Interior Design vs Industrial Design

The name says it all:
I’m trying to make my mind up between interior design and industrial design.

It seems to me there are more job prospects and money to be found in interior design but my heart lies in industrial desig over interior design.

What do you think?

Definately go with Industrial Design. Although still not well-known, industrial design has more respect from normal, everyday people than interior design. Why? Because EVERYONE thinks they can be an interior designer. Any housewife is an “interior designer” right? Complete BS, but it seems that is how many people think. Which is why industrial design brings in more money.
Same goes for graphic design. Since anyone that has Photoshop on their computer thinks they are a graphic designer, it brings down the entire field. At least not too many teenagers are playing around with Alias, though I have seen it. That’s scary.

Go with your heaart, not the money…where you can keep your heart comes lots of $$$$$$$$…
Also, check out things in between those two diciplines, environments, interaction, etc.

Joanne, I have had several friends in interior design for many years now. There is LOTS more work than in product design WHEN the economy and especially the housing sector are rolling (like now); it’s very cyclical.

Good news for talented, experienced interior designers who tackle more than paint color and tile selection (i.e. do interior architecture almost) is that pretty much anyone on the street can be a potential customer, versus IndD where you can only work for an obviously far more limited proportion of the general population (manufacturing and related businesses) at any given time. Beauty with Interior is you deal always directly with the end user, making it an ideal field to start your own office on a low budget and make money sooner than designing mass-mfd. products for which you need countless suppliers and business relations, not to mention Olympian stamina and a very thick skin.

But don’t get me wrong, competition is fierce in InteriorD as well, you must love doing this above anything else. If you start out with doubts in your mind, others truly passionate about it will make sure you fail.

Financial reward should be your last criteria for studying ANY design-related field, it’s just the wrong way to start.

Talk to practicing designers in both fields, visit their studios to see what a typical workday is like and read up some books describing the business reality of each and the skills required.

Good luck to you.

Interior design is part of industrial design. ID is just a general term encompassing Interior Design, Graphic Design, POP, Exhibit Design, Product Design, Animation, etc.

Do you really mean you are torn to doing product design?

Interior design is a ‘registered’ body, you must have completed interior design education in order to be part of of the ASID/ARIDO etc.
OTHERWISE you cannot, by law, call yourself an “Interior Designer” (you can call yourself a interior decorator, or space planner, or whatever)

Industrial Design on the other hand is different, ANYONE can call themselves an ‘industrial designer’, from graphic designers who once sketched out a chair, to interior designers who spec’d a custom cupboard pull. (we as ID’ers are not an accredited body, unless we want to call ourselves “registered” industrial designers)

So if you like working and if you like flexibility, interior design might not be such a bad idea , since you can still call yourself an industrial designer.
Plus you will have access to not only Interior design companies, but also furniture companies, architect offices, engineering offices, marketing offices, exhibit firms (basically everywhere since you can always be brought in for “space planning” and layout.)
I unfortunately cannot say the same accessibility to various jobs exists for industrial designers. (that is without begging and convincing them that an industrial designer “wtf is an ID’er” can be a useful and productive member of their team)


Good luck on your decision. in the end it is a follow your heart type of thing, but keep in mind you should know what it is in design that you actually like.
is it the creativity, is it the black turtlenecks and percieved ‘hipness’, is it this cool core77 site and others like it?

I really would suggest to try imaging what the day to day ins and outs of the profession are like, and seeing if design still appeals to you. designing telephones, shoes, watches, aeron chairs… even the coolest products gets tiring after the first few years. especially when young punks just starting in the I.T dept make more $$ than you do with more than 5years experience. I won’t even get into how the design dept will be the first to get ‘trimmed’ when times get tough, you’ll be long gone before anyone in HR, marketing, accounting etc even have to start worrying about being ‘called to the office’.


(Note to Canadians and non-americans, you can join the IDSA even if you graduated from a one year “technology of design” course, since the IDSA seems to be granting professional membership to ANYONE, even if they graduated from a non accredited school…basically there are no non-American schools accredited with IDSA, why would there be since they are an American body, but they’ll take your money and grant you professional menbership)

I think you should definately go with Industrial Dsn…I absoloutely dont agree with the above comments about how just about anyone can call them selves an industrial designer (maybe they do…but we all know it takes a lot more!)…if they have sketched something close to what we have to…
i have a huge interest in the exhibit industry (and product! i cant seem to decided on one!) …but i still opted to go with industrial design vs interior…I think you will have a lot more options this way…and since i am interested in interiors/space planning…i plan on taking interior classes in my senior year…just a thought…but if you are more interested in space/retail/exhibit/residential/commercial planning vs product/toy/exhibit/furniture/etc design…then interiors would be your best bet! good luck! :wink:

– 6 of one- half dozen of the other!

Industrial Design is Slowly becoming out of reach for new-comers-- just look where the manufacturers are! So- get into a studio that can open a network to you, and cultivate those links.

Interior design must do a better job of defining itself to be considered a 'professional’s" career-- It is, but it’s often confused with interior DECORATING… which is really just a matter of taste applied to an interior.

Interiors are much more readily designed… everybody has one… many need a bit of help designing it. Can you show me your Industrial? (sorry, a bad way of defining the difference in market reach of the 2 professions.)

Keep in mind… a requirement to be licensed may change either career in the future… be aware of any political moves to impose licensing on the profession(s). Try practicing architecture without one.

-Regards!