When most people think of interior designers they either remember the team of people from their favorite home improvement show or they think of the stereotypical interior designer from a sit-com. They would probably be surprised at the variety of interior design careers.



While many people realize that interior design does requiring a college education, they may not realize that there are many specialties within the field. One of these is commercial interior design. Even within commercial interior design, there are specialties that the budding interior designer may be interested in. But no matter the specialty, there are basics her or she has to master in any event.

One of the most important of these basics is the use of computer aided design (or CAD). All commercial interior designes use CAD to put their ideas into a form that a building contractor can understand and implemetn. CAD is used to created blueprints, design drawings and other materials. WIthout it, a commercial designer would be lost. But on the other hand, with CAD, commercial interior designers no longer have to rely on hand-drawn renderings to get their point across. Art skills, while still important, are no longer the deal-breaker for a potential designer. With CAD, the margin for errors by miscommunication are greatly reduced and designs can more easily be replicated or changed at the touch of a button.

CAD is often considered an engineering skill. People often don't realize how similar commercial interior design is to engineering. Commercial designers must be able to relate office, retail or industrial spaces available to the need for cubicles, stores and manufacturing needs. Commercial interiors must be rearranged, a skill that requires engineering know-how. Often that space can't be created by just moving a partition. Large machinery may have to be moved or whole new spaces may need to be built and added on to the existing space at hand.

Another important basic skill to have is basic people skills. You could be the most original designer on earth, but if you don't work efficiently others, most businesses won't work with you. That's why business communications, management, marketing and similar courses are so important at the start of your career.

As you have seen commercial interior designers often use quite different skills than their residential counterparts. While residential designers are often mainly concerned with aesthetics, , commercial designers often are mainly concerned with the optimal use of space. Aesthetics are also import (Industrial space appearance needs are much different than those of an office, after all), but there are so many other details to warrant that commercial interior design is a discipline all its own.

If you shy away from interior design because of the usual stereotypes, don't. Commercial interior design can be a fascinating and very lucrative field. Check it out. You may have discovered a whole new career for yourself.