Interior Decorating Diploma

Intake:January, April, July and October each year
Program Length:18 months

Program Description

Interior decorating is an exciting, growing field where creative individuals with an eye for detail can influence human interaction and improve quality of life in the built environment. Today, highly skilled and adaptive interior decorating graduates are well positioned for a rewarding career.

The Interior Decorating diploma program at the Academy of Design blends creative and technical skills training to prepare graduates for work as decorators and designers.

In this program, students learn to work professionally with form, space, texture and colour within a residential or commercial environment. Specific courses explore every aspect of interior decorating, including:

• Fundamentals of space
• Drawing
• Drafting
• Colour theory
• Perspectives and rendering
• Drafting standards
• Lighting fundamentals
• Materials and sustainability
• Codes and regulations
• Decorative arts

The program’s supportive faculty are successful industry-connected professionals who also teach in the degree program and provide students with a strong skill-base in theoretical, analytical, and applied design.

Graduates from the diploma in Interior Decorating have the option to continue on in the Bachelor of Interior Design program. Note: Contingent on a consistent GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Learning Outcomes

After completing the Interior Decorating Diploma program, graduates will be able to:

• Understand and apply theories concerning the interaction of people and interior architecture
• Understand the relationships of interior spaces and their influence on the physical and psychological aspects of the environment
• Understand the concept of space utilization and organization
• Discuss the history of art from early civilizations to the present day.
• Write a well-documented and persuasive research paper
• Draw both freehand and with the use of manual drafting equipment to express proportion and scale
• Use interior perspective drawing and rendering techniques in various media
• Develop design layouts for concept presentations
• Use industry-standard software applications such as QuarkXPress, Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator
• Design a concept for a large-scale residential project and the adaptive re-use of a multi-level historic building
• Create an effective and comfortable workplace for a corporate office client
• Acquire knowledge of retail and hospitality design and apply these principles to a commercial project
• Understand the function of building environmental support systems and major structural systems and components as they relate to interior design practices
• Research and interpret necessary information from the Ontario Building Code
• Use a computer-assisted drafting and design (CADD) program at an advanced level
• Develop fee schedules, scope of service outlines and contracts; display presentation skills and marketing techniques and demonstrate many other aspects of professional practice
• Exhibit a professional portfolio of work