Demand In the Industry for Fashion Design, Interior Design, Graphic Design, Life style & Accessories Designs is huge but good DESIGNERS are few!
With Internet & Modern digital technologies, the world of business has never been more volatile or unpredictable. Sources of competition and disruption can appear anywhere—not just disruption in products, services, and technology, but also in channels to market, policy, talent, brands, and supply chains.
In order to survive in today’s complex world, organizations need to generate, embrace, and execute on new ideas. That takes creativity and a creatively capable workforce. It’s the secret sauce, or in evolutionary terms, it’s what keeps you fit. Organizations without it can’t compete.
When we first think of creative organizations, design firms, advertising agencies, or tech startups typically come to mind. Building a creative workforce takes more than hiring a bunch of designers and hosting happy hours. It requires a mindset shift that begins with leadership.
Creative leadership isn’t about leaders simply becoming more creative. It’s about individuals leading for creativity. That means you, as a leader, must unlock the creative potential of your organization, no matter the industry. It’s your job to set the conditions for your organization to generate, embrace, and execute on new ideas. It’s a competitive imperative that will keep you ahead in the marketplace.
Holding a curious mindset is a great starting point when you’re leading your team or organization. If you’re in a truly new space, you won’t always know the answers. Your team won’t either. You’re going to venture into the unknown together. Asking questions is one of the best ways to practice a curious mindset—questions that challenge assumptions, inspire others, open up a broader context, and cause reflection.
Supporting creativity requires a suite of approaches that empower individuals and teams to search for solutions and take ownership of what they do.
The explorer. Leaders need to have an inspiring vision and set the course for a new direction. If they don’t, people won’t follow their lead. They hold to that vision and take risks to get that much closer to their destination.
The gardener. Leaders need to set the conditions for creativity to thrive, such as providing inspiration when energy is low. When challenges crop up, they act swiftly to address them and make necessary adjustments.
The coach. Leaders need to stay present and engaged. They’re on the field, at eye level, offering guidance on the fly. They help their team navigate ambiguity, learn from mistakes, and ask the right questions.
With the above note, the point made here is very simple. Designers can make or break any industry. And Design Thinking is the new successmantra for modern businesses.
Now let us discuss various career options for a young person who is creative and interested in exploring the DESIGN industry.
There are as many different ways to start your career as a fashion designer as there are designs. Ralph Lauren started his business by selling ties through Bloomingdales while Michael Kors started by retailing his designs from a NY boutique. However the safest bet is to start a design career is to get a degree from a prestigious design school at Ahmedabad (Gandhinagar). Here we have tried to give a brief idea about the various fields of Design as Career.
Applying To Fashion Designing Schools
Although there are a lot of colleges in India and abroad where you can study fashion designing, only a handful are prestigious schools that would really push your career. It is indeed very difficult to get into these prestigious schools as the competition is very high. Most schools require a basic passing percentage in 10+2 and either a written exam to test your aptitude or submission of your portfolio. A design institute will not teach you how to be creative. It can only teach you how to channel your creativity in the right direction. Basic knowledge of sewing and drawing is an additional advantage though it is not compulsory. The most important quality that any institute looks for in a candidate is the passion for fashion. The rest can be worked out.
Educational requirements for becoming a fashion designer
As said earlier, it is not very simple to get into the fashion designing industry. But one thing that can help you to a great extent in building a career for yourself here is a degree in fashion designing. This will help you in getting greater knowledge about the subject and understanding it in detail. With in-depth knowledge about your work, you will definitely be able to come up with better designs which will help you in performing well.
A degree in fashion designing should be your first option if you want the employers to rank you above others without a degree. Apart from that, you can also enroll for foundation courses in fashion designing which will help you in learning about your work as a fashion designer. There are also some courses which will help you in gaining general grounding in designing, textiles, clothing technology and manufacturing. You can also do a postgraduate course before you start working.
