Interior Design

Interior design is the discipline of shaping enclosed spaces to serve human purposes and evoke particular experiences. It draws on architecture, art, ergonomics, materials science and psychology to create environments that are functional, beautiful and responsive to the needs of the people who inhabit them. Interior designers work across a wide range of contexts, from residential and hospitality projects to commercial offices, retail environments, healthcare settings and cultural institutions, and they must balance aesthetic ambition with practical and regulatory constraints.

At the University of Derby, this three-year full-time programme includes a foundation year, a sandwich year in professional placement, a year abroad and a work placement, making it one of the most richly structured interior design degrees available. You will develop your design skills to create functional and distinctive spaces with strong spatial identities, learning to use form, texture, materials, lighting, colour and architectural components to realise your ideas. The programme encourages you to work in ways that are environmentally responsible, developing an approach to design that is both aesthetically compelling and conscious of its material and ecological impact.

You will build a professional portfolio and develop the practical and conceptual skills that the industry requires.

Graduates from interior design programmes work as interior designers, space planners, set designers, retail designers, visual merchandisers, exhibition designers and furniture designers. Many find roles with design studios, architectural practices, property developers, hospitality companies, retailers and public institutions. The skills developed through interior design, including creative problem-solving, project management, spatial thinking and visual communication, are also valued in related fields such as architecture, product design and experience design.

Postgraduate study in interior design, sustainable design or spatial design is a route for those who want to specialise or develop their practice at a higher level.