The Complete Guide to Interior Design Job Titles at Every Level
Wondering what you can do with your interior design degree? Well, fortunately you’ve entered an extremely creative career path with a plethora of avenues to pursue. With so many different interior design titles in the career hierarchy, this article aims to examine and understand the jargon surrounding interior design job titles, so you can set your sights on a role that sounds most interesting to you.
Early Stage Interior Designer Positions and Titles
Whether you’ve just completed a design degree, finished an interior design course, or are making a mid-life career move, it’s likely you’ll be looking for one of these foot-in-the-door interior design positions. These early stage roles provide the much needed experience and career foundation that you’ll need to move up the ladder to more senior titles.
Junior Interior Designer
Working under the guidance of a senior interior designer, a junior interior designer pro-actively provides general design support and administrative assistance to the design team, performing a wide range of tasks, including creating floor plans, selecting furniture, ordering samples and communicating with clients and suppliers.
Interior Design Assistant
The main role of an interior design assistant is to provide administrative support to interior designers. Some of their tasks may include preparing documents, organising meetings, handling correspondence with clients and liaising with trades or professionals an interior designer may work with during a project. This position doesn’t require an official qualification, so it could be recent grads or career-switchers interested in dipping their toes in and gaining experience prior to becoming an interior designer.
Average Salary: 24k
Interior Decorator
An interior decorator focuses exclusively on the aesthetic aspects of creating a space, rather than designing the form and function of the room. Their responsibilities include choosing furniture, deciding on wall coverings, picking art, and selecting other fixtures needed to create a cohesive room scheme. Unlike interior designers, an interior decorator would never work with an architect, they would simply embellish the space that is already there. Interior decorators and interior designers are commonly confused with each other but they have very different responsibilities. Check out our article The Difference Between Interior Designers vs. Decorators to take a closer look at the differences between the two.
Average Salary: 32k
Mid-range Interior Designer Positions and Titles
After a few years of experience, you will be able to move up the interior design job titles hierarchy. Next, we’ll dive into what interior design titles to explore after you have some experience under your belt.
Interior Designer
The most common title in the interior design industry is interior designer. An interior designer is responsible for creating spaces that are functional for their uses, safe and aesthetically pleasing. As an interior designer, you can work on residential projects, as well as commercial ventures, such as hotels and restaurants, and either work for a design firm or start your own business. Read our article What Do Interior Designers Do to learn more about their responsibilities.
Average Salary: 38k
Interior Stylist
Interior stylists are hugely different from interior designers. They most commonly work in the interior design, publishing or marketing industries, using their creative skills to style up rooms and sets for photography. Stylists often work closely with interior designers, kitchen and bathroom designers, and magazine editors on various projects, while homeware brands often hire stylists to stage their products for a catalogue photo shoot. They can also be hired by estate agents to stage homes for sale or rental.
Average Salary: 28k
Furniture Designer
Furniture designers research, plan and develop furniture in suitable materials for large manufacturers, small companies or one-off pieces. They will stay informed of design trends and sustainability issues, and may develop ways to improve furniture that’s already been manufactured.
Average Salary: 35k
Visual Merchandiser
A visual merchandiser specialises in the development and communication of visual concepts for a project. Some of their responsibilities include coordinating with marketing and purchasing departments. They may also work with architectural teams to design store spaces and assemble visual displays.
Average Salary: 24k
Kitchen and Bathroom Designer
Specialising in these specific spaces, kitchen and bathroom designers develop room schemes by researching products, taking room measurements, creating computer-aided technical drawings, producing quotes for the total cost of the space, and overseeing the installation of the new fixtures and fittings. Kitchen and bathroom designers often work for large companies meeting sales targets, but can also work for themselves.
Average Salary: 31k
Technical Designer
This highly specialised role involves creating high-quality design drawings using AutoCAD software. Working closely with the design team, manufacturers, and suppliers to turn creative ideas into products, a technical designer’s primary duties can include reviewing design work, developing a plan with the manufacturer, and ensuring that the finished product meets quality standards.
Average Salary: 39k
Exhibition Designer
This intriguing career opportunity involves creating aesthetic appealing and practical displays that communicate the client’s message and concept to visitors. Exhibition designers may be involved in large public exhibitions, trade shows, temporary displays for retailers or cultural events for museums and galleries, whilst also being able to work within strict space, time and budget constraints.
Average Salary: 31k
Space Planner
A space planner works alongside a space planning manager to determine the functionality of an area. Using CAD, they’ll produce accurate and detailed space layouts, while also coordinating the development of spaces and analysing the information of current spaces throughout a design project to ensure they are fit for purpose.
Average Salary: 30k
Production Designer
Production designers are responsible for the design of and visual concepts of a theatre production, film, or television series. Some of their tasks include finding locations, props, and designing the overall look and feel of an entertainment set.
Average Salary: 31k
Senior Interior Designer Positions and Titles
As a seasoned interior designer you can move on to more advanced interior design firm job titles that handle higher-level responsibilities. As you can tell the level of experience you have will directly correlate to your salary. Read our next guide to learn more about How Much Interior Designers Make.
Senior Interior Designer or Executive Director of Interior Design
Senior Interior Designers or Executive Directors of Interior Design lead the creative and conceptual stage of design projects, as well as driving and inspiring the design teams. Their responsibilties can range from analysing budgets to overseeing project presentations, and even developing the technical aspects of a project. Senior interior designers typically have 7 or more years of experience.
Average Salary: 46k
Senior Interior Architect
Usually demonstrating 6 years or more of experience, a senior interior architect works closely with the design team to lead the architectural and spatial design phases of an interior design project, from concept to completion. Some of their tasks may include designing and modifying blueprints, analysing specifications, and visiting project sites to ensure success and completion. Although some of their work overlaps with the responsibilities of interior designers, it is still a very different career pathway. Read our article Interior Designer vs. Architect to take a closer look at the differences between the two.
Average Salary: 47k
Conclusion
The career progression through interior design job titles can vary, as can the responsibilities in each role. Read more in this deep dive article Interior Designer Job Responsibilities. Thankfully, there are many different roles you can take on once you have completed an appropriate degree, or gained enough work experience to explore more options. Finding the right fit takes time, dedication, and overall confidence in your skills. Once you have explored a few interior design positions and titles, you may even start to consider entrepreneurship. Learn more by reading How to Start Your Interior Design Business.
