Online Diploma in Interior Design & Decoration

Inchbald Online

Diploma in Interior Design and Decoration

The Inchbald School of Design is offering a new online Diploma course in Interior Design and Decoration. The course is for serious career-oriented students and provides a strong practical focus, developing not just an understanding and knowledge of design, but also professional design skills.
This pack explains the principles and practicalities of the Inchbald Online Diploma:

♦ Course structure
♦ How the course works
♦ Award structure
♦ Overview of contents.
© Inchbald School of Design 2006 Course Overview 1106
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Course structure

The course is designed for part-time study at a distance.
The full Diploma takes three years to complete. Alternatively, if you are able to devote more time to studying, you can apply to join the Fast Track Programme. In this case it will take two years to achieve the full Diploma.
The course is delivered through Inchbald Online, a ‘virtual classroom’ on a website. It provides self-study learning materials in text and images and takes you through a structured programme, designed around approximately 7 hours of formal learning per week on the Three Year course or 14 hours per week on the Fast Track Programme.

The course is divided into 9 modules. Each module comprises a series of sessions and leads to the completion of a project.
A session is made up of learning materials, in the form of text and images, and developmental activities. Some sessions include online tests for checking your knowledge and understanding. At the end of a session you send a formative assignment to your tutor for feedback and advice. At the end of each module you complete and submit a design project, which develops and consolidates the knowledge, understanding and skills you have built during the module, and forms part of your ongoing course assessment.

Every module includes a high level of tutorial support, which is tailored to your needs. Tutors provide informal support by answering queries and steering discussion forums online. They give you formative feedback and guidance on your assignments. As well as assessing your project work formally, your tutors guide you through your project work, providing advice, constructive feedback and suggestions at key stages to help you succeed.

Tutorial support, skills development and motivation are enhanced with an in-house study school which is invaluable in giving you a strong basis for succeeding on the programme.
The course starts with a three-day in-house induction programme, which explains the course and how to work through it, and enables you to meet and get to know your tutors and fellow learners.

How the course works

The course is particularly designed for you if you wish to pursue interior design as a career but have other commitments that prevent you from attending a full-time course. The course offers the following:
♦ You study part-time, following an achievable programme structure. The Three Year Diploma is designed around

© Inchbald School of Design 2006 Course Overview 1106
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approximately 7 hours of formal learning hours per week. However, you should expect to spend more time than this on assignments and projects. The Fast Track programme gives you 14 hours of formal learning per week – again you will need to allow extra time to work on assignments and projects. The Fast Track Programme is for people who are prepared and able to undertake intensive study alongside their other commitments.

♦ You study in your own home or base, where you are encouraged to set up a small design studio.
♦ You can study online in the ‘virtual classroom’, and can download and print learning materials for offline study. You will also receive other study resources such as core textbooks and design drawings.
♦ You join a group of fellow Inchbald students who are studying the same course programme, so you can benefit from sharing, conferring and presenting your own ideas to your classmates using the online discussion forums and informal chatroom. Many interior designers work in a team, so co-operating with others and exchanging ideas gives valuable experience.
♦ You receive a high level of individual tutorial support from Inchbald tutors. The programme includes frequent assignments, which you complete and submit to your tutor for constructive comments and advice that is tailored to your needs. In addition, you receive informal support from tutors online.
♦ You complete and submit a series of practical design projects for tutor assessment throughout the course. These are essential for skills development and consolidation.
Award structure
You achieve an award for successful completion of each stage of the course:
♦ Certificate in Interior Design and Decoration for Modules 1–3 – awarded at the end of Semester 1.
♦ Advanced Certificate in Interior Design and Decoration for Modules 1–6, awarded at the end of Semester 2.
♦ Finally you achieve the award of the Diploma in Interior Design and Decoration on successful completion of the full course (Modules 1–9).
The online Diploma in Interior Design and Decoration will have the same value as the in-house Diploma in Architectural Interior Design, although the content and focus of the courses are different.
© Inchbald School of Design 2006 Course Overview 1106
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Assessment requirements include:
♦ successful completion of projects
♦ successful completion of online tests
♦ submission of sketchbooks, research folders as required.
In addition you will be expected to submit assignments to your tutor for comments and feedback and to contribute to the class by being active participants in group discussions and activities.
Overview of contents

Semester 1

Module 1 looks at the interior designer’s role in creating design solutions and explores the skill of making design decisions, developing concepts, satisfying functional requirements and creating spaces that are aesthetically and emotionally pleasing in terms of spatial proportion and light. You develop skills in observation, sketching, recording and presenting design ideas for your project.
Module 2 introduces technical drawing, the production of two-dimensional drawing: plans elevations and cross sections. It also looks at how to produce a one-point perspective. You produce orthographic projections for your project
Module 3 looks at the designer’s input into developing a design solution by creating a mood or atmosphere, and shows how this can be achieved by the application of colour, pattern and texture, lighting, applied finishes, furnishings and, most importantly, style. Emotional responses are a major part of this process and although it is difficult to define beauty and aesthetic excellence, the module explains a number of generally accepted principles that can be used. The project enables you to demonstrate your developing skills in decoration.

Semester 2

Module 4 looks at building construction, services and survey. It explores and develops an understanding of domestic structures, such as foundations, walls and floors, doors, windows and second fixings, survey techniques, plumbing and drainage, lighting, insulation and ventilation and building regulations.
Module 5 is in two parts to take you through the various stages of design for your project, which is a small domestic interior. It explores decoration in greater depth than in Semester 1, focusing on the practicalities of achieving the design solution, together with the development of a historical perspective.
Module 6 is a project to design a large residential interior. It enables you to develop and consolidate your learning.

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Semester 3

Module 7 explores detailed working drawings for fitments. The project requires the presentation of working drawings.
Module 8 takes colour and lighting to a higher level than in Semester 2, and focuses on specialised subjects such as conservation, commercial design and the history of design. Students can choose at this stage of the course to concentrate on the areas of design that interest them most.
Module 9 centres around a major final project of the student’s choice.
An important part of this module is job administration – an essential skill for practising designers.
Fast Track Programme

The contents of the Fast Track Programme are the same as the above, but studied over two years, rather than three years.
© Inchbald School of Design 2006 Course Overview 1106

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