Professional Practice for Interior Designers. Christine M. Piotrowski

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      Researching the specialty is one way of understanding that specialty. Reading textbooks, design books, and trade publications on the specialty is one easy way to learn about it. Interior design and architecture trade magazines provide impressions of what it is like to design all types of interiors.

      Personal experience can be another way to learn about a specialty. Some students become interested in healthcare design because of a family member's health problems. Those who work their way through college with jobs in retail stores often become interested in visual merchandising or retail design. Family members and family friends certainly influence a career direction and may also influence a specialty focus. For example, perhaps an uncle is a veterinarian who talks about the importance of the interior for keeping animals calm during office visits.

      It is advisable to seek additional coursework that will indirectly provide general background information about a design specialization. For example, someone who wishes to specialize in hospitality design should take some introductory classes in the hospitality industry. Those who wish to work in retail design would be wise to take merchandising and visual merchandising classes.

Students should also recognize that many specialized interior design firms might not hire an entry‐level designer. I have heard from numerous specialized firm principals over the years that they simply do not hire entry‐level designers. In general, the reason is that the lack of actual work experience prevents an entry‐level designer from working at the pace and intensity needed in such firms. “We need designers who can hit the ground running,” commented one such principal. “Entry‐level designers, regardless of the quality of their talent, cannot do this,” the principal continued. Their advice is for students to get good‐quality actual work experience and learn what it is really like to work in design before they apply for a job in a highly specialized design firm. Of course, there is no reason a newly graduated student could not apply anyway. Being in the right place at the right time has gotten many designers their first job.

      Residential Interior Design

Residential interior design deals with private living spaces, most frequently the freestanding, single‐family home, as well as many other types of private residences. Designers might also specialize in functional areas within the umbrella of a residence, such as kitchen and bath design. Other specialty areas are listed in Table 5‐3.

      An important characteristic of residential interior design is the personal relationship that usually develops between the client and the designer. The ability to get along with people and develop sensitivity in questioning clients, to uncover their needs and wants, is very important. Residential clients are quite particular about what they buy and how their home reflects their image. Tact and diplomacy are a must, when showing the client the realities of good and bad design ideas and translating expressed desires into a design concept with which the client can live.

      Commercial Interior Design

Commercial interior design—sometimes called contract interior design—involves the design and specification of public spaces, such as offices, hotels, hospitals, restaurants, and so on. It is normal for a commercial designer to focus his or her practice on only one area or perhaps on a few types of related public spaces. Depending on the size of the design firm, a firm might offer expertise in multiple specialties. Table 5‐4 is a partial list of the specialties that exist within commercial interior design.

An important skill for the commercial interior designer is to have knowledge and appreciation of the client's business. This knowledge helps the designer ask better questions about the needs and goals of the client during programming. The designer also realizes that clients are different even when they are in similar business categories. Therefore, the designer needs to understand the business of the business in order to make appropriate design decisions.

TABLE 5‐3. Partial list of residential interior design specialties

Single‐family homes	Model homes and apartments
Townhouses	Dormitories
Condominiums	Sustainable design
Patio homes	Senior housing
Apartments	Apartments in assisted‐living facilities
Manufactured housing units	Color consultation
Vacation homes	Historical restoration/renovation
Residential restoration	Custom closets/storage
Kitchen and/or bathroom design	Residential children's spaces
Home offices	Renovation for the physically challenged
Home theater design	Private yachts and houseboats
Music rooms/game rooms	Home staging

TABLE 5‐4. Partial list of commercial interior design specialties

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Almost any kind of commercial or business facility can become a specialty in interior design. Choosing too narrow a specialty, however, can limit the amount of business the interior designer will be able to obtain.

General offices

Facility planning

Corporate executive offices

LEED ® specialist

Professional offices

Law

Advertising/public relations

Accounting

Stockbrokers and investment brokers

Real estate and real estate development

Financial institutions: banks, credit unions, and trading centers

Architecture, engineering, and interior design

Consultants of various kinds

Health care

Hospitals and health maintenance group facilities

Medical specialty office suites

Nursing homes and assisted‐living facilities

Medical and dental office suites