The diploma Course in Interior Design comprises of 12 in-depth modules designed to build the foundation that will lead to your qualification as a professional interior designer.
The duration of the Course is 12 weeks, however the Course is self-paced, so you may take longer to finish it.
The modules are designed to be read sequentially and will help build your knowledge to enable you to design a residential space.
At the Interior Design Institute we don't just teach interior design, we encourage each and every student to access and nurture their own natural sense of flair and creativity. We also teach the technical and practical skills necessary to translate those design ideas into reality.
Course Outline
MODULE 1: The Visual Language of Design
The first module discusses our philosophy of interior design and
introduces you to a number of concepts.
You are given a new
understanding to help you learn how to see and what to look for when
observing design in the world around you.
You are given insight
to help you learn to be a first rate designer.
This module
sets out an overview of the 12 elements of design and introduces you to a
new way of understanding what you are seeing.
This chapter
opens the world of visual images, so you can begin to see the meanings
and messages behind the styles and decorative images you encounter.
Later, as you begin to use these images to create your own designs,
knowing the language of design will add originality and creativity to
your work.
MODULE 2: The History of Style
Decoration and Architecture
This comprehensive and
fascinating chapter starts with cave paintings and takes you through the
history of design and architecture to the present day.
Loaded
with images and information, Module 2 will help you become an expert
when choosing the perfect style, proportion and structural detail your
future design work will require.
This chapter builds on the
ideas set out in Module 1, as it sweeps you through history giving you
an in depth lesson, in the origins of the Language of Design.
MODULE 3: Styles of Design - Speaking the Language Fluently
Here you will learn how, at the outset of a project, to make strategic
and conceptual decisions about where you want to take a design and why.
You will learn how to go beyond decoration and to create a sense of
ambience.
This chapter will help you establish a method for
evaluation of the site and also of its creative and emotional
possibilities, while you discuss the elements of a room and the best
suited elements of furniture shapes and styles.
You will be
given the opportunity to build your confidence by employing a framework
for a project in a cohesive, professional manner that will ensure a
consistent result.
You will learn to build a game plan
methodically in order to begin making creative choices without confusion
and indecision.
MODULE 4: Scale - Space Planning
and Proportion
Here you will begin to develop plans for
a renovation.
The discussion of space in this chapter is a
conceptual and a practical one.
After being presented with an
inspiring and informative tutorial on this essential commodity of
interior design, you will be asked to develop the space plan, and to
begin to understand the possibilities of structure, space, and new uses
for a residential plan.
You will be the master of the result in
this interactive exercise that will culminate, by the end of the
course, in a complete assignment for your first professional portfolio.
MODULE 5: Light and Lighting
Here you will be
taught about the properties of light and the orientation of a space.
You will learn how light effects colour, fabrics, surfaces and so many
of the design decisions you need to make in your work.
You will
learn about the properties of various forms of artificial light, and
its endless possibilities.
You will be given an understanding
of the technical and esthetic possibilities of ambient, decorative and
task lighting.
Finally, you will be taught how to incorporate
these ideas into your plan as you renovate the residential project
started in Module 4.
You will learn how to prepare your ideas
and communicate them in documents for the electricians, builders and
suppliers who will install your creative vision.
MODULE
6: Colour - The Most Potent and Flexible Element of Design
You will learn how to use colour fearlessly.
You will be
taught the properties of colour, the history of colour and the
psychology of colour.
Then you will learn how to introduce
colour into an interior in a way that allows you to change your mind,
experiment and play.
You will learn there are no bad colours,
only bad combinations.
You will be given some useful guidelines
to build your understanding when using colour, and the freedom to find
new inspired applications and combinations.
MODULE
7: Finishes - Surfaces of the Envelope - Floors, Walls, Ceilings
In this chapter you will begin to understand how to apply the concepts
of three-dimensional design to the reality of a finished space.
You will learn how to use floors, walls and ceilings, to create a
beautiful and functional setting which supports any furnishing choice
and end use.
You will see the key to a professional and
enduring interior design is the finish of the shell around the objects
that it will house.
You will learn how to specify finishes
which have the greatest impact for the least expenditure, including
specialised and fantasy finishes.
You will also learn how to
identify finishes that suit the functional requirements of any end use.
You will also learn the practical reality of which finish gets
installed first.
Consequently, you will begin learning the
important matter of managing the installation of your design job and in
the proper order.
MODULE 8: Fabrics, Window
Treatments and Home Textiles
This informative and
delightful chapter will introduce you to the beauty and luxury of
decorative fabrics.
The endless possibilities in the world of
stunningly beautiful textiles will be revealed, along with a survey of
the history and the present day state of the art.
Fabrics,
window treatments and home textiles exist in their own universe of
design complexity.
In this Module, some of the lure of the
world of decorative textiles, will be shared with you
The
importance of beautiful fabrics in superb interior design is
inseparable.
You will learn where to find the most wonderful
fabrics and how to use them with style and flair.
You will be
given criteria and technical information which will help you choose the
correct types of fabrics and home textiles for the required end use.
You will begin to gain confidence to transform space, proportion, scale
texture and mood, with wit and fabric.
You will be treated to a
delightful explanation of the possibilities of window treatments, which
may inspire you to design them with the gusto of an haute couture
designer designing a ball gown.
MODULE 9: Furniture
Art and Accessories
The pinnacle of great design is
working with the most beautiful and carefully selected objects,
furniture and art.
With references to Module 2, and the history
of interior design, we will survey the world of furniture and its many
uses and applications.
Our earlier discussions of the elements
of design, will literally take shape, as we translate these theories
into the reality of placing beautiful objects into perfectly planned and
thought out spaces.
Here you will begin to build a sense of
mastery when your space plans and elevations come to life with the
furnishings that extend your designs to completion.
Your sense
of accomplishment and of your own potential, will speak for itself when
you begin to see the result of your hard work and inspiration in the
course.
MODULE 10: Your Client - How to Listen and
Create the Environment they Desire
This chapter teaches
you the work practices of professional designers.
You will be
shown the vital procedures and thought processes to bring a design to
completion in the real world.
From the start of a project, you
will learn how to support your creative knowledge with the practical
knowledge that ensures finished results.
This module is
essential for any student planning to work professionally in the design
industry.
It will also give you important information to bring
work in on schedule for any design project, whether for yourself or for a
client.
MODULE 11: Communicating Accurately
Here you will be taught how to document your designs for clients,
contractors and for your own understanding.
Preparing drawings
and plans will be de-mystified.
You will begin to understand
that drawings are your friends because they help you to make better and
more informed design choices.
You will learn the way a set of
drawings can help you to win a job and to manage and co-ordinate
different trades' people and contractors.
A good set of
drawings ensures your great ideas are interpreted correctly.
Nothing is more delightful than seeing a design concept spring to life
as you've imagined it.
Knowing how to document your ideas will
help to guarantee you this pleasure.
MODULE 12:
Setting up your Business
Here you will learn to see
yourself in the context of the design industry.
You will be
given professional advice from the community of respected and successful
design professionals.
You will also be given valuable support
information regarding business development, business practice and market
positioning.
This advice is provided by outstanding business
consultants who work with creative professionals.
If you are
considering making design your career, this may be the decisive chapter
that is the stepping stone to your future success.
