With people becoming increasingly conscious about the beauty of their homes, the interior design industry has cashed in, big time. It is now a blossoming trade that is competing on the same level with its external counterpart civil engineering. Given such a scenario, it is only natural that there be a demand for qualified interior decorators. Consequently, this led to the establishment of several institutions that offered an interior design stream for education. This article traces the growth and establishment of interior design colleges.
The first question to be answered is always a why. Why is an interior design college necessary? Firstly, while it is a large field in itself, customers started becoming more particular. Design tastes started evolving as time passed. Design colleges ensure that their students are kept up to date with the current trend. Moreover, customers started looking for some sort of accreditation from the interior decorators they were recruiting. This was provided by the educational body that the designers studied in. There are numerous other reasons, but the substantial ones are quoted above.
For those that wish to study interior design, home study interior design is becoming increasingly more popular. Many students continue to work and even raise families thus taking an online program is much more suited to their lifestyle. A degree in the interior design profession is more important today as well due to the strict regulations imposed by many states. You must pass a qualifying exam in order to call yourself an Interior Designer.
One of the first steps you must take is to research the school you wish to attend. Make sure they are an accredited institution. Find out whether home study interior design is available. A nonprofit accrediting body develops guidelines and standards that the interior design schools must maintain. If the school does not meet the guidelines then the school is not accredited. The nonprofit agency is called the Council for Interior Design Accreditation. Some schools that do not have the accreditation may not have applied for it. It is up to the student to do their due diligence. Contact Interior Design firms and ask them what schools they recommend.
Interior design schools help to train candidates to create a quality environment around them. At interior design schools, students are taught study from material that is computer-aided to draw and design, to solve problems, to study the history of interior designing and architecture, space planning and also 3-d imaging. The help of the visual media enables these institutes to teach the art interior deigning and the related problems.
Interior designing is subject to government rules and regulations, unlike any other professional course. Interior design schools prepare the students to appear for National Council for Interior Design Qualification or NCIDQ exam. It provides recognized credentials and equips the interior designer for better job opportunities. To be eligible to appear for the NCIDQ exam, the candidate must have a total experience of 6 years, comprising of the interior design based education. This must include 2 years of post secondary education. There are also diploma courses like the BTECH HND, which are the Diploma in Interior Designing and Decoration and the Higher National Diploma.