With companies and people becoming more discerning
about how their offices and homes should look,
interior design has come into its own as a career.

There is a career in learning to use space creatively.

IF THE geography teacher's lecture on the Milky Way
made you dream of painting stars on the ceilings and
redesigning the windows to let more light into the
classroom, this is possibly a career for you.

With companies and people becoming more discerning
about how their offices and homes look, interior
design has come into its own as a career. Architects
no longer put their sister's thrice-removed niece,
with a flair for drawing straight lines, in a corner
of the office as an interior decorator.

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Beauty and utility
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About 20 years ago, architects just doubled as
interior designers as well as decorators, says Padmini
Sundar, architect and interior designer and visiting
faculty at the Dr. Dharmambal Government Polytechnic
for Women.

Interior designing involves planning how to use space
most efficiently while making it look good. Interior
design is rather technical. You start from scratch and
work with empty space. If a client wants an office you
have to work out the estimate depending on his budget,
plan a design for cubicles, seating, use of natural
light, design and placement of furniture and other
details that would suit his needs. Decorating is just
about getting curios and carpets and fitting cupboards
even a carpenter can do that, says Padmini.

A typical course in interior designing would include
basic structural engineering and architectural
principles, study of art and art history, principles
of design, designing, drawing and sketching and
computer-aided design. While being good at maths,
physics and science to get proportions and budgeting
right is necessary, creativity is essential.

Good communication and presentation skills are also a
plus point while dealing with clients as well as the
labourers on the site executing your plans. You have
to be prepared to spend time on the site initially,
learning the practical aspects of the job, how to
actually fit a false ceiling and manage labour without
overshooting the budget, says Padmini. There are
plenty of opportunities in architects' firms or in
consultancy companies. Private business is also a
lucrative option, after you have gained experience.

You could also be a freelance consultant. But to be
successful in private practice, you need to be
extremely dedicated about keeping up commitments. You
have to be up-to-date on what is new, what is in, what
has got maximum utility, the pricing and bring about a
good blend depending upon the client's requirements,
budget and tastes, says architect Savita Idnani of
Naksha Architecture and Interior Design.

Most architecture courses offer interior design as
well, but there are many polytechnics that offer
specialised courses at the undergraduate level.
Padmini says most employers prefer a technical
qualification, even if you have a natural flair for
design. A qualification also helps if you are going
abroad, because there are no good post-graduate
courses in interior design in India, she says.

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Where to study:
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School of Interior Design: Centre for Environmental
Planning and Technology (CEPT), Ahmedabad - five-year
professional programme in interior design, entry by
written test and interview

Anna University, Chennai _ one-year course in interior
design Exterior Interior Institute of Design, Chennai

National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad

Apeejay Institute of Design (AID), Delhi

Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai

J.J. School of Arts, Mumbai

SNDT Womens University, Mumbai three-year course in
interior design

Dr. Dharmambal Government Polytechnic for Women,
Chennai diploma in interior design

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