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What is Interior Design?

The business of Interior Design is perfect for those who love to be creative and work with others. It is also a rapidly growing profession. Economic expansion, growing homeowner wealth and an emerging interest in interior design are all increasing the demand for professionally trained interior designers.

Interior Design and Interior Architecture are the same at VCUQatar

While distinctions are made between these two terms in some countries, VCUQatar’s Interior Design program follows the North American model that considers the terms to be interchangeable. Additionally, the program achieved CIDA accreditation in 2005; CIDA is the Council for Interior Design Accreditation, which applies the same set of standards to programs granting degrees in either Interior Architecture or Interior Design.

Interior Designers create amazing designs for places where people live and work

Professional interior designers create interior spaces for every type of building including ministry and government offices, corporate offices, museums, airport terminals, theaters, retail spaces, health clubs, restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals, and private residences – both free-standing villas and congregate living environments such as condominium developments and towers with shared spaces.

Interior Designers are responsible for the look, function, and safety of interior spaces.

Interior designers are capable of creating spaces that appeal to all of the senses, and that satisfy both the physical and emotional needs of a building’s occupants. They are also responsible for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of occupants by competently applying the codes, regulations, and standards that control the building industry.

Interior Designers are skillful and knowledgeable professionals

Professional interior designers have a solid understanding of construction and building systems and make decisions regarding placement of architectural components such as walls and windows. They also have knowledge of environmental psychology, building codes and regulations, technical properties of materials, historic precedents, and the business of design. Upon graduation, they can skillfully apply the design process and illustrate their design concepts with computer- and manually-generated two- and three-dimensional architectural drawings and models.

Interior Designers are collaborators

To realize the designs they envision for clients, professional interior designers often collaborate with architects, engineers, other designers (lighting, graphic, landscape), contractors, manufacturers of interior products (furniture, lighting, fabrics), artists, and craftsmen (cabinet makers, upholsterers). For that reason, interior design students are encouraged to develop good collaboration and communication skills that will enable them to work effectively in the multi-disciplinary environment of a professional interior design office.

Interior Designers are leaders

To realize the designs they envision for their clients, professional interior designers lead design teams from the early stages of a design project through its installation as a finished interior space, and many interior designers, after gaining work experience, will open their own design firms. For that reason, interior design majors at VCUQatar are given opportunities to develop leadership, entrepreneurial, communication, and organizational skills before they graduate, and support systems continue for them as alumni.