Designer Details

Find a Designer Why Hire a Proffessional Designer Commercial Designers Specialty Areas Residential Designers Selecting a Designer Interior Design Basics

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Find a Designer

When you hire an ASID member, you get an experienced practitioner who can solve problems, help you avoid costly mistakes and, most importantly, create an attractive, affordable space designed specifically to meet your needs.

ASID members have the training and expertise to manage all the details of your project. They know the importance of listening to your ideas and understanding your needs. From consultation to planning to the finishing touches, they can help you every step of the way, explaining your choices and adding value to your budget.

Why Hire a Professional Designer

In addition to their in-depth knowledge of products, materials and finishes, professional designers have the training and expertise to plan, schedule, execute and manage your project from start to finish. They know and work closely with many vendors, contractors and other service providers, coordinating and orchestrating the entire design team. Designers also provide specification and purchasing services to procure materials, furniture, accessories and art, some of which you might not be able to find on your own.

When you hire an interior designer, you get the benefit of an experienced professional who can solve problems, help you avoid costly mistakes and, most importantly, create an attractive, affordable space designed specifically to meet your lifestyle needs.

Commercial Designers

Whether your project involves new construction, leased property, remodeling, renovation or preservation, an interior designer can help you get the most out of your investment. Of course, an interior designer will make your interiors look great, but he or she can provide many other services as well. In addition, because client and end-user needs vary among industries, commercial designers tend to practice in certain specialty areas, bringing an in-depth knowledge of markets, applicable codes, products, technologies and trends from their research, education and experience. A designer can work with you to not only address your immediate business needs, but also support your longer-term objectives and goals.

Specialty Areas

It is common for interior designers to focus their practice in certain specialty areas, as each has its own unique requirements and design challenges. Within the interior design industry, these specialty areas are generally known by the following names:

Office (large or small) / corporate
Hospitality (hotels, motels, retirement homes, country clubs, restaurants)
Medical (doctor and dentist offices and patient rooms, day care facilities)

Residential Designers

Whether you’re building a new home or remodeling a single room, you want the finished space to be attractive, comfortable and functional. It needs to fit the way you live, as well as reflect your personal style and taste.

Interior design addresses all these concerns and more. Images of beautifully appointed and arranged rooms are usually what first come to mind when one thinks of interior design. Color, fabric, furniture, art and ornamentation are indeed important elements in the overall design. How the environments we inhabit look and feel greatly affect our mood and sense of well-being. Interior design also involves many practical and technical considerations that affect comfort, function and safety. Among these are lighting, acoustics, space planning, organization and storage, scale, accommodation of special needs, fire safety and compliance with local building codes.

Interior projects include new construction, renovation, historic restoration and model homes. Specialty areas within the home include the kitchen, bath, home theater, home office and home health care and fitness areas.

Professional interior designers can do so much more than recommend furniture, fabrics and colors. They have a creative eye and artistic flair, but that’s only the beginning. An interior designer has aesthetic, practical and technical expertise in all the elements that make up an interior environment. He or she understands how people use and respond to these elements, not just individually but as the elements interact with one another. Any number of services and suppliers can provide and install items for the home. Some offer advice on selecting colors, patterns and materials or on arranging the furniture and accessories in a room.

Selecting a Designer

When you're ready to select a designer to work with on your project, the number of individuals and firms to choose from can be daunting. How do you know if you’ve chosen a professional designer? In general, you want a designer with the following characteristics:

Is accredited as an interior designer (If required in your state, be sure the designer is licensed.)
Has experience in the type of project you are doing
Has demonstrated creativity, talent and resourcefulness
Is attentive, responsive and communicates well
Has a record of reliability and good work habits.

One way to ensure you are working with a professional interior designer is if he or she is a member of the American Society of Interior Designers. ASID member designers must meet the profession’s education and experience requirements, as well as adhere to a strict code of ethics and professional conduct. The ASID appellation after a designer’s name indicates that he or she is an accredited designer who has passed rigorous professional scrutiny and testing.

Interior Design Basics

Interior design concerns itself with more than just the visual or ambient enhancement of an interior space, it seeks to optimize and harmonize the uses to which the interior environment will be put.

Many factors come into play in formulating the design solution. There is the space itself--its dimensions and construction--with its potential and its limitations. There is how the space will be used--for work or leisure, entertainment or worship, healing or learning. There is the meaning of the space, what it signifies--be it power, authority, security, wisdom, achievement, playfulness or serenity. There are practical considerations, like ease of access, amount of light, acoustics, seating and places to store or set things down. There are health and safety considerations, attention to special needs and more.