The interior spaces we live and work in provide the backdrop for most of our activities. Interior design influences our movements, social interactions and moods. With the power to transform the physical environment, interior designers impact the quality of everyday life by translating ideas and emotional responses into built space. The optimal use of space provides functional efficiency and creates a harmonious interplay of space, light, furnishings and materials.

At DCAD’s interior design program, students make connections between the space and its users through a rigorous process of analysis and design development. Projects such as loft apartments, retail spaces and institutional interiors aim to integrate the space with its function. These reality-based projects use local sites and take on contemporary social and technical issues that prepare students for further study or for the workplace. Students also explore furnishings, color, materials and lighting as well as basic construction systems and building code requirements.

A range of two and three-dimensional presentation techniques is explored to find that which best expresses the project’s design concept. Each student develops a personal language of form and space while balancing social responsibility with innovative formal solutions. Drawing on rich design resources of the region, the faculty is composed of active, practicing designers in the field and experienced design educators.

Objectives of the program in interior design are:

• To transform ideas about movement and space into fulfilled designs.
• To develop methods of representation that stem from the internal needs of individual projects.
• To teach students the history of interior design and help them understand how design impacts individual and social needs.
• To produce imaginative and responsible interior designers.