Interior Design Technology

Can you picture a finished kitchen before a single cabinet is ordered? Lakeland’s Interior Design Technology diploma turns that instinct into a profession. It is a two-year diploma taught face to face at the Vermilion campus, where each student works from a dedicated drafting station in the interior design studio.

Interior Design Technology begins with design fundamentals and design history, then moves into space planning, materials, residential construction, finishes and sustainable building practices. You learn hand sketching and rendering to show ideas graphically, draft construction documents, and develop detailed plans, elevations and sections. As the diploma progresses you select and specify finishes, furniture and materials for real spaces and present your solutions to college and outside clients, building the drafting, rendering and presentation skills employers test in interviews.

The interior design computer lab runs AutoCAD, Photoshop, Revit and Sketchup, and a large plotter prints your drawings. A sample-filled materials room and a work room for mood boards and models are open around the clock. Construction site visits, building tours and trend field trips connect the classroom to the industry, and students enter National Kitchen and Bath Association and Decorators and Designers Association of Canada competitions. A 2-month practicum with a design firm, millwork company, home builder, architecture firm or showroom follows coursework. Graduates can join DDA Canada, DIDAA and NKBA, and can continue to degrees at Mount Royal University, Yorkville University or NAIT.

Interior Design Technology graduates work for architectural firms, design firms, developers, home builders, kitchen industry firms and residential firms, in roles such as interior designer, kitchen and bath designer, residential designer, design drafter and showroom design consultant. The diploma suits visual thinkers who enjoy precise drawing, material choices and talking clients through a plan.