Furniture designer
Furniture designers produce designs for items of furniture and related products. These designs may then be mass produced or made in small batches or as one-off individual pieces. Designers may be involved in the design aspect of the work alone or they may be designer/makers, producing items from their own designs. Designers work alone or alongside colleagues creating concepts and designs that balance innovative design, functional requirements and aesthetic appeal.
The process of furniture design demands creativity, business awareness and skills in marketing, finance, sales and manufacturing. The role may involve a number of functions, particularly for the self-employed, including designer, production manager, buyer, salesperson, accountant and maintenance engineer.
Work activities vary according to whether you are a self-employed furniture designer working alone, or with one or two other like-minded craftspeople, or whether you are employed by a manufacturing company with a group of experienced furniture designers. However, day-to-day tasks are likely to include:
In addition, self-employed designers need to allocate a portion of their time to marketing and business administration. They must engage in self-promotion by advertising their services or attending furnishing fairs and exhibitions.
Many designers have a natural interest in associated fields of design and may spend some time on collaborative projects working, for example, with theatre set designers or retail interior designers on certain projects.
You would usually need a relevant degree, BTEC or HND in a furniture-related subject such as:
Courses with a mix of practical skills and creative design may be particularly useful.
Other relevant degree subjects include:
A portfolio of work is required for entry on to degree courses. This would also be used when applying for jobs.
A postgraduate qualification is not required for entry.
Entry without a degree may be possible through an apprenticeship or by starting work straight from school, as a trainee.
Entry is competitive so any related work experience is valuable. Some degree courses include a work placement. It is worth researching companies and making speculative applications to those that match your design style.
Candidates will need to show evidence of the following:
Furniture design is a competitive profession. A few graduates/diplomates are offered work following their degree shows, but this is not common. You will need to network, sell yourself and your skills and seize any opportunities that arise. Start by thinking of the contacts you have made during your degree, particularly through work experience placements. It is also important to showcase your work in a professional-looking portfolio or website containing photographs, drawings and other design work.
Many employers consider potential to be just as important as experience, so it is essential that you demonstrate a working interest in the design field. Make sure that you regularly visit design exhibitions, read design journals and keep up to date with new software and technology in the sector. It is also important to produce your own experimental work and enter competitions and shows to get your work noticed.
Design directories such as the Directory of Design Consultants will help you identify design companies to target for speculative applications. Professional journals and the arts press, e.g. Design Week and Crafts Magazine , can also be a good source of advertisements, as well as information on prominent designers and what is happening in the industry.
For more information, see work experience and internships and search courses and research.
As a designer you will need to continue to build your portfolio, develop your skills and attract new contacts throughout your career. It is vital to keep up to date with developments in materials, equipment and design trends by attending and exhibiting your work at trade shows and exhibitions. Professional journals such as Design Week are useful sources of information on latest trends and news.
Joining a professional body such as the Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) is also useful. Membership can provide professional recognition, access to advice, opportunities for continuing professional development (CPD) and industry contacts.
Many designers choose to enhance or consolidate existing skills by taking short courses offered by local colleges and design organisations. Those interested in self-employment may also develop additional practical skills such as upholstery and carpentry. Courses in computer-aided design (CAD) can also be useful. Further study also provides the opportunity to experiment, diversify or obtain specialist knowledge to open up new areas of expertise and is a good way of developing your career.
Formal training is unlikely to be provided for new recruits as employers expect the basic skills to be in place already. However, companies may provide training days on new technologies and software or on company policies and procedures. New recruits may be supervised by a design director, but most companies do not allocate individual mentors.
Furniture designers typically work as consultant designers, in-house designers for manufacturing companies, bespoke designers within established furniture design companies, designers/makers of bespoke furniture, production facility managers/consultants, freelance designers for corporate/domestic clients or limited/batch/mass production markets.
Opportunities for progression are linked to company size, work volume, ability to diversify and level of international activity. Typical career progression may be a step up every three to four years into the following roles:
It is possible to specialise in different areas of furniture design. For example, you might move from designing upholstered furniture to working on office chairs, or perhaps into a more retail-focused area. Opportunities also exist as a buyer for furniture associated with a range of stores, or on behalf of other client groups, such as the tourism and hospitality sectors, or private individuals.
If you are a designer working on a smaller scale, success will depend on a mixture of design skills, contacts, self-promotion, reputation, reliability, networking skills and profile.
Many designers choose to be self-employed, working from a studio or workshop. Some designers beginning their careers share studio space with other 'new starters' in the industry in order to divide costs and pool resources. Check with the Crafts Council or the crafts officer of your local regional arts board (see Arts Council England , Creative Scotland , the Arts Council of Wales or the Arts Council of Northern Ireland ) for lists of studios and information about funding. See also a-n: The Artists Information Company for information useful for career development.
Some experienced furniture designers choose to move into other fields, such as curating, journalism, teaching and lecturing, where they can use their furniture design knowledge.
Employers likely to recruit furniture designers include:
Many furniture designers choose to be self-employed or undertake freelance work for corporate or domestic clients. Self-employed designers may initially have to look for income from other sources, including other part-time work, until they build up a client base. Business Link provides information on available funding and other advice on setting up a business.
Recruitment agencies handle vacancies but may only deal with people who already have commercial experience.
Networking is crucial and trade fairs can be a useful source of information and contacts.
Directories such as the Directory of Design Consultants may be useful for making speculative applications.
Get tips on job hunting, CVs and covering letters and interviews.
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