What is... Interior Design?

This specialised area of design is all about how we experience spaces and the objects held within them. It’s a powerful, essential part of our daily lives that affects how we live, work and play. Exciting recreational environments, unique domestic spaces, functional workplaces, inspiring retail spaces—that’s interior design at work.

Located in the new Grangegorman campus in 2014 [+find out more]

What are my... Career Opportunities?

Graduates of the BA in Interior Design, find work in design practices, architectural firms, furniture manufacturing firms, display and exhibition companies and as private designers   

What other options do I have after completion?

Students who have reached the appropriate honours standard may have access to a range of Masters degrees in DIT and elsewhere in Higher Education.  

Learning Outcomes:  What will I Study?

This award winning programme is aimed at people who wish to work in the area of interior and furniture design. It has strong links with industry and allows students to gain employment in many of the top interior design practices both nationally and internationally. The programme is based on three areas of study - Design Fundamentals, Design Communications and Critical Theory. In Design Fundamentals, students engage in a fundamental and developmental study of design practice through a wide variety of studio projects. The Design Communications strand focuses on developing the student’s visualising skills and subjects include Computer Aided Design (CAD), Drawing and Design Realisation.

Through Critical Theory the key issues in the history and theory of design are covered. In Years two and three, students have the opportunity to broaden their visual education by taking a number of optional modules from the Fine Art and Visual Communication areas. The main part of the final year focuses on the Design Thesis in which the student is expected to present a systematic and structured solution to a challenging design problem. Students are expected to create an integrated design solution which is original, creative and imaginative and displays a high level of technical skill in the final presentation. Students also present a dissertation on an approved topic in design. 

Module Listing

Year One 

Design Fundamentals:  

• Form & Space
• Structure
• Proportion
• Perception & Colour
• Anthropometrics & Ergonomics

Design Communications:  

• Observational Drawing
• Design illustration with Photography
• Construction Studies
• CAD

Critical Theory:  

• Introduction to Design
• Design & Contemporary Society

Year Two

Design Fundamentals:  

• Recreation
• Storage
• Internal Structure

Interior Design:  

• Sustainability
• Commercial & Domestic
• Retail

Furniture Design:  

• Workstations
• Flexible Living
• Contract Furniture

Design Communications:  

• Design Fabrication
• CAD  

Critical Theory:  

• Modernism in Design & Theories of the Twentieth Century. 

Year Three

Interior Design:  

• Building Regulations
• Hospitality
• Retail
• Universal Design

Furniture Design:  

• Structure & Material
• Outdoor Furniture
• Modular Systems
• Comfort
• Self Assembly
• Workstation

Design Communications:  

• Digital Modelling 

Critical Theory:  

• After Modernism & Theories of Modernity
• Thesis Preparation
• Professional Practice

Year Four 

Interior Design:  

• Research
• Concept Development
• Thesis Resolution
• Thesis Presentation

Furniture Design:  

• Research
• Concept Development
• Thesis Resolution
• Thesis Presentation 

Are there study abroad options?

There is a comprehensive Erasmus programme connecting with over 15 European schools of design and an exchange programme with Columbia College Chicago.  

Further Information

Dublin School of Creative Arts

T: 01 402 4138 (Secretary)
  
F: 01 402 4297 (School Office)
  
E: creativearts@dit.ie
  
W: www.dit.ie/creativearts/   

Located in the new Grangegorman campus in 2014 [+find out more]

What our Students say! 

• What is enjoyable? I’ve made some life-long friends, learned from some incredibly talented tutors and have enjoyed every project thoroughly. The variety of design projects means there is something enjoyable for everyone.  
• What do you learn? We learn the skills that shows off our imagination in a physical piece of work that can be presented to future clients.  
• What is useful? Learning valuable skills that are vital in the design profession, such as CAD, Photoshop, Illustrator and Sketchup.  
• Why do it? It’s an interesting and challenging subject that has new materials and trends coming out all the time.