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Career Paths
Careers for interior design graduates are available in private consulting practice (architecture, interior design and multidisciplinary design firms; product-manufacturing companies, etc.), corporate/institutional practice (cultural and historical resource organizations, design sections of contracting companies, facilities departments within private corporations, hospitals or universities, etc.), as well as public practice (federal, state, regional, county and municipal government agencies; university or college design or facilities services) and nonprofit organizations (community development groups; agencies dealing with self-help or home/work accommodations for people with disabilities; neighborhood and community advocacy groups).
The following career paths reflect specific positions pursued by recent interior design graduates from Iowa State University, and do not represent a comprehensive list of the possible career choices available to someone with an interior design degree. Please note that some careers require additional education beyond the bachelor’s degree.
- Contract (commercial) design
- Design project management
- Facilities design and management
- Furniture design
- Health-care facility design
- Hospitality design
- Historic preservation and restoration (requires additional education)
- Interior design business management
- Interior illustration or photography
- Kitchen and bath design
- Lighting design (requires additional education)
- Office systems design and sales
- Product manufacturing sales
- Residential design
- Retail design
- Sustainable and adaptive re-use design
- Theater, movie or television set and scene design (requires additional education)
- University or college teaching, research and administration (requires additional education)
Places of Employment
Students have been employed as interior designers, space planners, project managers, media and design consultants. Employers include:
| 3rd Story | Scottsdale, Arizona |
| