Marketing: Making Interior Design Jobs Come to You
by Wendy Croixwendy.croix@interiordesignschoolreview.com
Interior Design School Review Columnist
Barely one in five interior design firms has a serious marketing plan--or any formal marketing plan at all--according to David Shepherd, whose Business School Boot Camp for Interior Designers can point your interior design career in a business direction. Instead, most pros in interior design only market when the jobs slow down, and when they market, they do so "a la carte" rather than strategically.
Whether your interior design career rests on solid business practices or panic marketing is up to you. Here's how to get financially grounded.
If You're Looking for Design Schools
Make sure that the interior design school program you choose will give you a solid education in the business of design as well as the art of the interior. Consider a comprehensive university that will allow you to minor in business or take courses in small business management.If You're in Interior Design School Now
Consider investing your elective hours in business-related courses. And don't forget: interior design school is your first step in marketing yourself and your skills--at design events and through internships and summer jobs. Consider a thesis on the business of design rather than on interior design theory or aesthetics. Take advantage of student rates to design conferences and student memberships in professional organizations.If You're Already Working in Interior Design
Here are two books to help you kick your interior design career into high gear:- The Interior Design Business Handbook : A Complete Guide to Profitability, hardcover, by Mary V. Knackstedt (John Wiley & Sons, 2001). Includes a chapter on marketing. /
- Professional Practice for Interior Designers, 3rd Edition, hardcover, by Christine M. Piotrowski. (John Wiley & Sons, 2001). Recommended by ASID.
- The Interior Designer's Guide to Pricing, Estimating and Budgeting, paperback, by Theo Stephan Williams. (Allworth Press, 2005). Essential business skills.
And if you're employed, but thinking you'd rather manage your own interior design career:
Sources:
American Society of Interior Designers
"Plan for Success," by David Shepherd. Interiors & Sources.
About the Author
Wendy Croix, Ph.D. is a freelance writer, cultural critic, and university professor. In her twenty years as a professional educator, Wendy has guided hundreds of students toward the careers of their dreams.
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