Designs for furniture, items of furniture and furniture-related products are generally produced by furniture designers. They may then mass produce these designs or they may make them as one-off individual pieces or in small batches. Designers may only take part in just the design aspect of the work but if they are both designers and makers, then they may produce the furniture from their own designs.
Designers may work alongside colleagues or on their own to create concepts and designs in which aesthetic appeal, functional requirements and innovative design are all balanced. Business awareness, creativity and skills in finance, manufacturing, marketing and sales are among the demands of the process of furniture designing. The role designers who design furniture involves numerous functions, especially those who are self employed, such as being an accountant, buyer, designer, maintenance engineer, production manager and salesperson.
Typical Work Activities of Furniture Designers
There are several factors that can cause the furniture designer's work activities to vary. For instance, whether the designer is self-employed and works alone, or works with a couple of other like-minded craftspeople. Often, they are employed by manufacturing companies that have their own team comprising of several other experienced designers. The tasks that furniture designers are likely to perform include:
- Planning, researching and studying a variety of different styles of furniture design;
- Finding ways through which already manufactured furniture items can be improved;
- Staying informed about design developments and trends;
- Selecting appropriate materials, such as plastic, metal, textiles and wood;
- Discussing designs with clients who want to order custom furniture items;
- Using card models, computer-aided design (CAD), hard prototypes or sketches to generate sample designs;
- Preparing detailed final designs;
- Utilizing software packages like AutoCAD, Inventor, Photoshop and SolidWorks;
- Liaising about the process of constructing or manufacturing furniture with craftsmen and/or production department staff, such as design engineers, marketing staff and production managers;
- Evaluating problems such as fashion, fixing costs and pricing, manufacturing materials and techniques, materials, purchasing and safety;
- Complete projects, starting from raw material and progressing towards finished furniture items, utilizing a variety of tools;
- Organizing plans and schedules depending on the availability of resources;
- Attending seminars, training and workshops on a variety of different types of furniture design and manufacturing;
Additionally, a portion of time also needs to be allocated to business administration and marketing by furniture designers who are self-employed. Attending furnishing exhibitions and fairs or advertising their services for self-promotion also among the typical work activities they perform.
Many designers are also naturally interested in associated fields of design. Additionally, they may also involve themselves in collaborative projects working too, for instance, with retail interior designers or theatre set designers on certain projects.
All kinds of furniture for both commercial and home environments are produced by furniture designers. Today, these designers are often known as "bespoke furniture makers" as highly skilled craftspeople; they design, produce and sell their own work. They usually have their own gallery, shop or website as well. As the demand for furniture increases so does the demand for designers who design these furniture items.
Designers may work alongside colleagues or on their own to create concepts and designs in which aesthetic appeal, functional requirements and innovative design are all balanced. Business awareness, creativity and skills in finance, manufacturing, marketing and sales are among the demands of the process of furniture designing. The role designers who design furniture involves numerous functions, especially those who are self employed, such as being an accountant, buyer, designer, maintenance engineer, production manager and salesperson.
Typical Work Activities of Furniture Designers
There are several factors that can cause the furniture designer's work activities to vary. For instance, whether the designer is self-employed and works alone, or works with a couple of other like-minded craftspeople. Often, they are employed by manufacturing companies that have their own team comprising of several other experienced designers. The tasks that furniture designers are likely to perform include:
- Planning, researching and studying a variety of different styles of furniture design;
- Finding ways through which already manufactured furniture items can be improved;
- Staying informed about design developments and trends;
- Selecting appropriate materials, such as plastic, metal, textiles and wood;
- Discussing designs with clients who want to order custom furniture items;
- Using card models, computer-aided design (CAD), hard prototypes or sketches to generate sample designs;
- Preparing detailed final designs;
- Utilizing software packages like AutoCAD, Inventor, Photoshop and SolidWorks;
- Liaising about the process of constructing or manufacturing furniture with craftsmen and/or production department staff, such as design engineers, marketing staff and production managers;
- Evaluating problems such as fashion, fixing costs and pricing, manufacturing materials and techniques, materials, purchasing and safety;
- Complete projects, starting from raw material and progressing towards finished furniture items, utilizing a variety of tools;
- Organizing plans and schedules depending on the availability of resources;
- Attending seminars, training and workshops on a variety of different types of furniture design and manufacturing;
Additionally, a portion of time also needs to be allocated to business administration and marketing by furniture designers who are self-employed. Attending furnishing exhibitions and fairs or advertising their services for self-promotion also among the typical work activities they perform.
Many designers are also naturally interested in associated fields of design. Additionally, they may also involve themselves in collaborative projects working too, for instance, with retail interior designers or theatre set designers on certain projects.
All kinds of furniture for both commercial and home environments are produced by furniture designers. Today, these designers are often known as "bespoke furniture makers" as highly skilled craftspeople; they design, produce and sell their own work. They usually have their own gallery, shop or website as well. As the demand for furniture increases so does the demand for designers who design these furniture items.
SHARE
