What to Be an Industrial or Interior Designer? Start Studying the Visual Arts

By Sarah Clark
sarah.clark@careertrainingdirectory.com
Career Training Directory Columnist

“We cannot perform our profession without a profound knowledge of the history of art and design,” reads part of design legends Lella and Massimo Vignellis’ forthcoming book, Vignelli from A to Z. Prepare for your entry into the field of industrial or interior design now by learning as much as you can about the visual arts.

Getting a foundation in art is not as difficult as you think. Follow these steps and you’ll be well on your way to acquiring the knowledge and aesthetic sense required of designers.

Take an Art History Course

The natural first step would be to take a class on art history at your local college or online as part of an art or design degree program. An introductory art history course will introduce different forms of art dating back from primitive and Etruscan art to Renaissance and modern art. You’ll learn about different art forms, such as wood-block print, lithography, oil painting, and sculpture and the materials used in their development.

Learn how to Look at Art

To develop a true appreciate of art, you need to understand how to look at it. Take a class at school or online or read a book on art appreciation and begin taking trips to museums. In art appreciation class you’ll learn some of the critical concepts and what makes some art better than others.

Visit Art and Design Museums

Many mid-sized cities across the United States have a fine art museum. Visit them regularly during your art studies.

Areas with particularly high concentrations of notable art museums include New York City, where you’ll find the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, among others. New York is also home to the Cooper-Hewitt, a design museum that aspiring industrial and interior designers will not want to miss. Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian Institution features a host of world-renowned art museums with significant holdings in Asian, French, African, Spanish, Ancient, and Modern art.

Students interested in designing interiors will want to visit the Frick Collection in New York City, which has an impressive collection of decorative art, including 18th century French furniture, porcelains, and oriental rugs. Industrial designers may want to view the collection of rare books on industrial design as well as 30,000 three-dimensional objects dating from antiquity to present.

Whether your interest lies in interior design or applied art, you’ll benefit from an education in art history while pursuing your degree.

Sources:

AIGA

About the Author

Sarah Clark is a freelance writer based in Arlington, Virginia.