AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN INTERIOR DESIGNER
Our junior interior designer, David Gut recently chatted with someone who was interested in getting into the world of interior design. She asked David a few of her burning questions about what it’s really like working in the industry and we thought we’d share the answers with you!
Here is David’s interview with interior design hopeful, Maddie!
Hi Maddie!
My name is David, I'm a Junior Interior Designer working at Design Shop and I'll be answering your questions! Super exciting to hear that you're interested in interior design! It's a great field, we have a lot of fun :)
We run our firm a little differently than most, so in my answers I'll give you a little bit about how we roll versus what's more or less "standard" in the industry.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE JOB IN TERMS OF DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS?
This varies a lot day-to-day, and is very different from designer to designer! At any given time, one designer typically has several projects on the go, all of which are at different “phases”. This means that oftentimes we’re splitting up our days and doing a little bit of work on several projects throughout the day.
In general, tasks + responsibilities include client meetings, site visits (either to check on progress and manage construction, or in earlier phases this could be a walk-through of the space where we take measurements in order to draft an "as-built" plan of the building), CAD drafting, 3D modelling/rendering, meeting with material representatives and ordering product samples, as well as behind-the-scenes "scrum" sessions between designers to work on projects and co-lab on the details.
There’s also a lot of admin work that happens behind the scenes, such as file management, project proposals (writing up a proposed contract for a client to “bid” on a potential project), and coordinating with the city or contractors for construction permits or other required steps in the construction/renovation process.
Those can be broken down a lot more, there are different levels of client meetings depending on the phase of the project (at the beginning of a project, we often have a “programming” meeting, where we deep-dive with the client and determine all their wants, needs, and goals, so we know what we're working towards and can make sure all the functional needs are met before we even start designing. Whereas later in a project, we have more “presentation” style meetings where we go over a proposed design with the client).
For us specifically, we also do a lot with branding and social engagement, so often times we also do a bit of branding work such as graphic design with clients, or working alongside a separate graphic designer to ensure the space is aligned with a client's brand message and so that we can engage the space with social media, etc!
As mentioned, tasks depend a lot on the designer as well! Some of our designers are a lot more conceptual and do a lot more meetings and high-level concept development, whereas other designers are much more technical, and do a lot more of the construction management, admin, and technical drawing! To give you an example of a day, my day today looks like this:
This morning I started by sending off a few files for a coworker to look over and edit. They sent them back with a few markups for me to make revisions on a graphic/concept document we're showing to a client. I'm now spending a bit of my morning doing a bit of admin work/errands for others, as well as responding to emails. For the rest of the morning, I’ll be working on some concept drawings for a different project. This afternoon, I have a quick review meeting for a third project, and after that, I have some files to prepare and some preliminary space plans to coordinate for a fourth project that I have a meeting for on Tuesday. Every day is different!
WHAT IS THE DRESS CODE?
There isn’t one! (At least, for us).
This one is very firm-specific. We like to think of ourselves as a very casual, down-to-earth workplace. Of course we still want to be presentable, but we believe in being true to ourselves and showing clients our authentic selves. We’d much rather wear a cute outfit we’re comfortable in than be worried about feeling overdressed and uncomfortable. There are situations where dressing up a little more may be required, depending on the client or if we are attending an event of sorts, but we trust our team to know their clients and dress appropriately for the situation.
Other times, there are safety requirements. A lot of the time we’re going into demised buildings or construction sites to take measurements and reference photos, and in this instance we follow any requirements outlined by the site manager. This often includes hard hats, steel-toed shoes, and/or high-visibility vests.
As I said, the dress code is also firm-specific! We like to present ourselves casually, but there are definitely other firms that practice a business-casual or even formal dress code!
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FROM WORKING IN THIS POSITION/THE COMPANIES BENEFITS?
This is another one where we work a little differently from most. Our firm has always worked remotely (even prior to COVID)! Working remotely is great, though it's definitely not for everyone. It requires a higher level of self-motivation and organization/management. Working remotely allows us to set up our own spaces based on our needs, and allows us to stay mobile and meet with clients wherever works best.
More generally, we’re a relatively small firm, which has benefits of its own. I’m our firms most recent hire, I’ve been here for just about a year. This is my first job in the field after graduating with my Bachelor’s degree, and I actively sought out a smaller firm rather than a large one. At a smaller firm, you get a lot more experience, as you have your hands in a lot of places. I’ve done a little bit of all of the tasks I listed in the first section, whereas if I worked at a larger firm, my skillset may become more “specialized”. Larger firms tend to be more compartmentalized, so at a larger firm, I may end up with the same task more often, which would be great for honing that specific skill, but I would not get exposed to all the other elements of the industry, and as a result, I think my choice to work at a smaller firm has given me a more rounded experience and made me a more versatile designer.
