If you have a streak of creativity, a strong visual awareness, the ability to implement it practically and business sense (phew!), well, a career as a furniture designer could just be the one for you.

A furniture designer uses his skill / craft to design furniture and other related products, which then find their way into homes, offices, hotels and restaurants.

Depending on the design, material used and eventual use, these designs are produced in bulk, in small numbers or as one-offs.

What It Takes

A furniture designer must have a strong sense of visual appeal keeping in mind client requirements and aesthetics.

Moreover, before implementing the design, its practical and functional purpose should be considered.

Furniture designers should have the capability to work with locally available and different types of material. This is important to keep production costs under control keeping in mind budget considerations.

A furniture designer has to interact with clients, understand their requirements and accordingly device space solutions. This requires effective communications skills, clarity of thought and the ability to clearly present ideas.

New developments in terms of design ideas, materials and equipments are a regular occurrence. Those in the industry must update themselves regularly. This is possible by becoming a member of a professional body, subscribing to industry magazines / journals and attending conferences and seminars.

Educational Qualifications

Furniture design is not offered as an independent course in India. Some offer furniture design as a component in interior design courses.

The National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, offers professional diploma courses in furniture and interior design as does the Srishti School of Art, Design and technology, Bangalore.

Those wishing to enroll should come from a technical or architecture school or have relevant industry experience.

Computer aided design (CAD) is fast becoming an industry requirement. Thus knowledge of computers and design software, 2D and 3d modelling is an added advantage.