Some students that want to enter a design college get a little confused when are checking out the interior design college programs. Many people think that interior designing is just a matter of taste and consist only in color combination and room decoration. However, interior designing is a creative and intellectual work that requires advanced skills in many technical and artistic domains.
Interior design colleges programs include theoretical and practical courses. At theoretical courses students learn how to develop holistic, spatial solutions for different specific cases. They also have basic design and drawing courses, studying visual communication, the language of drafting, and color psychology. Basic elements and the principals of design deal with lines, shapes, colors, textures, patterns, forms and spatial illusion. Fundamentals of color and textile is an important course for any branch of interior designing, either it is residential or commercial designing.
Most of interior design colleges programs offer courses of theory of color and light, containing studies about color properties and psychology, the rules of mixing, color systems and so on. Textile courses contain studies of different textile products, students learn to select and take care of different types of textiles. An interior designer must also have basic building knowledge, for example to know what wall can be broken without damaging the entire structure and without creating any risk. All this can be learned on architectural courses.
A qualified designer must have strong knowledge in hygiene, as long as they will operate with important environmental elements like lighting, heating, ventilation, humidity and many others. They must be able to create comfort and safety. A correct and rational interior design is very important for our sanity. Interior design is also a business. That is why most of interior design colleges programs include business and economics courses. Students learn how to use their knowledge for making money and how to start and run their own interior design business.
Modern technologies have improved considerably interior designing options, offering the possibility to create three-dimensional models of their ideas. Among other important advantages, this creates an easier communication with clients and helps to get a better understanding of their needs on one hand and a clearer presentation of designer's propositions on the other hand. That is why courses of AutoCAD (computer aided drafting) are compulsory for a modern interior designer. Art history courses, such as history of architectural interiors and furnishing, help students get an idea about interior designing evolution and different fashion and cultural influences on interior designing.
Many American interior design colleges programs are accredited by FIDER (Foundation for Interior Design Education Research), what makes researches and elaborates standards for interior design educational programs. Interior designing is an interesting and very responsible domain that requires strong technical skills and fundamental knowledge and also represents an important intellectual and creative work.