Nundhatad

A1.This is very true of places that we visit. First impressions of rooms, which please our aesthetic senses, tend to stay with us for a long time, long after we’ve physically left the place. Some people have an inborn talent to bring out the best in whatever is available and arrange things around to make a place beautiful. And others who appreciate this aspect of decorating a place to achieve a desired effect can go in for training and become experts in the field. In fact, the field of beautiful interiors has made so much progress today that there are now two distinct fields viz., interior decoration and interior designing. As compared to interior decoration, interior designing is a more specialised field and a lot of training and hard work goes into the making of a successful interior designer. An interior decorator advises, chooses and then assembles furniture, furnishings, colour schemes, artefacts, etc. to do up a place. While on the other hand, an interior designer would actually design exclusive and unique furniture, fittings and artefacts, keeping in mind a client's tastes, personality, lifestyle and his budget.

A2. A natural aptitude for working with colours, an artistic leaning, dexterity with hands, creativity, imagination, being able to visualise one's thoughts and an ability to translate one’s thoughts effectively, patience and above all the ability to get along with people are some of the qualities a person requires for entry into this field. As an interior designer or decorator will be required to create an atmosphere as per the client's tastes, it is essential that he or she is able to understand, visualise and create something that will fulfil the client's needs, be aesthetically pleasing and keep to a budget too. An interior designer/decorator should be good at communicating his or her ideas to others. Good communication skills will be needed very often during the course of work. A good working knowledge of architecture helps too.

A3 Well, there are many institutes offering courses in this field. The minimum academic qualification required for admission to such courses is 10+2 or its equivalent. Many polytechnics and vocational colleges offer courses in interior designing and decoration. The duration of these courses ranges from two to four years, depending upon the type of course and the institute identified for the pursuit of study. The course of study covers subjects like Art & Basic Design, Furniture Design, Furnishings & Fittings, Design, Construction & Materials, History of Interior Design, Services, Professional Management-Estimating & Budgeting, Display, Computer Aided Designing. Other areas covered included lettering, properties of materials and paint technology, exhibition design etc.

A4.For interior designing, professional training can begin immediately after successfully completing the plus two examinations. Admission is usually based on performance at an aptitude test conducted to evaluate one’s sensibility, drawing skills, especially technical drawing, spatial apperception and so on. There is a centre in Ahmedabad that offers a five year professional programme in interior design for students who have cleared the plus two exam with science subjects. Here the requirement is sixty per cent at the tenth standard level and fifty at the plus two or equivalent level. The course content is a good mixture of arts and technical subjects. Students are trained to look for optimum use in various types of materials. Some companies have their own specialised courses in interior design. In collaboration with Jenson & Nicholson, Exteriors Interiors offers a one-year programme in interior design. This course is open to all graduates and pre-graduates in any discipline.

A5.With the demand to create more working space increasing and with more and more people realising the need and importance of professional designers, interior designing as a profession has come to be recognised in our country. Opportunities are aplenty in architects’ firms or in consultancy companies. Private business is a very lucrative option. One, however, has to be up to date on what’s new, what’s in, what’s got maximum utility, pricing, etc. and bring about a good blend depending upon the client’s requirements, budget and tastes. One also needs to be extremely dedicated about keeping commitments. To be successful in private practice, one also needs to have a native business sense.

• School of Interior Design, Centre for Environmental Planning Technology, Kasturbhai Lalbhai Campus, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad.
• Exteriors Interiors, S-49, Kalkaji, New Delhi; 47/1C, Hazra Road, Calcutta.
• J. J. School of Arts, Mumbai.
• Nirmala Niketan, 49, New Marine Lines, Mumbai.
• Sophia College B. K. Somani Polytechnic, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai.
• SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai.
• South Delhi Polytechnic for Women, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi