Postgraduate Courses in Interior Design
The Interior Design industry has developed as retailing and service industries have expanded. However, the public perception of the discipline may have been diluted by television ‘makeover’ programmes in which superficial decorative themes predominate. Some commercial designers who focus upon areas such as space-planning and large scale refurbishment have begun to position themselves as Interior Architects. This is not only an attempt to divorce themselves from the possible misperception of Interior Design, but to benefit from association with the professional status of Architecture. Studying a postgraduate course in Interior Design will enhance your knowledge, skills and career prospects. If you are interested in studying a postgraduate course in Interior Design then read on to discover what this subject can offer you.
In reality, and relating to the concepts of internal architectural space, the study & practice of Interior Design attempts to collectively draw together common approaches to the design and occupation of space within an existing architectural context. It is possible that these approaches can be developed from notions of Interior, Exhibition, Product and Portable Environments Design, Architecture, Furniture, and Installation Art. Each design approach has the potential to contribute to the design process and critically reflect upon issues such as aesthetics, function, use and spatial syntax.
Using this exploratory function it is possible to define Interior Design as the link between architecture and the users of space. It deals with the relationship of people to spaces through volume, planning activities, atmosphere, scale, colour, light, texture, acoustics and construction materials. Through creating a combination of practical convenience and atmosphere, Interior Design can inspire, excite, relax, communicate or reassure. Interior Design has developed beyond the simplistic dichotomy that defined it in the popular imagination: it has more substance than the shallow and transient decoration of the television ‘makeover’ programme, and has more ambition than simply to be a subsidiary service within architecture. The complimentary application of theoretical tools with practical design techniques enhances the ability to critically reflection on design practice: allowing individuals a means to emphasise critical skills in the context of practice or the development of professional practice skills within a critical commentary.
Considering these elements, the study of Interior Design at Masters level is aimed at more than simply ‘enhancing’ the skills obtained throughout an Batchelor’s degree. As with other design disciplines that have evolved in the same educational sector in the UK, the relationship between research, knowledge, theory and practice tends to rely on an understanding of practice rather than explicit academic discourse. A postgraduate course in Interior Design offers the opportunity to apply critically reflection & analyse the (often tacit) theories of design process, providing a means to adopt an ‘evolutionary’ approach to design that complements the conventional ‘creationist’ norm of undergraduate experience, and the role of commercial design practice. An MA in Interior Design aims to set high academic standards based on challenging ‘the conventional wisdom of the undergraduate experience’, in a manner which produces postgraduates whom employers are keenly looking for – for they become creative thinkers who have the ability to complement their enhanced design skills with rationalised & well-supported research arguments within design practice.
Indeed, the study of an MA in Interior Design should have its philosophy based upon three main focuses:
1 The study of elements rarely taught at undergraduate level
2
The study of some things taught at undergraduate level that can be revisited - critically reviewing the underlying theories & models of design process and the assumptions they build on, aiming to work beyond rational problem solving
3 The application of new ways of working/learning – such as frequent ‘public’ progress reviews
In addition to gaining vocational and transferable skills (‘know-how’), students of such MA programmes are introduced to a wide range of subjects that, whilst extending the traditional boundaries of Interior Design, help define the scope and potential of the discipline, and develop a personal perspective (‘know-what’). The programme examines the extent to which current subject knowledge and practices have been influenced by a variety of historical and cultural factors and through extrapolation speculates future developments in the subject (‘know-why’). Graduates of such higher degree programmes in Interior Design, combined with the associated portfolio of work produced from its undertaking - which becomes conceptually more sophisticated, obtain the necessary aptitudes which are becoming increasingly more important for individual to obtain rapid progression to senior designer posts in practice.
Whilst design skills are essential, as is a knowledge or interest in the development of internal spaces, a postgraduate course in Interior Design is not exclusive to graduates of Interior Design or Architectural subject areas. Indeed, the inclusion of individuals from a great number of applied areas is encouraged to aid with the questioning & expansion of this design subject through the analysis of convention. As such graduates from a wide-range of subject areas are often part of an MA Interior Design cohort – such as Product Design, Scenography, Philosophy, Furniture Design, Fine Art & Landscape Design, as well as those from the design professions ‘traditionally’ associated with the subject. It is by opening this door to possibility that we can enhance the future of this design profession as a whole. If you require more information on postgraduate courses in Interior Design then please follow the link below.
Dr. Paul Bailey
University of Central England
http://www.uce.ac.uk/web2/biad/index.html
