so, what exactly is the role of an interior designer

On a broad scale, interior designers, or interior architects, create safe, functional, and aesthetically pleasing spaces. In this post, I’ve broken down each of the phases of design and provided a general overview of the tasks that occur at each phase.

programming

The programming phase is the research phase. In this phase, an interior designer will dissect the building code to understand any implications that might be of concern. They will also begin conducting interviews with the client (and their entire team) to determine their needs and goals of the project.

schematic design

In the schematic phase of the project, the interior designer will help a client select their space (if they have not already). They will walk the sites, answer any questions, and draw up preliminary plans to determine if each space is a good fit. Typically at this phase, they will also put together an outline spec to get a preliminary budget from the contractor.

design development

Design development is where the project starts to develop its personality. In this phase, the interior designer will begin to develop all plans (ceiling, power and data, and finish plan), elevations, and select all materials and specifications. If the designer has furniture in their contract, this is also where they will select each piece of furniture (and sometimes even accessories). When the general public thinks of an interior designer, this is likely what they think they do.

construction documents

This phase is exactly how it sounds, assembling a set of drawings to tell the contractor how and what to build based off of the design development package. These drawings are highly technical and a binding contract. In this is the part of the process where all other consultants complete their drawings as well and the interior designer is responsible for reading and coordinating these. This phase is one of the most important phases. After the drawings are assembled, the architect will stamp them and they will get uploaded for permit.

construction administration

The final phase is the construction administration phase. This is where the project is actually being built. In this phase the interior designer will be on site to verify the job is getting built to the intent. They will also handle any coordination and questions that come up in the field with the contractors.