Design of the times

INTERIOR DESIGN is a growing business. Nowadays almost everywhere you go - shops, pubs, nightclubs, hotels, offices, show houses and even banks and building societies - you come into contact with the handiwork of one or other interior designer. Up and down the country the number of interior design and decorator shops, as well as kitchen shops employing interior designers, has mushroomed.

Increasingly, too, private individuals in a wide range of income groups, especially working people with little free time on their hands, are employing interior designers to help them decorate their homes.

One third of graduates on the two-year programme in interior design at Liberties College, Dublin, go directly into full-time jobs, according to Carol Barnes, lecturer in arts and crafts on the course. "A lot of people obtain work as a result of their work placements which take place during both first year and final year," she explains. "People have found jobs in a range of areas including interior design shops and offices, working with architects or with Irish pub companies and in furniture manufacturing or graphic design."

The college admits up to 24 students into the first year of the course, but only IS into second year. Entry is by interview and, although the minimum entry requirement is grade in five Leaving Cert subjects and an ability to draw, candidates with art or craft experiences who can prove an interest in the subject will be considered. Many mature students come to the course from hobby-based or other interior design courses.

The college interviews up to 60 applicants for the course each year. Second-round interviews are held in September when a small number of remaining places are offered. A portfolio of artwork, which can include drawing, painting or craftwork, is helpful but not essential since candidates are given a drawing exercise during their interviews.

"We are looking for competency in drawing skills rather than extremely high standards," Barnes says. "We teach further drawing skills on the course.

The course is designed to enable students to explore in both practical and theoretical ways the whole area of interior design. The programme covers drawing, interior draughtsmanship (in which students learn to draw to scale and to specifications) and interior design which informs students on the use of colour, lighting, fabrics and furnishings in order to create different moods and images.

In furniture studies, students can expect to hone their wood-working skills by making small pieces of furniture. Meanwhile, the combined-materials component of the course teaches students to construct 3D models of architectural features, shop fronts, living units and sculptural work using wood, plaster and papier mache.

STUDENTS also study the history and appreciation of art and communication skills. Throughout the programme students can expect to make field trips to places of architectural and design interest, including period horses and buildings, exhibitions and manufacturing outlets.

Students who successfully complete first year are awarded an NCVA Level 2 award. The second-year programme enables students to devote more time to the development of their own projects and to apply their skills to professional circumstances.

Second-year students are invited to take part in the annual Alfrank Design Award scheme. Their entries form the basis of a public exhibition. Students who successfully complete second year are awarded the City of Dublin Curriculum Development Unit Award and, says Barnes, "they have a great portfolio when they leave".