Time Planning
For the first 5 weeks of the course you will receive homework. You should be able to complete these homework assignments in around 2 hours - some students take longer depending on the amount of research they undertake - it will largely be down to you to decide how much if any, additional time you wish to spend on these tasks.
Once you receive the design brief for your project your time management will be upto you to organise. While there will be some checkpoints along the way - what you choose to do, the order in which you choose to do it and your time planning will be for you to decide.
Study tips:
Studying at home is for some, an entirely new experience and can be difficult as first, particularly if you have other work and/or family commitments to juggle. One of the key first steps is to understand your learning style. People’s learning styles vary dramatically, so what works for someone else may not work for you. You can take a quick test to help you identify your learning style HERE. Once identified you may want to think about when you're at your best - you may be the kind of person who is more alert in the morning, in which case it makes sense to maximise that time if you can. Similarly, if you learn better later in the day then plan the majority of your study during the evening. If you’re not sure what time will suit you best then have a think about your current daily routine. Do you leap out of bed with your mind active and engaged or does your brain tend to warm up throughout the day?
Once you receive the design brief for your project your time management will be upto you to organise. While there will be some checkpoints along the way - what you choose to do, the order in which you choose to do it and your time planning will be for you to decide.
Study tips:
Studying at home is for some, an entirely new experience and can be difficult as first, particularly if you have other work and/or family commitments to juggle. One of the key first steps is to understand your learning style. People’s learning styles vary dramatically, so what works for someone else may not work for you. You can take a quick test to help you identify your learning style HERE. Once identified you may want to think about when you're at your best - you may be the kind of person who is more alert in the morning, in which case it makes sense to maximise that time if you can. Similarly, if you learn better later in the day then plan the majority of your study during the evening. If you’re not sure what time will suit you best then have a think about your current daily routine. Do you leap out of bed with your mind active and engaged or does your brain tend to warm up throughout the day?
Study in short but frequent stretches
Once you decide when you are going to study you need to then establish a routine. Make sure that other people know when your study time is scheduled and try to discourage distractions. Find a space at home that is comfortable and where you have all materials to hand. Research shows that it's better to study in short bursts rather than cram everything into one long session – between 30 to 40 minutes works best for most people. Take a five minute break at the end of that time, after which you'll be ready to continue. Don't stay seated during your break - stand up, stretch, walk around and get the blood flowing.
Project Planning
One of the aims of this course is to make the project as real to life as possible and as in real life, there is a deadline for completion. There are a set of 'deliverables' that are required, you will probably also need to complete extensive research, to source the fixtures, fittings and equipment and samples you are going to need. How long it will take you to complete each of these will depend somewhat on your skill set and prior learning. From the point at which you will receive the project brief to the time of completion will be approximately 7 weeks - listed below are each of those deliverables with the time you should allot for each task:
Research
Is going to take a lot of time! Almost every prior student has been surprised at how long it takes to source the fixtures and fittings and samples they need. There is a section on this site with links to suppliers which will make a good starting point. One of the pitfalls of web research in particular, is a tendency to get distracted - like children in a sweet shop - everything is just too tempting and it can be difficult to make a decision. It is for this reason that I advise all students to have a fairly clear idea of how each concept board is going to look before they begin researching then find what they need and stick with it - don't get distracted! |
x3 Design boards
Your design board tells a story - it is the visual representation of your ideas and your main 'selling' tool. It is important it is well done and well presented, paying customers would expect to see attention to detail (as will I!). The time to put together a design board depends largely on how long it takes you to get all of your sampling and ideas together - the physical act of assembling them should take approximately an hour for each. You should aim to have your mood boards largely complete by week 3 of the project Click for more information on Mood boards; |
Scale drawings
Scale drawing is a technical skill and will take a little time to master. You are required to complete both a floor plan and elevations for your project - you can find out more information about both HERE. Planning your space will take a little time and effort but there are a few online tools that will make the process a little quicker, however even though you are permitted to use specialist software you will still be required to have some hand drawn plans. These usually take longer than anticipated, so please don't imagine you can sit down for an hour one evening and complete all your drawings. Each one will take approximately 3 hours each and plan to do 5 - so that is a total of 15 hours of scale drawing! You should aim to have your floor plan complete by week 2 of the project and your elevations complete by week 6.
Costings & production estimates
This is a two part process within interior design. You will be required to estimate the time and cost to produce your 'product' which in this instance is the design (mood boards and drawings) and you are also required to give approximate costings for the project (cost of materials and labour). For the first part of this - the design - the simplest way is to keep a learning diary - noting the time you take to complete each step and any costs you incur. For the second part - the project costs - keep a record of all the materials, fixtures and fittings you are proposing in your design and their costs and you can quickly produce a cost schedule on the final week of the project. I will assist you with the labour costs as required.
Final evaluation
This, although not a project deliverable, is required as part of the course. It is your record of study, you can reference your learning diary and should include how you approached the project, what you were happy with and what you might do differently next time - see template below:
Scale drawing is a technical skill and will take a little time to master. You are required to complete both a floor plan and elevations for your project - you can find out more information about both HERE. Planning your space will take a little time and effort but there are a few online tools that will make the process a little quicker, however even though you are permitted to use specialist software you will still be required to have some hand drawn plans. These usually take longer than anticipated, so please don't imagine you can sit down for an hour one evening and complete all your drawings. Each one will take approximately 3 hours each and plan to do 5 - so that is a total of 15 hours of scale drawing! You should aim to have your floor plan complete by week 2 of the project and your elevations complete by week 6.
Costings & production estimates
This is a two part process within interior design. You will be required to estimate the time and cost to produce your 'product' which in this instance is the design (mood boards and drawings) and you are also required to give approximate costings for the project (cost of materials and labour). For the first part of this - the design - the simplest way is to keep a learning diary - noting the time you take to complete each step and any costs you incur. For the second part - the project costs - keep a record of all the materials, fixtures and fittings you are proposing in your design and their costs and you can quickly produce a cost schedule on the final week of the project. I will assist you with the labour costs as required.
Final evaluation
This, although not a project deliverable, is required as part of the course. It is your record of study, you can reference your learning diary and should include how you approached the project, what you were happy with and what you might do differently next time - see template below:
Finally - A few Golden Rules to remember:
MAKE A PLAN - and stick to it!
DO NOT get side tracked – complete an activity and move on to the next one
DO NOT struggle with something – leave it until you see me next and use the time to get on with something else
STAY ORGANISED – make notes, keep records and file things
THIS IS FUN – so enjoy it!!
DO NOT get side tracked – complete an activity and move on to the next one
DO NOT struggle with something – leave it until you see me next and use the time to get on with something else
STAY ORGANISED – make notes, keep records and file things
THIS IS FUN – so enjoy it!!