| Archived Decorating Question: Design Career | |
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Question: I'm in high school and interested in design. What can I do now to prepare for more education and a career in this field?
Answer: First, you'll want to discuss your classes with your school counselor and focus on electives that will give you a background in design, art, drawing, computer, and business.
Next, see the other related FAQ's listed below, especially this one regarding training your eye. Anyone can do this, whether they are in school or not, and setting aside time to train your eye will begin to develop this talent.
Make a point of reading design magazines and articles on an ongoing basis. Read critically making note of some of the design challenges and how the designer approached the problem. See how different colors and textures look together, how to mix patterns, or the options for covering a window. There's much to be learned from just looking at a photo of a room's interior. Also see the informative design articles on this site.
As a further exercise, you could make a goal of "designing" one room a month on paper. That is, collect paint chips at a paint store, page through wallpaper books for ideas and room themes, and browse through design magazines and cut out pictures of furniture that you would choose for your room. Paste all of these on white cardboard.
Make a form and fill it out for every room, including information such as: purpose of room (bedroom), function of room (sleep, read, do homework), theme (stars and moon), colors (bright blue and yellow), furniture (bed, chest, bookcase), accessory ideas (mirror, star designs), etc.
Because you are doing this on paper you can be extremely creative, and over time your taste and perception will increase. Date all of these and keep them in a folder. Later you might also find a floor plan of a room (online, in a magazine, or new home brochure) and then start to play with arranging furniture.
All of this will give you a great background and good experience. Also, at some point you might look for a part time job, or even an unpaid internship with a local design firm to give you even more insight into the business. There are many fields and branches of design now, and it will help you to explore these options and decide what sounds most interesting to you.