subject: Commercial Interior Design Demands Sharp Eye For Business [print this page] Commercial interior design is a specialized field that requires extensive training in not only design but in the fields of engineering and often architecture as well. It also requires that a designer be able to recognize specific needs of a particular type of office building. To create the perfect office space for maximum efficiency of use, commercial designers must understand the business that their client will be doing every day, and how to make the jobs of the workers and perhaps even customers of the commercial space the best it can become.
If you are responsible for designing a commercial space, the first determining factor is going to have to be the type of business for which you are going to be designing. A sales office will require a different layout plan than a bank, and a fast food restaurant will need to function differently from an insurance company. In some cases it may be important to know the needs of the employees on a more specific level as well.
If you are designing an office for a team of architects, they may require a different type of desk than an accountant and a good designer will know the difference. Each business will require a specific ability on the part of their commercial designer to deliver the best possible design from furniture to window curtains for their business to create the most profitable environment possible. After all, bottom lines and profit margins are, at the end of the day, the most important things to most companies.
But many companies are beginning to realize the importance and benefits of well designed, comfortable and even in many cases, very attractive work environments and commercial spaces. Many companies are also interested in eco-friendly work environments, so a working knowledge of all the latest in what is available is of the utmost importance.
One of the most useful tools available to the commercial designer is their computer software. Being able to design a project through what is called Computer Aided Design or "CAD" has made it possible for designers who have an eye for design but not an artists hand to create the perfect blueprint. When designing an office space with, for example, several cubicles, it is of limitless value to be able to situate each cubicle in miniature scale on a computer rather than drawing each cubicle out to scale by hand or dragging those large and cumbersome pieces of furniture across an office floor like a giant puzzle piece.
With CAD, designers take all of the guesswork out of furniture distribution and maximize their usage of space. Storage can also be accounted for when designing with CAD, before a single heavy file cabinet is ever even purchased.
