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Scholars have not agreed with the definition of such a term of interior design because this field of human activities comprises several elements like art, engineering, psychology, ecology, etc (Gibbs, 2005). Thus, many students, who have chosen this profession, are occasionally unaware of those difficulties that they will have to overcome in the course of their career. They cannot set their priorities and carry out their duties. Traditionally, this controversy stems from the belief that interior decoration is just a branch of visual art, and that it is not intertwined with other disciplines. Yet, one can say this assumption is erroneous in its core because it overlooks other facets such as management of the natural environment and behavior of people in this environment. This report aims to discuss the skills that an efficient designer has to possess, the range of his or her duties, the education that such person usually needs to obtain, and certain career prospects. Hopefully, this work may help to avoid misunderstanding about these issues.
Skills and duties of an interior designer
Professional Qualities
The requirements for teaching interior design have yet to be fully specified, and this is quite understandable because this profession immensely relies on artistic imagination, which can only be cultivated but not trained or implanted to a student (Penner, 1982). Therefore, each educator may choose one own approach, depending on his or her aesthetic preferences. However, we can mark out some major qualities like 1) the ability to incorporate beauty and utility, which means that the work has to be both pleasing to the eye and functional. Many projects did not come into existence because they neglected one of these elements. The designer has to consider how inside space can be managed daily. It is of crucial importance for him or her to possess knowledge of airing, building materials, illumination, the price of maintenance, operation costs, and so forth (ASID, n d). We can observe that he or she has been a very practical individual, who can assess the project realistically; otherwise, his ideas are rather unlikely to be put into practice.
Another quality, which is believed to be compulsory for a decorator, is the ability to make compromises with customers and other members of the team. To some extent, such a view is quite grounded because a client (an individual, company, or institution) is the employer and inner space has to be arranged according to his tastes. Secondly, the interior has to be adjusted to the architecture of the building, its structure, or its location, and very frequently designers need to bring considerable if not drastic changes into their plans (Ball, 2001). A categorical attitude usually leads to delays, discord, or impracticability of the project.
Nonetheless, in any circumstances, artists have to avoid the dangers of conformity. In his article, Richard Penner analyzes a very serious trap in which they may fall. In the course of their work, they have to comply with the demands of customers but very often these customers do not have any artistic tastes, or their likings may just be mediocre and obsolete. To suit the needs of the clients, decorators have to emulate the style of others or even reproduce commonplace works (Penner, 1982, p 32). This certainly has nothing to do with art or any other creative activity. Hence, people have to uphold their views and aesthetic tastes otherwise they will be reduced to the status of mere imitators.
A person cannot become a good interior decorator if he cannot organize one work effectively, settle priorities and deal with several tasks practically simultaneously. The execution of the project has to be carefully planned: for example, it is necessary to ensure the supply of materials. The designer has to coordinate the work of his assistants or manual workers. Moreover, the final project has to be in line with the demands of architects, engineers, and clients. Every student, who wishes to become a specialist in this area, has to take a critical look at his or her capacities because in this case, lack of knowledge or even self-confidence will yield no results and the only possible outcome will be an unsuccessful career (ASID, n d)). In brief, we can argue that a good decorator should have both artistic and practical skills.
There is a different approach to the professional qualities of decorators and their decision-making. For example, such author as Denise Guerin advocates the so-called Interior Ecosystem Model. This is a framework that helps to allocate the tasks and identify appropriate skills. First, it consists of five elements: 1) natural environment; 2) human organism; 3) behavior peculiarities, 4) built environment; and 5) interaction network (Guerin, 1992 p 256). Thus, in the beginning, the designer must take into account possible impacts of external factors like geographical position; the level of pollution and precipitation, shading, etc. This model suggests that a designer should be rather competent in meteorology. The second and third elements are related to the activities of people, occupying the building, the overall number of inhabitants, the needs of the clients. So, a decorator needs to know about safety and labor norms as his or her sketches may simply be incompatible with the requirements of federal agencies which can reject the project only due to its inconsistency with established standards. This issue is closely connected with the built environment or structure of the building which can impose very rigid restrictions upon any artist. Finally, there is an interaction network, which includes the relations among the aforesaid elements (Guerin, 1992). There is no need to go into detail but we can say that each of them can force great changes in the initial plan. The ecosystem Model has been discussed in this report because it shows the extent and depth of interior designers knowledge. We have also presented a visualized version of this model (Please refer to the Appendix).
