5 Reasons to Pursue a Career in Design: Insights from an Architect and Interior Designer

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5 reasons to become a designer

If you’re considering a career in design, whether it’s in architecture, interior design, or related fields, you’ve come to the right place. As an architect and interior designer with years of experience, I’m thrilled to share with you the top five reasons why embracing a career in design can be immensely rewarding and fulfilling.

Design is more than just aesthetics—it’s about problem-solving, creativity, and shaping environments that improve lives. I have always had an interest in design and the arts - drawing and making things so naturally, I took Art & Design at school, and my path to becoming a designer started.

5 Reasons Why I Became A Designer

Here are five compelling reasons why diving into the world of design might be your perfect fit:

1/ Do what you love

I love design, it’s that simple. It’s who I am, it’s what I think about. I see, analyze and critic it all the time. I surrounded myself with things that inspired me, and I found new ideas and projects everywhere.

2/ Think outside the box

I get to express my creativity in my work and what I do. I work with other like-minded, creative people. We collaborate, we problem-solve, we encourage and push each other, but most importantly, we think outside the box.

3/ Never stop learning

I am constantly learning. I design, redesign, test, redesign…It’s not easy, and it’s never 9-5 but I design things that are made, or built, and will hopefully be there for a very long time.

4/ Designing for the world around us, the spaces we live and work in

My job involves a lot of critical thinking and an understanding of psychology. I design for the end-user so it’s not about colour or fluffy decor but I design out spaces; homes and workplaces. It directly affects people’s daily lives.

5/ Give back with a passion for Design

I’m an Architect but I teach too so I get to give back. I’m truly passionate about what I do and love working with students and young designers in their studies and projects.

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Do you want to become a Designer, if so, why?

Architecture Student's Booklist

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Architecture Student's Booklist

Whether you're heading to an Open Day, had your interview, got your place, or already started on a course, you will need to start thinking about the dreaded book list, and if you will actually spend any of your hard-earned cash purchasing any of them. My advice is if you have some pennies to spare, take advantage of this time and money to invest in the basic book list. I suggest the following books mainly for Interior Design/Architecture courses but you can adapt if you're studying another art and design course.

Library

Universities and Colleges have fantastic Libraries, with Librarians who are not only friendly but can and will, assist you in finding out what it is you are after. There are loads of books, e-books, magazines and journals, online links, and tutorials, plus they often have a large selection of DVDs and videos from educational documentaries to inspirational movies. And, do not forget your local library too, they are perfect for local historical information, maps, old photos, etc. 

Books

If you are planning to study the interior, be it Interior Design or Interior Architecture and Design, I have listed some great books to help get you started and feed into your studies. The start of term is when students tend to have a little bit of money and therefore there is far more chance they will spend it on course supplies than any other student spending. With this in mind, I recommended the following four books:

  1. Ching, F D K. Architectural Graphics, Van Nostrand & Reinhold

  2. Littlefield, D. (2012) Metric Handbook: Planning & Design Data, London: Routledge

  3. Ross, A., Hatreed, J. & Baden-Powell, C. (2011) Architects Pocket Book, London: Architectural Press

  4. Architecture For Humanity. (2006) Design Like You Give A Damn, Thames & Hudson

  5. Pile, J. (2013) A History of Interior Design, London: Laurence King

  6. Plunkett, D. (2010) Construction and Detailing for Interior Design, Laurence King

  7. Brown, R. (2012) Materials and Interior Design, Laurence King

  8. McLeod V. (2012)Detail in Contemporary Residential Architecture, Laurence King [with CD of drawings] full series also available

PDF downloads:

Metric Handbook | Architect's Pocket Book 

Most of the books listed above will be used by both Interior Design and Architecture students alike, and are often a good investment as they will stay with you from student life to the working world. 

The General Design & Inspiration Booklist

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The General Design + Inspiration Booklist

This is my 'coffee table' selection of books that I love to sit down and have a flick through with a hot cup of coffee under a cozy blanket on the sofa. When I have a new project or are looking for inspiration, I love to sit and flick through books, get ideas and it always helps me feel re-motivated. Some of the lists below are books from my university days and others more recent, some you might have read or heard of, and others are well worth looking up.

  1. Kate Spade. (2013) Things We Love: Twenty Years of Inspiration, Intriguing Bits and Other Curiosities, Kate Spade New York

  2. Amoruso, S. (2014) #GIRLBOSS, Portfolio Penguin

  3. Becker, H. (2011) Decorate: 1000 professional design ideas for every room in the house, Jacqui Small LLP

  4. Bowkett, S. (2013) Archi-Doodle: An Architects Activity Book, Laurence King

  5. Frederick, M. (2007) 101 Things I Learnt in Architecture School, MIT Press

  6. Schumacher E F. (1988) Small Is Beautiful, Abacus

  7. Banham, O. (1980) Theory And Design In The First Machine Age, MIT Press

  8. Wilson, R. (2010) Soulpancakes: Chew on Life's Big Questions, Hyperion Books

What are some books you’d recommend?

Interior Architecture: Recommended Magazines and Journals

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Interior Architecture: Recommended Magazines + Journals

Working as an academic, I wrote courses, project briefs, helped lead tutorial groups, and supported final year students in their dissertation and final major projects. In order to do this, I had to be up to date on the current trends, technologies, building projects, and research. I spent a lot of time online and in the library reading up and watching documentaries, skimming journals, and following competitions. 

As a student, this is also important and is a good habit to get into. Over the next few posts, I will be giving you a list of my go-to books, magazines, and journals for you to find, buy and subscribe to. Today we start gently with my best picks for Interior Architecture Magazines and Journals. 

Magazines & Journals

Stay current with design news and get into the right frame of mind at the beginning of a project. There are loads of journals out there, plus it's always interesting to pick up an international one when you're traveling too. I recommend starting with Frame, Wallpaper, ELLE Décor (and looking into possibly taking up a subscription). 

Online Journals & Websites

Aside from this, you can always have a look online at dezeen.com, inhabitat.com, and bdonline.com and there are loads of blogs to follow too. 

Which Design journals do you read?