48%

Tasks and Work Activities of Interior Designers

  • Estimate material requirements and costs, and present design to client for approval.
  • Confer with client to determine factors affecting planning interior environments, such as budget, architectural preferences, and purpose and function.
  • Advise client on interior design factors such as space planning, layout and use of furnishings or equipment, and color coordination.
  • Select or design, and purchase furnishings, art works, and accessories.
  • Formulate environmental plan to be practical, esthetic, and conducive to intended purposes, such as raising productivity or selling merchandise.
  • Subcontract fabrication, installation, and arrangement of carpeting, fixtures, accessories, draperies, paint and wall coverings, art work, furniture, and related items.
  • Render design ideas in form of paste-ups or drawings.
  • Plan and design interior environments for boats, planes, buses, trains, and other enclosed spaces.
  • Coordinate with other professionals, such as contractors, architects, engineers, and plumbers, to ensure job success.
  • Review and detail shop drawings for construction plans.
  • Use computer-aided drafting (CAD) and related software to produce construction documents.
  • Design plans to be safe and to be compliant with the American Disabilities Act (ADA).
  • Inspect construction work on site to ensure its adherence to the design plans.
  • Design spaces to be environmentally friendly, using sustainable, recycled materials when feasible.
  • Research and explore the use of new materials, technologies, and products to incorporate into designs.
  • Thinking CreativelyDeveloping, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
  • Interacting With ComputersUsing computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
  • Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and EquipmentProviding documentation, detailed instructions, drawings, or specifications to tell others about how devices, parts, equipment, or structures are to be fabricated, constructed, assembled, modified, maintained, or used.
  • Making Decisions and Solving ProblemsAnalyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Communicating with Persons Outside OrganizationCommunicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing WorkDeveloping specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Coordinating the Work and Activities of OthersGetting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
  • Present work to clients for approval.
  • Estimate costs for projects or productions.
  • Confer with clients to determine needs.
  • Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products.
  • Select materials or props.
  • Coordinate construction or installation activities.
  • Draw detailed or technical illustrations.
  • Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes.
  • Review details of technical drawings or specifications.
  • Plan facility layouts or designs.
  • Inspect facilities or sites to determine if they meet specifications or standards.
  • Incorporate green features into the design of structures or facilities.
  • Conduct research to inform art, designs, or other work.

Skills and Abilities for Interior Designers

  • Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
  • WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • PersuasionPersuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  • CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Complex Problem SolvingIdentifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Operations AnalysisAnalyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
  • NegotiationBringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
  • Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • MathematicsUsing mathematics to solve problems.
  • InstructingTeaching others how to do something.
  • OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • VisualizationThe ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
  • Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Visual Color DiscriminationThe ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
  • Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Far VisionThe ability to see details at a distance.
  • Flexibility of ClosureThe ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Mathematical ReasoningThe ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Scalese.g. Architects' scales
  • Graphics or video accelerator cardse.g. Computer aided design CAD multi-unit display graphics cards
  • Desktop computerse.g. Desktop computers
  • Digital camcorders or video camerase.g. Digital camcorders
  • Digital camerase.g. Digital cameras
  • Tape measurese.g. Digital tape measures
  • Scalese.g. Drafting scales
  • Trianglese.g. Drafting triangles
  • Scalese.g. Electronic scales
  • Tablet computerse.g. Graphics tablets
  • Notebook computerse.g. Laptop computers
  • Personal computerse.g. Personal computers
  • Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizerse.g. Personal digital assistants PDA
  • Plotter printerse.g. Plotters
  • Tape measurese.g. Precision tape measures
  • Print serverse.g. Print servers
  • Protractorse.g. Protractors
  • Scannerse.g. Scanners
  • T squarese.g. T squares
  • Tablet computerse.g. Tablet computers
  • DesignKnowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
  • Building and ConstructionKnowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
  • Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Administration and ManagementKnowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • Fine ArtsKnowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
  • Sales and MarketingKnowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
  • Public Safety and SecurityKnowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
  • Computers and ElectronicsKnowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • PsychologyKnowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  • MathematicsKnowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Engineering and TechnologyKnowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
  • Communications and MediaKnowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
  • ClericalKnowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.