Duties
We have already touched upon the obligations of an interior decorator, yet, this question requires closer examination. On the whole, these duties can be described in chronological order. The first stage is usually the negotiation process, during which the employee should give at least the most approximate estimate of operation costs, the feasibility of the project, and the availability of materials. In addition to that, the designer has to weigh those factors that might affect the final output. All of these aspects must be explained to the customer so that no controversies arise during construction (Gibbs, 2005). Special attention should be given to the financial side because many very promising projects were not implemented only due to the lack of funding. Apart from that, we should not forget about the legal responsibility of the decorator: in case of failure, the designer might have to compensate clients expenses, especially if poor performance was caused by his mistakes (ASID, n d). Still, we should emphasize that at the very outset, the estimates cannot be accurate as many unexpected problems could occur almost daily, yet clients must be constantly informed of unforeseen changes.
It stands to reason, that this person has to monitor and guide his assistants because one cannot physically make all the drafts and sketches on ones own. Subsequently, an interior designer should be rather versed in human resource management, because the selection of the staff greatly affects the speed and efficiency of work. Judging from these facts, we can argue that decorators should act as the creator, manager, negotiator, and coordinator. Only a few people can combine these skills, even though they may be incredibly gifted artists.
Education and Career Prospects
Interior design became an academic discipline only at the beginning of the twentieth century before that such knowledge could be acquired only through individual apprenticeship, moreover, there were practically no criteria or parameters, according to which one could measure the performance of a student (Gibbs, 2005; Ball, 2001). Now when this field of art has been popularized, educators apply the same academic degrees (Bachelor, Master, and Ph.D.) to this profession. As a rule, many employees state that Bachelor level is the minimum requirement, though normally it is much higher. Still, we have to take into consideration the peculiarities of this activity: the thing is that artistic potential or aesthetic tastes cannot be adequately rated using college degrees and many decorators began only as amateurs like Vincent Fourcade who had to raise his academic level only when he had established his reputation. Naturally, these people are just exceptions from the rule, and students cannot possibly expect a quick and continuous rise in a company without good educational background. As it has been previously demonstrated, interior design cannot be limited only to art, this concept is much broader.
Highly qualified decorators can work either with individual customers, who may want to organize or reorganize inside space of their house, apartment. Or they may deal with companies (supermarkets, nightclubs, galleries, offices, etc), or even governmental organizations that are also concerned with the inward appearance of their building. The work can be either residential (if a person is constantly employed by one particular company) or contractual. The second option implies a relative level of independence: an artist can choose among various customers and tasks. Yet, such a variant is possible only if the decorator is well-known in professional circles, and his or her previous experience is rather vast (Ball, 2001). There is no accurate information about the profitability of this activity because some facts are not usually made public, but according to statistical data, the average annual income ranges from forty to fifty thousand dollars but much will depend upon the scale and complexity of the project (Ball, 2001). Nevertheless, one should bear it in mind that the market has recently become oversaturated and this area attracts more and more students and applicants so competition intensifies.
The skills and duties of an interior designer are extremely diverse; this person must act as an artist, engineer, negotiator, and coordinator. He should also be competent in ecology, psychology, and human resource management. Among his major qualities, we can single out the ability to prioritize, communicativeness, artistic and practical mindset. It is also vital for him to be qualified in the manufacturing process and construction. In the course of the project, the decorator has to do many tasks practically simultaneously, and he or she should demonstrate considerable flexibility. Currently, there is a brisk demand for representatives of this profession in the United States as well as in other countries. However, the situation may change as the job market becomes overfilled. In turn, this sets higher norms for students and applicants. Those people, who are intent on entering this profession, should first critically evaluate their preferences and most importantly capacity, because interior design is art and science, and only very few people have an aptitude for both of them.
Appendix
HO Human Organism
NE Natural Environment
BHE Behavioral Environment
BTE Built Environment
Interaction Framework (Guerin, 1992 p 256)
Bibliography
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Ball. V (2001). Opportunities in interior design and decorating careers. McGraw-Hill Professional.
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Gibbs. J (2005). Interior design Portfolio Series. Laurence King Publishing.
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Guerin. D. Interior Design Research: A Human Ecosystem Model (1992). Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal. 20, p 253.
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American Society of Interior Designers. (ASID). Choosing a Design Career.
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Kang. M. Guerin. D (2009). The Characteristics of Interior Designers Who Practice Environmentally Sustainable Interior Design. Environment and Behavior (41), p 170.
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Penner. R (1982). On Teaching Interior Design. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly. (23), p 31.
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