Professional Practice for Interior Designers - Christine M. Piotrowski

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These individuals call on design firms and large clients that are considering use of the company's products. Becoming part of the product design staff is a less frequent but still possible option. Depending on the product, the company may require that the designer have an industrial design background rather than an interior design background.

      A designer who works for a manufacturer often has the opportunity to travel throughout the United States. Many of the major manufacturers have showrooms in foreign countries therefore providing the possibility to work outside the country. Compensation depends on the actual job. Showroom sales positions and sales reps are commission based; designers are paid a salary.

      Corporations

      Many large corporations have in‐house interior designers or facility planners. Corporate designers might be in charge of the complete design process for departments and facilities, or might work with outside designers in the design of corporate facilities. Responsibility might involve designing the chief executive officer's office as well as any group of offices or spaces within the facility.

      Government

      The federal government's General Services Administration (GSA) is responsible for employing interior designers to perform design work for government agencies. The designer is commonly limited to designing with the products currently on the GSA purchasing schedule, although some projects allow additional flexibility in product specification. Willingness to travel is necessary, as the GSA designer designs facilities potentially anywhere in the country. The salary, which is based on the individual's “GS” rating, is sometimes a bit higher than an entry‐level salary in the private sector, and the government, of course, offers excellent benefits.

      Some state and city government agencies have salaried interior designers and architects. These professionals function in much the same way as designers who work for the federal government. Not all state governments have design employees, though, because many states have laws forbidding state agencies from performing work that competes with private‐sector companies and workers. Compensation is salary based. States and cities also tend to have very good benefits packages.

      Universities and Colleges

      Most universities, colleges, and community colleges have a facilities planning office. This office works with outside architects, interior designers, and the school staff to develop new building designs and remodel existing structures. A few of the largest universities retain design staff as employees. Educational design work is challenging, because most projects must be designed as economically as possible while still providing interesting and functional environments. Compensation is by salary and the employee benefits are also very good.

      Independent Organizations

      Numerous independent organizations employ individuals as interior designers. These positions might involve planning and specification or utilize the employee's skills for other management or administrative work in the agency. A very few examples include the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and professional associations such as ASID, IIDA, IDC, IFMA, and NCIDQ.

      The built‐environment industry increasingly involves cooperation, coordination, and collaboration with the various contingents of the industry. Interior designers coordinating with architects have been an ongoing collaboration. And interior designers working with vendors are another way professionals work together. Collaboration means, “the action of working with someone to produce or create something.”1

      A big part of integrated, collaborative practice involves understanding the language and terminology of related disciplines. Interior design course work already involves classes that introduce the student to the terminology of construction through classes in preparation of design drawings. Students interested in designing healthcare facilities could take introductory classes in the healthcare program to learn more about the field. Integrated design practices where multidiscipline teams work to find the best solution to the problems presented by clients is discussed in Chapter 15.

      Technology makes collaboration much easier today than even 10 years ago. Although the Internet allowed for designers working remotely from each other to coordinate drawings and other documents for many years, the continued enhancement of technology and software options has broadened that cooperation. Telecommunication is not static but dynamic with video conferencing, use of cloud technology, and virtual reality. Live streaming of video conferences of designers in far‐flung locations enhances the opportunity to collaborate with firms anywhere in the world for clients anywhere in the world.

      Collaboration also means cooperation and that cooperation may mean that some members of the group must acquiesce to ideas contrary to one individual's beliefs. Naturally, a leader will emerge from a group working on a collaborative project. But a good leader listens to all members and treats everyone's ideas fairly and not pushes the leader's ideas over everyone else.

      The opportunity to work collaboratively continues to grow as firms join together as a joint venture or hybrid group to design large complex projects regardless of location. Although interior design for many years has been thought of as an individual seeking a solution to the client's problem, it has always been to some degree a collaborative process as members of the same office group work together to design both residential and commercial projects. Collaboration has grown dynamically as the necessity to working with other professionals creates opportunity to be involved in large projects that a small firm could not complete on its own. The individual designer must learn that cooperation and collaboration improve the professional success of everyone involved.

      As an employee, you are no doubt looking for opportunities that will challenge you to use the design education you have recently completed. Truthfully, your new bosses probably want to challenge you but they will not quite be ready to let you loose on clients or major projects in those first weeks or even months. You have to pay your dues, and I don't mean to a professional association.

      Your boss will be assigning you work responsibilities that might even seem beneath your skill level. Just about everybody who has graduated from an intense interior design program has thought to themselves in those first weeks, “I didn't go to school to file price lists and brochures!” There is actually method to this assignment: it is an excellent way for the novice to learn sources…and indirectly work with several experienced designers.

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