Despite, or perhaps because of, the pandemic, the online interior design job is seeing a surge in popularity. As more and more people spend their time working from home, they want their humble abode to be as comfortable and pleasant as ever.
A remote interior designer ensures their clients’ homes are ergonomic and suit the client’s needs.
The duties and responsibilities of an online interior design job include:
- Conceptualize and sketch design plans.
- Undertake a design project from its conception to completion.
- Set timelines for the project’s completion.
- Determine the cost of completion and project requirements during the budgeting phase.
- Place orders for materials and oversee the installation of the design elements.
- Interpreting and translating the customer’s needs into a proper design plan.
- Utilize computer applications during the design process.
- Coordinate with other architects, designers, and constructors.
In addition to these duties and responsibilities, the salary for interior designers is similar to architects. The salary range for a full-time entry-level remote interior designer is from 20,000 to 25,000 Pesos. Their salary could increase to up to 60,000 Pesos for experienced ones.
With these in mind, if you’re considering applying for an online interior design job, now’s the time to do so. To further help you land this job, here are 11 essential skills to be a sought-after remote interior designer.
Creativity
It all starts with creativity. Your clients will have a theme in mind. And it’s your job to bring that theme to life as creatively as possible.
For example, you are working with small spaces like a condominium unit. How do you transform it into an aesthetically pleasing living space with enough room for storage? How do you enhance the house with your client’s personality?
What to do to make it work-from-home friendly? You need to have a baseline sense of creativity to pull off what your client wants.
Design Principles
And speaking of baseline, your creativity should be coupled with design principles. These are widely accepted rules and laws that designers apply to their work.
It includes lighting and color basics, history of design, and even materials and textures.
But it’s not set in stone. You should have this in your heart. So that you can create notable designs. And then break some rules whenever it’s necessary.
Spatial Awareness
There’s limited space for houses. And in some foreign countries, a few square meters can mean thousands of dollars in real estate value already. How do you make the most out of it?
So on top of the design, you should also have spatial awareness. You should have the ability to visualize objects, furniture, and fixtures in relation to other spaces. Mapping is also necessary to arrange what will work best depending on your client’s prerogative.
Maximizing the space with aesthetic details is key to being sought-after.
Drafting and Drawing
Now that you envisioned what can possibly be a great design, how do you show it to your clients? You should have drafting and drawing skills to portray a sneak peek of your client’s desired outcome.
With these skills, you can show possible furniture arrangements, color motifs, and even themes that they would possibly like. And they can also suggest further adjustments when necessary.
Familiarize Yourself with Online Interior Design Apps
Another way you can improve your chances of being hired is by being familiar with various online interior design apps. Apps such as AutoCAD, Illustrator, Planner 5D, and Magicplan enable interior designers to construct a virtual model of their plans and send it to their clients.
Before downloading these apps, however, make sure your computer can handle them first. Interior design tools cause a lot of strain on your computer’s hardware and can even damage it. Your computer should have either an i7 or Ryzen 7 processor or at least an i5 or Ryzen 5 processor.
For internal storage, an SSD card with 512 GB or more space is the optimal choice. But if that’s not within your budget, a 256 GB SSD card will suffice. And before I forget, you’ll need a minimum of 8 GB RAM when using interior design apps. But the optimal one is 16 GB and above.
Building Codes and Standards
Sometimes, our grand ideas might be possible for our homes. Only to find out that it’s not based on the law. How would your clients feel if this happened to them?
There are specific building codes and standards that every resident should follow. Based on your client’s location, can they bring down a wall or drill a specific fixture. Are specific construction methods allowed in their area?
You should know these rules so that you can implement their preferred design without legal implications.
Budgeting
All of our clients have allotted funds for their construction or renovation project. With all things in place, how much will your client have to pay for your professional fee plus the construction?
It’s not enough that you have a stellar design. You should also consider their budget. With your proposed materials and their vision, is it enough?
If not, you can suggest alternatives. With your skill in budgeting, you can retain the integral parts and materials. And then, you can compromise on other aspects that can still make their dream home come to life.
Time Management
Because you’re not working in an office anymore, it’s so easy to forget about your deadlines and procrastinate. This reason is why many remote workers struggle in keeping up with their deadlines. To avoid this, practice self-discipline when working, so you can remain focused and productive on your work.
Setting schedules and deadlines also gives you a sense of control once again. Doing this also serves as a way to reconnect yourself with your office routine again. Because you’re working on a stricter timeframe. Finishing your tasks on schedule also provides a positive impression to your clients on your competence and reliability.
Develop Proper Communication Skills
Go back to what I said at the beginning of this article. Having good communication skills is very important in an online interior design job as this allows you to know what your client wants. Knowing what your client wants enables you to come up with a better design for your client. In turn, you should also try to limit using art jargon when talking to your client so they can follow.
Of course, your client is not the only person you’ll be interacting with for the project. You will also communicate with other architects, decorators, and construction workers to accomplish your tasks. Properly communicating with them ensures that you won’t interfere with each other’s designs. And it also fosters cooperation within the team, which increases productivity.
Up-to-date
Design trends are changing every single day. What is sought after today might not be so likable in the future. So you have to be up-to-date with the latest developments in your field.
For example, sustainability and minimalism is quite desired for homes nowadays. Do you know how to integrate these options into your design?
Better be part of groups in your industry. Read articles in design. Or follow a thought leader so that you’ll be updated.
Conclusion
And we’re done! Here are just a few tips that you can follow to improve your skills and chances of getting hired for an online interior design job. The only thing left for you to do now is to practice them yourself. Here are some job opportunities that might interest you. Cheers!