WHAT ARE SOME EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES (ADVANCED OR CHANGED)?
This one is a tricky answer - COVID has done a number on the industry. In general, design is a very competitive field and it can be hard to get into. One thing I’ve found as someone who was looking for a job last year is that a lot of design firms don’t know they need help until it’s offered. For example, when I got my job, I sent my portfolio to Design Shop just because of my general interest and having recently graduated, they did not have a job listing posted or anything. They brought me in for an interview because they thought they could use a little bit of help since it was being offered, but weren’t sure if they would have enough for me to do, so my initial offer was for part-time work. Immediately, from week 1, I was working 40 hours a week because there’s always more to be done!
That being said, it can be tricky to get into the industry if you’re not actively looking, however, once you are in and start to gain some experience, you can advance pretty quickly. You start to get a few projects under your belt, which builds up your expertise and adds to your portfolio. Beyond that, there are qualifications that further advance your career. A bachelor’s degree in design is essentially a requirement to work in the field of interior design, and a Master’s degree further advances your knowledge base. Locally, PIDIM (Professional Interior Design Institute of Manitoba) is the governing body of Interior Designers, and after a certain number of hours of work experience, you qualify to take the NCIDQ test (think of it as the bar exam for lawyers, but for interior designers). NCIDQ is the highest professional qualification for an interior designer.
WHAT ARE THE MATHEMATICAL REQUIREMENTS ON THE JOB?
This one tends to surprise people, but for interior designers and even architects, there is hardly any math. Interior Design gets a bad name sometimes because of misuse of the term. A lot of home design shows that feature Interior “designers” are actually interior decorators, who go through a brief certificate program that teaches them a bit about space planning, colour theory, and a little teeny tiny bit of environmental behaviour/psychology. We go through the same degree as architecture, and interior design is just architecture of interior environments, or alternatively, architecture on a smaller scale.
As such, in school we learn the basics of structural load-bearing and other math. However, most of our attention is on building code and policy, rather than the actual structural mathematics. We learn policy + code, which is the result of people who have done the math already – we don’t need to know the math. It’s in our brain somewhere and we could likely do it, though for the purposes of our scopes of work, we defer any of that to a structural engineer. Architects do this too! For us and for architects, the job is to space plan, ensure function is met, make it pretty, and make sure the client is happy. If we’re doing anything that requires structural work, or anything else with math, that typically falls under the scope of the engineers.
Even smaller things specific to interiors we often get our reps or sub-trades to do. One example of this is lighting. There are formulas and rules to follow for measuring light levels and ensuring even light during design, which we can definitely do, but it’s quicker for us to refer to our lighting reps who do those calculations day-in and day-out!
WHAT DO YOUR HOURS OF WORK TYPICALLY LOOK LIKE?
This is another one where we’re different from most. Typically, our working hours fall between 9am-5pm, as this is the most “standard” and easily recognizable business model. This makes it easiest to schedule with clients and be accountable at regular times. However, because we work remotely, we can sort of set our own hours. For example, I try to work 9-5 Monday to Friday in order to meet my 40 hours a week and be available at times where clients and coworkers would expect me to be working. However, there are a few caveats. Working in design is tricky - it's hard to force yourself to be creative. Some days you may be on a roll, and others you may have a tough time getting into it or feel like you’re stuck. Because of this, we self-manage a lot more. Some days, if I'm on a roll, I'll work 10 or 11 hours without realizing, and then to compensate, I’ll work a shorter day (like 4-5 hours instead of 8) later in the week to make up the difference (or vice versa). We try not to do this too often, though, as working remotely also means it can be hard to separate work from your personal life since we're always in our own homes, so making sure we keep a healthy work-life balance is super important.
This can also happen with deadlines, or on weeks overall rather than specific days. Sometimes, deadlines stack up, and one week you’ll have 3 drawing sets due as well as a bunch of other tasks, and may end up working longer hours, whereas some weeks are quieter, and you're in-between project phases, so your hours may be a little lower, or you may be working on more background/admin work rather than work on projects for clients. This is fairly standard for the industry, I have a lot of friends who work at other firms, and even though they work at an in-person office space and are on a 9-5 salary, some days they stay late to wrap up some deadlines, while other weeks they leave early because their is a lull between projects.
HOW DO HOLIDAYS WORK (#OF WEEKS PER YEAR, DAYS OFF, DO YOU HAVE TO WORK HOLIDAYS AND IS THAT OKAY)?
This is another one that’s firm/office specific, even outside the design industry! We take any bank/regional holidays off, as we are not an essential or government service. We typically also take civic holidays off. To my knowledge, most design firms also take a holiday break at the end of December for about 2 weeks, which we also do.
