An aspiring furniture designer needs to constantly build their portfolio, develop skills and attract new contacts throughout their career, says Nidhi Bhasin
Earlier, furniture making was a handicraft, going back to the most ancient civilisations. But this art has evolved and changed with the time. Furniture designers are experts in creating and designing furnishings while considering both fashion and functionality. They design interior and exterior furniture, often keeping factors like sustainability, ergonomics, customer style preferences, and practicality in mind.
Work profile
Designers design furniture and related products for industrial, commercial and domestic clients balancing innovation, aesthetic appeal and functionality. They create designs for mass-produced as well as handcrafted furniture products. Each piece of furniture that a furniture designer creates must serve a few different purposes. First, it must be functional. It must also be practical, comfortable, and attractive. Every new furniture design starts with a basic concept, or idea. A furniture designer then creates a drawing of this idea using traditional and modern methods.
They will often sketch their designs on paper first, for instance. Computer software can then be used to create a more intricate and detailed design. The computer created design will often include all different aspects of a furniture design, including how the piece is put together and what materials are used to make it. Most furniture is made from a combination of wood and metal. Some furniture, such as couches and chairs, will also usually be covered with material, which should be soft and comfortable as well as attractive.
As a furniture designer major you will:
Designers work alone or alongside colleagues creating concepts and designs that balance innovative design, functional requirements and aesthetic appeal. They may work for a company that specifically builds furniture or for a large design firm that is contracted by furniture manufacturers. Designers may need to be flexible about your working hours, especially when you have deadlines to meet. They spend most of their time in an office, working on ideas but also spend time meeting with clients. late finishes and weekend work may be required when deadlines approach.
If you’re a self-employed, you’ll need to allocate a portion of your time to marketing and business administration and promote yourself through advertising your services or attending furnishing fairs and exhibitions. You can have your own workshop or studio, or share premises with other designers to reduce costs.
Part-time work is possible for established designers. Travel within a working day, overnight absence from home, and overseas work or travel may occasionally be needed, depending on your choice of market and scale of work. This is most likely to occur as a designer gains more experience and develops a good reputation.
Many designers have a natural interest in associated fields of design and may spend some time on collaborative projects working, for example, with theatre set designers or retail interior designers on certain projects. As a designer, you’ll need to continue to build your portfolio, develop your skills and attract new contacts throughout your career.
Skills needed
A furniture designer is a professional that designs and creates different types of furniture. You need to know what it demands, before you select it as your career:
Qualification
To get started with a career in furniture design, most individuals will need to earn a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in furniture design. These degrees may be offered at art and design schools as well as some traditional colleges and universities.
In order to earn a degree in furniture design, students will usually need to take drawing and CAD classes, along with woodworking and model making classes.
Students will also usually need to take classes about the history of furniture, furniture trends, interior decorating, and the different materials used to make furniture. In order to earn their degrees, students will also usually be required to design and create some original pieces of furniture. Have a relevant degree, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) or Higher National Diploma (HND) in a furniture-related subject such as furniture design, furniture studies, product and furniture design and furniture design and making
Courses with a mix of practical skills and creative design may be particularly useful. Other relevant degree subjects include art and design, 3D design or spatial design, ceramics and glass, furniture technology and product design.
Most new furniture designers get into this job by doing an HND, degree or an equivalent qualification in a subject like furniture design, 3D design or product design.
Job prospects
Professionals with furniture design degrees can often secure employment in furniture design firms. These types of furniture design careers usually involve creating traditional furniture designs for mass production. Some interior designers or design firms will also confer with furniture designers in order to develop custom pieces of furniture to enhance the function and aesthetic qualities of an interior space. Furniture designers might also prefer to work as freelancers. These designers usually have more creative freedom when designing furniture. Many of these types of furniture designers will work closely with clients in order to create custom one of a kind pieces of furniture for personal or commercial use.
Start by thinking of the contacts you have made during your degree, particularly through work experience placements. It’s important to showcase your work in a professional-looking portfolio or website containing photographs, drawings and other design work. Many employers consider potential to be just as important as experience, so it is essential that you demonstrate a working interest in the design field. It’s also important to produce your own experimental work and enter competitions and shows to get your work noticed.
Challenges
Aspiring designers must learn to work with many applications; they need to develop a clear professional, theoretic and creative foundation with complete knowledge of the procedures, techniques and expressions associated with the design of space and furniture. Good furniture designers must develop methods that enable them to work in an experimental, independent and artistic manner.
Remuneration
Pay rates vary depending on where you work the size of the company or organisation and the demand for the job. Designers might work for a large manufacturing firm, a small family business or a design company doing work for several manufacturing firms.
(The writer is HoD, Interior Design Department, IMS-Design and Innovation Academy)