The Essential Interior Design Programme (SEG Level 2 Award)

During this 30-week Skills Education Group - Level 2 accredited course, you'll learn how to design interior spaces with flair and imagination. You'll develop your awareness of colour, shape and form and explore the necessary skills to choose interior finishes including paint, fabric, wall and flooring materials.

You'll also learn fundamental skills and techniques for surveying rooms, drawing plans and developing your ideas on paper to scale. From these initial sketches, you'll learn how to bring your ideas into reality, developing your 2D and 3D drawing skills. You'll also be guided through introductory sessions to AutoCAD, SketchUp and Adobe Photoshop applications to support your development.

You'll learn how to collect samples of furniture and materials to create a ‘mood board’ and to effectively use texture and pattern as appropriate to give that wow factor, giving you the experience and confidence to present and explain your ideas to a client.

You'll research and understand historical and cultural influences and will look at the Bauhaus and how such movements have influenced and impacted contemporary design. You'll investigate how furniture can act both as a design element and practical storage space and develop your spatial awareness.

Through a variety of projects to help develop your ideas from the drawn form, you'll be taught how to create and use models to further enhance knowledge of materials, spatial abilities and your finished pieces.

Towards the end of this course, you'll learn about good design practice and how to work to a client brief. There'll be a short introduction to the use of AutoCAD and Photoshop, enabling you to decide whether to take further courses in computer design, such as the AutoCAD and SketchUp for Interior Design course.

Please note, the course commences in the autumn term, after which it is not possible to enrol part-way through this 1-Year programme.

• The use of colour in interior design, colour theory and psychology
• Site surveying, drawing accurate scale plans and elevations
• Learning to draw in 3D
• Historical and cultural influences in design and architecture
• Understanding interior design styles
• Working on a project to a brief
• Concept design, mood boards, sample boards
• Spatial planning, sourcing materials, furniture and finishes
• Turning 2D design ideas to 3D
• Presentation skills

The course aims to:

• Enhance your knowledge of what it takes to be a successful interior designer
• To develop research, analytical and self-assessment skills
• Enable you to independently conduct a site survey and draw accurate plans and elevations
• Provide you with the skills to draw your interior schemes in 3D
• Develop your understanding of historical and cultural influences and interior design styles
• Give you the chance to work from a brief and run your own interior design project – from concept to 3D
• Provide you with a sound understanding of concept design, mood boards and sample boards
• Enable you to independently space plan, source materials, furniture and finishes for your interior scheme
• Enhance your ability to communicate your design ideas in 2D and 3D and confidently present these to potential clients

• You'll have a good understanding of the role of an interior designer and the interior design process from start to finish, and be able to independently run an interior design project
• Students who complete this 1-year programme and meet the necessary ongoing assessment criteria shall be awarded a ‘Level 2’ Skills & Education certificate

No previous knowledge or experience is required, only a passion and a desire to learn and enjoy.

Minimum age 18+ years to attend this course.

• A2 sketchpad or approximately 12 sheets of A2 cartridge paper
• A portable A2 drawing board with a parallel motion fixed ruler for drawing along (Blundell Harling is recommended, although others are available)
• Selection of pens and pencils and a rubber
• Notebook
• Scissors/craft knife/scalpel
• Pritt stick or paper glue
• Metal ruler
• Coloured pencils
• Set squares – 1x 45 degree and 1x 30 degree or an adjustable one
• A scale ruler for drawing plans (choose one with scales of 1:20, 1:50 and 1:100)
• Paint colour charts and colour mixer cards
• Any fabric, flooring or materials samples
• A selection of design magazines from which to cut images

If you are unsure of anything, your tutor will explain the list of materials in the first class.

All additional course materials are included in the course fee.