Have you ever felt being taken for granted in whatever profession you are in? I've been working for many years as an Interior Designer and on and off there are definitely people calling for some advice on the interior matters, I'm totally fine with it.But what I really hate the most is when someone calls and enquires about your service and when it comes to dollars and cents, it is always been the issue. I just wonder does it ever occur to you that good and beautiful things don't come cheap. Being a freelancer is never an easy job, if we quoted to high, clients will run away. If we quoted around the margin, client will insist on discounts.
Clients will never understand what we, Interior Designers have to go through in order to get the design out. To them it's just the end results but to us, working towards the end results take up a lot of our time and our brain juice.
For an example, take a very simple liquor stalls that I've been working on lately. what are the things that we need to consider:-
The location of the stall.
- Next to a full height 30' window, since it is next to the window, I need to consider does the ray of the sun spoil the quality of the wine and liquor? How is my design going to protect the wine and liquor?
The surrounding areas
- In front of the stall, there is a 4' height gondola, so what ever I need to emphasis on the design, needs to be 4' and above. Anything below would be just shelves for storing vine and liquor.
How do they operate?
- Do they need storages? Do they service customer one-on-one basis? Which will determine the position of the liquor and storages are need.
Choice of design.
- ONce a theme/style is determined, material selections have to come into play, when material has been selected, designing and detailing the whole stalls. When two materials meet, how are we going to terminate it so that both materials meet nicely.
Ceiling
- Since it is 30' height area and there is no lighting in the stall. I need to create a celing for the stall but yet I can't suspend it all the way from 30' as it is going to spoil the image of the public area. How am I going to solve the problem?
There are just a few of things that need to consider, and of course if I were to list it in detail, it is definitely more. And this doesn't include the problem faces during installation time. Just imagine it's a home or a shop, how many questions and problems solving we need to go through in order to come out with a beautiful design yet functional. Please don't ever take us Interior designer lightly and for granted as the work we have to go through is not just a few lines on the piece of paper.
Nice to see,
Want to stay?
Please pay the appropriate fee,
For a beautiful home to stay.
~Ken Ong~
Want to stay?
Please pay the appropriate fee,
For a beautiful home to stay.
~Ken Ong~
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5 comments:
totally agreed on everything u said... nobody knows a designer's hardwork behind the scene. nobody knows how much midnite oil we burn. sigh! nobody knows how low is our salary :(
LOL! I just feel like blogging it out to let the world knows nothing comes cheap. It is because the work we put into it. They just don't see the picture.
i totally understand with you; it's the same with my job. Th sad thing is sometimes clients don't really think about our effort and all the hard work that we rendered, all they think is how to save more money.
Btw, I love your cute quote!
I do have the same say.
I have been working as an Interior designer since 1993.
My friends, relatives and clients all took me for granted.
It's not easy...
I have decided to change profession slowly, not bad now surviving as a tutor. I get the pay first become I commence teaching on that month.
Occasionally, I do some ID jobs from friends' recommendation.
It's better this way.
Good luck to you Ken.Bt way, you have a great blog, I will be back:)
Emila, I think working in art & design it is always the same case we faces. I wonder art & design in other countries faces such problems or not.
Yoon See, thank for dropping by. I'm working as a lecturer now and will be going back to a full time job in Marketing & Sales. I'm still thinking to back into the industry or cont. teaching and do some freelance here and there.
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