Читать книгу Professional Practice for Interior Designers - Christine M. Piotrowski - Страница 21

Not all designers get to work on multimillion‐dollar residences, mega‐hotels, or the latest celebrity chef's restaurant. The vast majority of interior designers work on smaller projects of various kinds. They help a family get a new home ready for occupancy and enjoyment. They remodel a franchise motel/hotel along the freeway. They give new life to a restaurant that needs a fresh look. They help seniors adjust their home environment to be more ergonomically friendly. Quite honestly, they might also simply specify new wall treatments, a few pieces of furniture, and stage a house for resale.

Interior design is all of these things and many more. It touches people in all walks of life and all economic positions. Also, it is a global profession: Interiors play a significant part in helping businesses succeed and people to feel comfortable in their homes throughout the world. Designers also increasingly seek out work in countries other than the United States. Many other countries desire the look of design that resides here. The amount of work done out of the United States by the largest firms continues to grow.¹⁵

International design work is not something to seek without thought and planning. Even when it is a rather simple incursion due to an international client finding a designer's Web site and making a contact, saying a quick “yes” may not be the right answer. The designer must understand the business consequences of working internationally. When that client wants the designer to travel to the foreign country, the designer must have a good understanding of what it will mean to work out of the country. Chapter 3 will discuss many issues related to working internationally.

It is important for the student and emerging professional interior designer to understand what it is like in the real world. This section presents some basic yet very important information to help readers understand that interior design is a business as well as a creative opportunity.

For a business to exist and (we hope) succeed, it must have at least three elements. First, it has to have people who are committed to operating and participating in the business. Second, it must have customers or clients who will purchase whatever the business provides in terms of services and possibly products. Third, it must have adequate financial resources for operation.