https://www.youtube .com/watch?v=x5YlogsATeg

So two years ago, after finally becoming a licensed architect, I decided to quit my job at the firm I was at, and I took a job at an interior design firm. Now, why would anyone do this? What a waste? You just spent ten years of your life trying to reach this one goal. In this video, I’ll tell you why, and since I’ve been in both worlds, I’ll cover the difference between a career in architecture and interior design. 1:06 Type of Projects 4:19 Design Process 7:33 Education 18:18 Skills + Personality Join the Discord Server https://discord.gg/wejrCMUMaK Membership tiers https://ko-fi.com/damilee/tiers JOIN MY NEWSLETTER: https://www.damilee.com/newsletter MY FAVOURITE TOOLS: My Youtube Camera Gear: https://kit.co/damilee/my-filming-kit My Studio Essentials: https://kit.co/damilee/dami-s-studio-essentials Book Recommendations: https://www.damilee.com/book-recommendations INSTAGRAM – https://www.instagram.com/damileearch TWITTER – https://twitter.com/damileearch LINKEDIN (plz send me a msg first!) – https://www.linkedin.com/in/damilee WHO AM I: I’m Dami, a licensed Architect living in Vancouver, BC. I make videos about architecture, career, and creativity. WEBSITE – https://www.damilee.com GET IN TOUCH: If you’d like to talk, I’d love to hear from you! Commenting on a video or tweeting @damileearch will be the quickest way to get a response from me, but if your question is very long, feel free to email me at [email protected]. I try my best to respond to the emails, but unfortunately, there just aren’t enough hours in the day!

16 thoughts on “Difference between Architecture and Interior Design

  1. You wanna know an easy way to become a linchpin, well my way at least? Know more than what you need. I see so many people who only learn enough to do whatever it is they need to do, but often knowing how to do just a little bit more than you need to do the job, can make a huge difference.

    For example, I was hired as a software developer at my current company. I’m pretty decent at coding so it was a pretty easy start for me but since the team I’m on only adds on top of existing software from another company there really isn’t all that much I can do to get “better”. Anything I do is ultimately limited by what the other companys program allows me to do, which isn’t all that much. That also means anyone who can program, can do what I was hired to do. I was entirely replaceable.

    Lucky for me my department also needs some photo-editing done and 3D-Models. We do have a graphics person hired for those things specifically but she knows nothing about programming, so we’d have to explain to the her what we need exactly for it to work best with our programming and whenever there were problems with the graphics, both sides would basically just guess what might have gone wrong without really knowing what *can* go wrong on the other side. I however know how to do photo editing and since I’m really interested in 3D-Graphics I’d spend any bit of downtime I had at the company and some of my freetime learning to get better at 3D-modelling. So whenever someone need something quick I was the obvious first choice for 3D-modelling and photo editing. I knew how to optimize my 2D and 3D graphics so they would work best with what our programming allowed us to do, which led to fewer errors and quicker fixes.
    That soon led to me doing 2D and 3D graphics when we had very specific technical requirements, which led to me working on bigger projects and now I’m practically THE advisor on anything that has to do with the implementation and optimization of 2D and 3D graphics and often I’m also the person making them.

    I wasn’t much of an expert in photo-editing or 3D-modelling before this but because I knew enough *and* how to program, my knowledge was needed often enough that I became the expert they needed me to be. However, do keep in mind that at no point during all of this did I ever stop learning. I improved my photo editing skills and my 3D-modelling skills continuously during all of this, mostly through searching for better methods to do the things I needed to do and through learning the technical specifications of file formats and 3D-models. Just knowing a little bit more wouldn’t have gotten in my current position, but it was enough to get me started in the right direction through work I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

  2. No, the architect designs the spaces… the interior designer designs the fitout of the spaces. but lovely video anyway 🙂

  3. whoah whoah whoah. did you just say that an architect working at an interior design firm could stamp drawings? that is ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE. I’m a Canadian architect as well, and a “stamp” is tied to a certificate of practice, which is held by the firm where you work, or by you as a sole proprietor. in order to hold a certificate of practice per the architect’s act, the firm must be majority owned by licensed architects. an architect working at an interior deign firm cannot stamp drawings unless that firm holds a certificate of practice, IE, it is actually an architecture firm that does interiors, in which case, they don’t need you to stamp drawings. in order to hold a “sole proprietor” certificate of practice, you must be an un-incorporated business. Also, licensed interior designers can totally work on permit and code related things under part 9 of the building code, they only require stamps from architects/engineers when they are working under part 3.

    1. That’s true, the interior design firm needs to hold a certificate of practice, so technically, my firm was an architecture firm that practices interior design, where I was the architect, working alongside interior designers. Does that clear things up?

  4. Vey interesting to hear about your path and experience. I am an NCIDQ certified interior designer who is taking the opposite path from you (am an interior designer looking to get licensed as an architect) and so I have taken both sets exams. I am finding that the main difference between the exams revolve around site work, zoning, and having more detailed knowledge on systems. For example CIDQ requires a basic knowledge of interior mechanical systems based on what you are able to see in a room and above the ceiling but they do not have exam questions on any equipment typically located outside or in equipment rooms such as AHU’s or geothermal systems. Some of the professional practice questions are also less in depth in regards to liability, which in my opinion should probably change. Although as an interior designer I have worked on many projects requiring technical guidance, code review, locating and detailing of rated partitions, etc. and I think you capture some of the essence of the differences between the two professions in particular when it comes to schematic and preliminary design. There is a significant amount of overlap between the two fields especially for smaller firms. Thanks for the video!

  5. Imagine their being an interior design council but not a UX – UIX or other software qualifications which effects Billions of people, not throw pillows! Insane.

  6. This is great, you should become a professor honestly! You are better at explaining than most professors, and you can see the passion.

  7. Hey, loved your video, so much information that put me on track. I have a question, I’m a recent graduate with I/O Psychology bachelor, now realizing that I want to switch the career path. Is there anything you can recommend. Should I apply to study architecture in college, or is there any other ways? Again, thank you so much!

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