Just wanted to drop a note and say thank you. I love the article! You did a great job with the introduction. I’ve gotten some very positive feedback already, thanks so much for the opportunity. - Lisa Garza Armstrong, LEED AP
2010/10: The Top 3 Realities Interior Design Students Need To Know Now
Just last week I had the pleasure of speaking to 130+ enthusiastic interior design students at Student Symposium in Dallas, Texas, which was hosted by the ASID Texas Chapter. The theme of this year’s two-day event was Interior Design: Beyond The Reality Series, a fitting one considering that television’s prolific obsession with all things design is often the siren song luring both traditional and non-traditional students to design schools across the continent. I am known for my encouraging, yet candid, outlook on the world, and my talk titled “I Earned My Interior Design Degree, But Now What?” was apropos. I’m happy (and relieved) to say that the students reported that they got a lot out of our discussions, so I thought that I would share three "realities" with my online audience, which I’m happy (and relieved) to say is a wee bit larger.
Reality 1 |You may not be able to get a job in the interior design industry right away, but that’s OK.
When I graduated in 1992 with a BS in civil engineering, the economy was in the tank, and I couldn’t get a job in my major. When I finally realized that I better come up with a plan instead of sulking and snacking, I turned it into an opportunity that changed the course of my life. I began investigating interior design programs, started working on applications and a portfolio, and took a job as an in-house “permanent” temporary office worker for a major corporation – mainly because I could type, answer the phone, and dress the part. Full disclosure: I also took it because I could roll out of bed 30 minutes before I was expected at the office and still make it on time.
In the moment I could see very little relevance to my future endeavors in the daily tasks I undertook such as typing up memos, taking dictation, filing records and answering the main switchboard. In retrospect, however, I learned some incredible lessons that have stuck with me for a lifetime. Some were general like responsibility, compromise and adaptability (after all, I often didn’t know what I was going to be doing day-to-day), and others were specific like crucial travel and catering details to consider when planning big events (thank you Events & Incentives Department).
Several years later, once I had graduated with an MFA in interior design and actually started working in the corporate design field, the total effect of how much I had learned from that experience finally dawned on me. That job was a living laboratory that unconsciously taught me to consider the impact of multiple components of the workplace – e.g., path of travel, wayfinding, the effect of color, appropriate lighting levels, material suitability and durability, department adjacencies, the hierarchy of square footage allocation, etc.
The Lesson: You never know what you are going to learn or where you are going to learn it, so keep your eyes and mind open.
Reality 2 |If you are lucky enough to get a job in the interior design industry right now, it probably won’t be the one you want, but that’s OK.
Or, at least, it might not be the one that you think you want.
I thought that I wanted to practice healthcare design, so I pursued a couple of short internships in the field. I soon realized that having an aversion to medical facilities is not a good quality to have as an interior designer focused on medical facilities. Then I thought that the (perceived) glitz and glamour of the hospitality field was what I really wanted. Wrong again. It was just too much for my minimalist sensibilities. When I finally landed on corporate design, I felt like Goldilocks: It was just right.
Why did not know that corporate design would be a good fit right away? Because I didn’t know myself yet. I wasn’t self-aware enough to realize that my skill sets and sensibilities matched with the requirements of the field, and you won’t know either until you get out there and experience it.
No experience is bad experience. You can learn something from every single position you have no matter what your role is, but it’s up to you to be proactive about it, ask questions, wander outside of your comfort zone and take some risks.
The Lesson: You don’t know what you don’t know.
Reality 3 |The career path of an interior designer is no longer linear, but that’s OK.
Just before the Student Symposium, I was fortunate enough to take a two-hour course from 2010-2011 ASID President, Michael Thomas, FASID, CAPS, who spoke to interior designers on the topic of ”Survival Techniques for the Small Design Firm.” In that session, he shared his thoughts on how even the career paths of established designers are rarely linear because, frankly, with the vagaries of the market, acceleration of technologies, and ever-changing industry landscape, business models that used to be successful are no longer relevant to today’s market. Translation: There’s rarely now enough profit in doing only one thing.
With a varied career history that includes everything from being regional sales representative for a textile manufacturer and running his own design-build firm to writing books on aging in place and owning a to-the-trade showroom, Michael can speak from experience.
I, too, can talk on the subject. In the years since I left interior design school behind, I have worked as an interior designer, but I’ve also started an online magazine about interior design (duh!), written about interior design/designers for a couple of other publications, formulated marketing and public relations materials for design-related businesses and events, helped interior designers tighten up their marketing messages, taught individuals computer and technology skills, been paid to speak to interior design programs, etc.
Everyday I see recent interior design graduates, as well as experienced practitioners, choose – or evolve into – other areas as well for a number of reasons…
Once they get out into or learn more about the field, being a practicing interior designer isn’t as satisfying as they thought it would be.
Practicing interior design is not bringing in enough money to pay the bills.
When times were good, it was hard to leave the practice to satisfy an interest that they had recently developed or had buried for years.
In no particular order, here are some examples of what I’ve seen individuals with an interior design education pursue (that I haven’t already reference above):
Working directly for a manufacturer designing, marketing or selling product for the trade or retail markets.
Taking research performed by a manufacturer or third party and using it to educate end-users and the A&D firms who hire them.
Performing as a facility manager or in-house space planner for a corporation or institution.
Teaching future members of the interior design industry and researching the field.
Managing a to-the-trade or retail showroom.
Working independently for various manufacturers designing product.
Specializing in environmental graphics for a graphic design firm.
Designing sets for films, television shows or the theater.
Marketing for a construction company or large A&D firm.
Providing rendering services for other design professionals.
Earning a Masters or PhD in interior design or another field to specialize, perform research, and/or write books and speak.
Creating visual merchandising displays for showrooms and retail establishments.
Providing CAD and BIM services for other design professionals.
Acting as a purchasing agent for an A&D firm or institution.
Project managing for a construction company, A&D firm or institution.
Painting murals for both residential and commercial applications.
And on and on, but I’m going to stop here.
The Lesson: Interior design programs teach you a multitude of skills that you can, should and will apply throughout the lifetime of your career, wherever it may take you.
So relax already. It’s all OK. In fact, it's exciting.
To bridge the gap between the student / educational community and the professional / manufacturer community of the interior design world, and not to die of boredom while we do it.
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Students, don't miss your chance to enter the 2013 Sherwin-Williams STIR Student Design Contest. This year they are accepting entries via the Student Design Contest website. First prize is $2,500 and a feature in STIR magazine from Sherwin-Williams; 2nd place is $1,000 and 3rd is $500. The deadline to enter is April 15, 2013. GO HERE to find out more.
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Created by a couple of Milwaukee interior designers with a quirky sense of humor, a healthy dose of sarcasm and a heaping serving of caring. Check out Enough Said to find fun t-shirts with a message.
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