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Diploma in Interior Design

The Diploma in Interior Design is a unique three-year diploma offered only at TUT that will develop graduates to apply design principles to the professional planning, designing, equipping and furnishing of residential, retail and commercial interior spaces. Qualifying students will gain knowledge about computer-aided design, graphic techniques, the principles of interior lighting, acoustics, systems integration, colour coordination and the history of interior design and period styles.

Course content also includes training in furniture design, technical working drawings/drafting, structural design and building code and inspection regulation for commercial and residential design. On completion of the qualification, you will enter the local market at interior design companies as part of the Work-Integrated Learning programme. With the correct focus, you can become an entrepreneur as a small business owner or freelance designer, consultant, drafter or renderer.

Qualifying as an interior designer is different from qualifying as an interior decorator. A qualified interior designer can work directly with a client or within a company to develop building projects and small-to-largescale interior space planning, fitting and fixtures. An interior designer must be able to apply themselves creatively and technically and have a problem-solving mentality as they work from concept to construction, resolving aesthetic design and technical issues of material application and building services integration. An interior designer uses the principles of design to create environments of beauty and function, working with space, light, material, ventilation and acoustics to meet the goals of the design brief.

A solid foundation for professional practice in interior design is built on historical and technical theory. A qualified interior designer will have the competency to apply specialised principles creatively and use procedures and regulatory knowledge to manage and implement practical solutions that will innovatively solve interior design problems within an African context.

POSSIBLE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

  • Residential design
  • Office design
  • Community and education design
  • Healthcare design
  • Retail, exhibition and events planning
  • Architectural and interior design consultancies
  • Interior stylist
  • Project manager
  • Shopfitter draughtsman 
  • Independent interior design practice

CAREER PROFILE
You should have an interest in and understanding of the wider visual arts and design industry. You will develop a personal language of your own processes, ideas, content and creative, technical and critical skills. The course enables the development of an authentic, personal approach to design, in preparation for your chosen career in the South African interior design industry.

FACILITIES
Specialised studios.

QUALIFICATIONS OBTAINABLE
Diploma; Advanced Diploma; Postgraduate Diploma; Master of Art and Design; Doctor of Art and Design.

CONTACT DETAILS
The Departmental Administrator
Nomvula Khumalo
+27 12 382 6163
KhumaloNY@tut.ac.za