Anne Farniok, ASID, CID, LEED AP, CIP, Interior Design Program Director at DCTC authors magazine article

The fall edition of Design Directions, ASID Minnesota’s 2015 Showcase Home magazine features DCTC’s Interior Design Instructor, Anne Farniok.  Farniok’s article entitled, The Interior Design Path and Educational Partnerships, focused on the importance of Interior Design education.

Farniok notes, “Individuals looking for an education in interior design have a number of options in our state. Understanding the best path for each student requires study of course delivery and the desired student outcome,” she adds “The history of the programs and their changes may also play into choosing the best option for the individual.”

In her article Farniok also states that Interior Design education has evolved significantly since the inception of the profession in the early 1900s.  The trademark founder of interior design, Elsie De Wolfe, began work as a professional decorator in 1905, and the following year Frank Alvah Parsons established the first academic interior design program in the United States.  Interior Design education in the state of Minnesota began with a land grant university, the University of Minnesota.  In the early ’70s, programs were established by what is now the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.

Today the interior design industry is still serviced by Dakota County Technical College, Alexandria Technical College and Century College. In subsequent years additional educational options became available from private entities such as Brown College (no longer in existence), The Art Institute of Minnesota, Dunwoody College of Technology, and St. Catherine’s University.

Professional organizations for interior designers in the United States began in 1957 with the formation of the US National Society of Interior Designers (NSID). NSID, along with the American Institute of Interior Designers (AID), were the predecessors to our current American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). The American Institute of Kitchen Dealers (AIKD), now the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA), was established in 1963. The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) was founded in 1994 as the result of a merger of the Institute of Business Designers (IBD), the International Society of Interior Designers (ISID), and the Council of Federal Interior Designers (CFID).  In the 1970s both The Foundation for Interior Design Educational Research (FIDER), now known as the Council for ASID.

To read Farniok’s article in its entirety, visit ASID’s Design Directions website at http://www.asidmn.org/pdf/designdirections_fall15.pdf

DCTC’s award winning NKBA accredited AAS Interior Design Program is a challenging course of study for students preparing to enter the interior design industry.  In the classroom, emphasis is placed on acquiring hands on knowledge and skills to design functional and aesthetically engaging environments.  The DCTC Curriculum is architecturally based and explores spatial designs and embellishments.  All aspects of space–scale, proportion, configuration, lighting, textures, material and colors are studied in relation to their effect on human well being.  Technical skills are also gained in the latest computer aided design and building information management software, 3D visualization and graphics.

Graduates of the DCTC Interior Design program leave the program with a solid technical foundation and have the skills to collaborate with fellow professionals and deliver sustainable interior environments matched to the needs of their clients.  Students also have the option to transfer Interior Design credits to a four year university.  According to ISEEK the average wage in this industry in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro area is $19.96 and hour with top earners in the field at the $38.00/per hour range.

Students studying interior design  at DCTC vary from the recent high school graduate to retirees.  Many students that attend DCTC have already acquired a bachelor’s degree but want a career change.  DCTC offers students credits for prior learning, financial aid, scholarship opportunities, work study as well as student worker positions.  To provide students more options, night courses are being considered for fall, 2016.  Please contact Meghan Hendrickson or call her at 651-423-8414.

For more information about DCTC’s Interior Design program visit the website at DCTC Interior Design.