Interior design is a broad field with specializations in a range of areas, including commercial design, historical preservation and retail store design. In California, design schools give students the knowledge and training necessary to get entry-level jobs in the field. The institutions feature professors who have actual experience in the professional interior design industry. As a bonus, graduates are able to tap into the schools' vast alumni base spread across the country.
Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
You might recognize the Fashion Institute of Design's Los Angeles campus as the location for the sixth season of Project Runway. The institute's top facilities carry over to the interior design program. Students learn theoretical elements along with hands-on approaches to creatively solve design problems. You'll be trained to work in several careers, including as a set designer, production designer and project manager. Students learn to work with other majors to design projects and gain real-world skills that aids them after graduation. That includes helping with the school's annual DEBUT Runway Show & L.A. Fashion Gala, which attracts over 10,000 people during three days.
Los Angeles Campus
919 South Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90015-1421
(800) 624-1200
Orange County Campus
17590 Gillette Ave
Irvine, CA 92614-5610
(949) 851-6200
San Francisco Campus
55 Stockton Street
San Francisco, CA 94108-5829
(415) 675-5200
San Diego Campus
350 Tenth Ave, 3rd Floor
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 235-2049
fidm.edu
Interior Designers Institute
Many schools offer an interior design program along with math, English and history programs. The institute's main focus, however, is producing future workers in the interior designer industry. Consequently, Interior Designers Institute is able to devote all its resources into the major. That includes computer-aided design and drafting classes, an internship program that provides employment in design firms while attending school and work on simulated class projects that involves hospitals, offices and other places.
Interior Designers Institute
1061 Camelback Street
Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 675-4451
idi.edu
Otis College of Art and Design
Future interior designers enroll in the school's Architecture/Landscape/Interiors program. The three fields are closely related and students gain knowledge of all three in a single curriculum. Graduates are fully prepared to work as interior designers. The versatility of the program teaches students varied skills and opens options in other fields like architecture, landscape design and aquatic environmental design.
Otis College of Art and Design
9045 Lincoln Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90045
(310) 665-6800
otis.edu
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