PTO (paid time off) also varies from firm to firm, as well as within the firm! As our newest hire, I have 2 weeks of paid time off per calendar year, as well as about a week of sick days (I think ~5-7? Can’t remember the exact number off the top of my head!). That being said, I work with designers who have been in the industry – and at Design Shop specifically – much longer than me. They may have more time off/sick days as a result of being at the company longer. The policy would be set within the employment contract and change as you grow within the company, and some firms may offer more or less, but that's across most jobs, not just design!
HOW STRESSFUL CAN THIS JOB BE/HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH STRESS?
Design can at times be very stressful. In terms of workload, as mentioned, deadlines can often stack up. At times, there are a lot of tasks on your plate and not a lot of time to do them. Fortunately/unfortunately, school prepares us for that. The design degree is notoriously brutal, and keeps you quite busy. You learn a TON of skills though, design and just generally life related. Designers tend to be very good at time management, going with the flow, and turning around a tricky situation.
Outside of that, there is also a social component which can be stressful. Because we are providing a service, and because design, aesthetic, and even clients are different/subjective from person to person, client meetings can be very daunting. We put our passion and our ideas onto a page, and even though it’s following what was outlined by the client, sometimes that can be very daunting. Clients don’t always like your ideas (and can sometimes be rude), but an important skill for a designer is to not take things personally (knowing that they're critiquing the idea, not you as a person) and analyzing their remarks in order to alter the design to suit their wants/needs better.
To deal with these, a work-life balance is very important to us as previously mentioned. We also are a team, and for us, being a good fit is very important. We aren’t just coworkers at Design Shop, we uplift each other and support each other, and having that mindset is very important in order to alleviate some of the stress. We typically also work in pairs on projects, so work can be balanced out between designers on a project, and so that you always have a partner that has your back. Beyond that, knowing yourself is important too. Another great thing you learn in school (unfortunately) is how to tell when you’re burning out, when you need a break, and when to step away to take care of yourself for a moment if necessary. This may take the form of little breaks throughout the day if you have a lot on your plate, or even simple gestures like going out for coffee instead of making it at home to treat yourself a little and take a break to go for a walk, etc.
WHAT TYPE OF ENVIRONMENT DO YOU WORK IN? ARE THERE HEALTH FACTORS INVOLVED?
As mentioned, we work from home! This is not our only work space though. Our “head office” is one of the firms partners’ house. We have a material library here, and we often have meetings here as well (as a team, or with clients!). We also do site visits as mentioned, meaning that sometimes we’re on construction sites. Any necessary equipment must be brought, and we ensure our health and safety by following any restrictions, regulations, or required PPE (physical protective equipment - like the hard hats, safety goggles, earplugs, high-visibility vests, steel-toe boots, etc.) laid out by the site’s manager/superintendent.
Because of the nature of our job, we also do a lot of our meetings on-site.
Whenever possible (especially with COVID), we try to hold our meetings virtually to avoid unnecessary contact with others. Sometimes this isn’t feasible though, as with design, we often need to see the space to work with it. In-person meetings could be held at a client’s home, or if it’s a commercial project, at whatever building we’re working on. This may be because we’re taking measurements (of furniture the client wants to plan into the new space, or of the building as a whole, etc.), or coordinating a material palette (we always order material samples and coordinate our palettes in person - every single screen is different and will never show the true colour of something, so we have to coordinate samples in person to make sure everything goes together as intended). There’s nothing worse than finding the cutest tile or wallpaper online, and finding out when you order it that the creamy white you thought would tie everything together is actually a dull orangey-brown in real life!
That being said, because we meet in-person with clients, our policy, no matter someone’s vaccination status, is for our team to always wear masks when meeting with each other, or with clients/contractors/etc.
WHAT DOES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ADVANCEMENT LOOK LIKE (POTENTIAL LEADS TO OTHER CAREERS)?
I’ve touched on it in a few places already, but design can be tricky to get in to. Once you start getting some experience, however, you can only go up! I started last October as an intern/assistant. Within 6 months, I had been promoted to a Junior Designer. As I get more experience, I can continue to grow within the firm and take on more projects as I move towards a senior designer position. There are also a lot of people who will get experience working at a firm for a few years, and then start their own! There’s also quite a vibrant design community. This is pretty true in any major city, but especially so in Winnipeg.
Most designers/firms know each other (a lot of the major firms in the city are owned by people who went to school here within a few years of each other, so they go way back!), and are pretty positive + supportive of one another (which you wouldn't expect from your “competition”). Sometimes, a new job or work environment works better for someone, but as you get more familiar with the job and get more expertise, you grow not only at your firm, but in the design community in general!
We hope this gave you some insight into what it’s really like being an interior designer! If you ever have any questions or have an interest in joining our team, we’d love to hear from you!