4. Interior Designers

Interior designers draw upon many disciplines to enhance the function, safety, and aesthetics of interior spaces. Their main concerns are with how different colors, textures, furniture, lighting, and space work together to meet the needs of a building’s occupants. Designers plan interior spaces of almost every type of building, including offices, airport terminals, theaters, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals, and private residences.

Good design can boost office productivity, increase sales, attract a more affluent clientele, provide a more relaxing hospital stay, or increase a building’s market value. Traditionally, most interior designers focused on decorating—choosing a style and color palette and then selecting appropriate furniture, floor and window coverings, artwork, and lighting.

However, an increasing number of designers are becoming involved in architectural detailing, such as crown molding and built-in bookshelves, and in planning layouts of buildings undergoing renovation, including helping to determine the location of windows, stairways, escalators, and walkways. Interior designers must be able to read blueprints, understand building and fire codes, and know how to make space accessible to people who are disabled.

Designers frequently collaborate with architects, electricians, and building contractors to ensure that designs are safe and meet construction requirements. Whatever space they are working on, almost all designers follow the same process. The first step, known as programming, is to determine the client’s needs and wishes. The designer usually meets face-to-face with the client to find out how the space will be used and to get an idea of the client’s preferences and budget.