Design School Tips From Our Designers in Phoenix Arizona

Aleah

Senior Interior Designer and Project Manager in our Phoenix Arizona Office

Photo By: Agnes Art & Photo

Hi! I went to The Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University (Go Devils!). ASU’s Interior Design program is consistently ranked one of the top schools in the nation by Design Intelligence. This ranking compelled me to want to work harder, faster and stronger throughout my design school career to ensure that I was living up to my school's reputation. This also gave my professors and peers a similar mentality as we moved through a program that was competitive, engaging and gave us the proper tools and training to go into a professional environment straight out of college.

Let’s say you can go back to when you first started school and give yourself three pieces of advice. What would they be?

1. Don’t procrastinate so you don’t have to pull multiple all-nighters during midterms & finals. Coffee can only go so far haha

2. Sell it with ranch! Presentations to “judges” are so much harder than presentations to actual clients (the client won’t make you cry I promise), but it does build confidence so take advice openly and willingly while still standing strong!

3. It’s difficult now, but all the sleepless nights are totally worth it in the end when you can actually make projects come to life and stand behind your style and expertise!

Maddy

Interior Designer and Marketing Coordinator in our Phoenix Office

Photo By: Agnes Art & Photo

I went to the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. I chose this program because one of its main missions is to help find their students find employment after graduation. They also focused on gaining real-world experience while still in school by helping students find internships in the field. Also, I wanted a program that had small class sizes to optimize my time with professors.  

Was interior design school what you expected? What was surprising about it? 

Design School was different than I expected. My studio classes really went in-depth on the concept of a project and bring them to life in an out-of-the-box way while still creating practical practices and understanding the architecture. My courses really pushed me to understand my concept and embody it in my design. With this, my program also pushed real-world experiences. I participated in four different internships that crossed over many sectors of interior design. Internships paired with a more conceptual curriculum I felt made me a well-rounded design student. I was surprised at the emphasis on more conceptual thinking but, now I see where it pushes my mind to a different level while designing. I can go to a more creative place and then make it practical. 

Photo By: James Stewart Photography

Yoselin

Senior Interior Designer in our Phoenix Office

Photo By: Agnes Art & Photo

I began my Interior Design journey at Phoenix College where I focused on strengthening my creative skills and technical knowledge. I continued on to the Design program at Northern Arizona University to complete my degree. I chose NAU primarily because of its inclusive and diverse environment which I believe is an outstanding way to help students not only in an academic, but professional way as well. Being the number one university in the state for online courses made it very simple and convenient for me as I had access to the same small class sizes as well as plenty of personal time with my professors. My absolute favorite thing was how the courses involved plenty of fieldwork opportunities and that was one of my priorities during college in order to gain real-life experience and be prepared right after graduation!

What is designing really like and How is it different than decorating? 

 Although decor-pretty pillows and fun furniture- takes a huge part in interior design, there are so many other tasks that are required to become a professional in the field! Learning about the history of design and the distinct styles, the integrity of each space, building codes, Computer-aided drawing (CAD) and so much more is involved and necessary to know in order to become an interior designer! Another important detail to know is you will get to work with a wide range of people including homeowners, contractors, architects, builders and vendors - so my best advice is to build relationships with different professionals in the field. ALSO practice and get more comfortable about speaking with others-interior design is all about the details therefore communication is key in order to build trustworthy relationships with your clients, vendors and colleagues!

Karliegh

Interior Designer in our Phoenix Office

Photo By: Agnes Art & Photo

 I went into the Interior Design program at The Art Institute because I wanted a hands-on experience to prepare me for the Interior Design field. Each one of our instructors shared industry experience and education during each course. We were able to learn more about the industry than we could have been taught from a curriculum.

Looking back, now that you’re working in the field, what do you wish you would have learned but didn’t?

At The Art Institute, we never really focused on budget; we always based our designs on the aesthetic and that isn't real life. Working in the field in real life, you have to really pay attention to a client's budget and find a way to make it just as aesthetically pleasing as someone with a higher budget. You also have to know where the best places to shop are for each kind of budget. This is another thing I wish our program would have focused on. Vendor knowledge is very important!

Photo By: Roehner and Ryan