The following are the areas that will be covered under various fashion designing courses:
Fashion
Knitwear
Art and design
Textiles
Graphic design
Fashion marketing and buying
Clothing technology
Skills required to become a good fashion designer
Here is a list of qualities that you need to have to become a good fashion designer apart from getting a degree in fashion designing.
You need to be very creative and artisticAs you will be designing clothes, one quality you just cannot do without is creativity and artistic sense. You need to turn raw materials into beautiful costumes and accessories. This requires a lot of detailing and creativity.
You need to have an eye for detailIt is very important for a fashion designer to come out with some basic designs and then add detailing to them. Most of the times it is the detail which makes the clothes stand out. So to be a good fashion designer you will have to give a lot of importance to the detailing of the clothes that you design.
Good understanding of color, texture and fabric qualityAnother important quality that you need to have is the understanding of the raw materials that you are working with. You need to analyze beforehand as to what design will look good with a certain fabric, how can you use it, which colors you can mix with it and so on. These small details will help you in making your designs and costumes look good.
Knowing how to read & usedesign patterns are an essential part of being a good fashion designer. Start with reading and using, then move to making your own. The more comfortable you are with pattern-making, the less tempted you’ll feel to reuse stale ideas.
Research about textiles and fabrics: Fabrics are diverse and include both natural and manmade, and mixtures of the two. There are modern and vintage fabrics to learn about too, and young designer should make a decision as to which you prefer.
Knowing how fabric handles is essential for a good designer, and the earlier you learn this, the better. There are good reference books in libraries about fabrics you can borrow from the library; these will teach young fashion designersabout the weft and weave, about textures, strength, behavioral qualities of the fabrics, etc.
Passion for Design is very important for each specialization:
Interior Design: It may seem obvious, but in order to become an interior designer, you need to have an innate flair for color, spatial arrangements, architecture and textiles. Do you enjoy decorating your home and get lots of compliments on your decor? That doesn’t necessarily mean you should be an interior designer, but it’s certainly a good sign.
The first step to a successful career is to follow your passion. After all, doing something you love will never feel like work.
Designers vs Decorators:
What’s the difference between interior decorators and interior designers? In short: Proper professional education and skills.
Literally anyone can become an interior decorator. Someone who loves playing with colors, fabrics and textiles can become a decorator by simply printing business cards and promoting themselves to clients. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but design education is different and very important.
On the other hand, an interior designer must have an accredited education; an associate or bachelor’s degree is a requisite for working in the interior design industry.
Interior Design is different:
While fabrics, furniture and color may play a large role in interior design, there are plenty of other tasks that are required of interior designers — many of which may seem less like fun and more like work.
Interior designers need to be educated in the history of design, the structural integrity of buildings, building codes, ergonomics, spatial concepts, ethics, psychology, computer-aided drawing (CAD) and much more.
It might seem that interior designers are expected to be Jacks of all trades, doesn’t it? This broad range of skills is required because designers work with not only homeowners, but also builders, architects, government agencies and business owners. To become a successful interior designer, one needs to master design education.
Designers can start their own company:
After all, shouldn’t someone with such a vast design education get paid well? It depends. Of course, this depends on a lot of factors, such as education, location, work experience and size of the firm/company. An interior designer at a furniture company will most likely make less than a designer who works for a high-end architectural firm.
Essentially, you can dictate your rate of pay by gaining as much exposure and experience as possible. Someone with education in the fields of architecture, building codes/laws and structural design will more likely become financially successful.
Salaries start at the entry level of 45 to 55,000 per month if you have completed your design education and having a degree with the required professional skills.
Develop a smart Portfolio
A picture says a thousand words, and this is definitely true when it comes to an interior designer’s portfolio. You can talk all day long about colors and textiles, but unless you have an outstanding portfolio that showcases your designs and projects, your successes will be few and far between.
