Interior design careers are exciting, creative and dynamic. Interior design is becoming a popular field of work due to many people now wanting to renovate their homes. This could be due to the success of home improvement TV shows, magazines and websites. What Does it Take to Become an Interior Designer? Interior designers need to have creativity and imagination. Each job varies widely. You must have a vision of what your client wants in order to be successful. Interior design as such can be called an art. What do Interior Designers do? Interior designers analyze the needs of clients and use creativity to form a vision of what they require. This can take in many factors such as lifestyle, purpose of the building, age of the building and many more. It involves designing interior spaces and can include colors, fabrics, furniture, plants and other aspects of interiors. Colors, lighting, materials, products, health, safety and building codes are all factors that interior designers must consider. How Can I Get Qualified? There are many colleges and schools that teach interior design courses. Generally it is not required that you go to a university as short courses can lead to a qualification and the knowledge required. However, an interior design degree can lead to your certification as it can be illegal to undertake certain interior design work without certification. You will also learn to manage documents, communicate with clients, develop design plans, presentations and samples as well as gain an in depth knowledge of design practices and trends. There are several fields that an interior designer can focus on once qualified. This can include designing specifically for residential homes, commercial properties, or corporate, health care, hospitality, retail and educational facilities. Once you have decided upon your area of expertise you can narrow down your skills very tightly, and as a result you will be seen as an expert in that particular interior design niche. There are many different interior design styles and you may choose to focus on one or two as your area of expertise. These includes modern, traditional, eco-friendly, corporate, elegant, artistic and many more. To retain your interior design skills you should stay on top of trends by regularly reading magazines, websites and other publications from the interior design industry. This highly rewarding career is a popular choice but there is still a shortage of expert interior designers in particular niches, so that can be an area of focus for you. Interior Designer vs Interior Decorator An interior designer will almost always earn more than an interior decorator due to the in depth work and knowledge required by designers. Most interior decorators do not have a degree, but designers do. Interior designers must be able to envisage an entire area and know how to make the most of indoor spaces, sometimes from scratch which is like an artist starting out on a blank canvas. On the other hand, interior decorators mainly focus on improving existing spaces with mild adjustments to furniture and colors.

Source : http://www.articlemaniac.com