If you are just coming out of school and are new to the job market, it may be necessary to offer your services for free or at a reduced rate. This is probably the best way to get a portfolio started; it’s also a great way to get to know local merchandisers and suppliers, and develop a rapport for future projects.
In the fashion industry, accessory design refers to the act of designing and creating these accessories. Some lifestyle & accessory designers will stick with classic timeless designs, such as black leather handbags, while others may create wilder, trendier accessories.
Accessory Designer:
An accessory designer is a type of fashion designer that plans the aesthetics and functionality of different accessories. Like other individuals in the fashion industry, an accessory designer must be very knowledgeable about past, current, and future fashion trends. They must be able to predict what types of accessories consumers will find fashionable at the beginning of future fashion seasons.
Once an accessory designer forms an idea, she or he will then usually try to bring their ideas to life. Many accessory designers choose to draw their accessories with pencils and paper. Computer software can also be used for this step, however, and it is becoming much more popular.
After a design has been drawn, an accessory designer will also often create a prototype. For instance, if the accessory in question is a traditional leather purse, an accessory designer will create a pattern and sew pieces of leather together to make the purse.
Some accessory designers may only specialize in a certain type of accessory. Others, however, may design and create several different types of accessories, as well as garments.
Salary of a Lifestyle & Accessory Designer:
As with most type of careers in the fashion industry, the average salary for an accessory designer varies greatly, depending on a number of different factors. Some accessory designers, for instance, only work part-time from home, and they may not make as much as a full-time accessory designer. The area where an accessory designer lives might also affect her or his salary as well. Generally speaking, accessory designers that live in larger, more densely populated areas will also usually make more money.
In the fashion industry, accessory design refers to the act of designing and creating these accessories. Some lifestyle & accessory designers will stick with classic timeless designs, such as black leather handbags, while others may create wilder, trendier accessories.
classic timeless designs, such as black leather handbags, while others may create wilder, trendier accessories.
Visual Communication Designers:
If you are good in drawing or having a good sense of Art & Design, Visual Communications is your field of work in future. Visual communicators are specialized graphic designers that use graphics software applications to create visual design elements for publishers, website developers and other multimedia companies and digital platforms.
These days, companies use these materials on their websites, print materials, packaging and other visual media. The visual communications designer is responsible for crafting visual designs that represent a company’s marketing concepts and goals. Using advanced graphic software programs and other technology, a visual communications designer is able to create something as basic as a brochure or as complex as full-length animation or film for visual media.
FEE STRUCTURE:
Design Schools charge 08 to 12 lakhs for the entire course. This may sound costly but Institutes provide basic materials and other infrastructure facilities which are very much essential for a design student. So, if fees are less, there may be some compromises on infrastructure.
Education Loan: These days students can avail easy educational loans for their studies. All nationalized banks and some private banks provide easy bank loans. Design Institutes have tie ups with banks. Thus, if you are determined to do well in Design as career, go for the best Institute.
Industry Jobs:
As a visual communication designer, you need to be a multitasker. You should have a good knowledge of all aspects of Art & Design. Your job responsibilities will include everything initially but with time, you will be required to focus on specific area.
Salary in Initial years:
Your salary could be anything between 35,000 /month to 60,000/month in initial years. After 3 to 5 yrs of experience, your salary will go up substantially. Post graduate design students are paid better. Success depends on the candidate’s ability and work.
How to be industry ready:
You may increase your opportunities for employment. Some 4-year, design schools require students to have one year of art and graphic courses for entry into their bachelor’s programs. Visual communications design degree programs often include courses in art, graphic design, marketing, typography and multimedia applications. During your studies, you should be ready to devote time and energy on the lessions taught. Get your work done on daily basis and never keep anything pending. Look for design magazines and online resources to update yourself about the industry.
Conclusion: If you are clear and confident that you can be happy while studying DESIGN, then go for it. It’s the best career option for young minds today. It pays to be a good designer. You can work in any city, any country with big brands or can create your own brand.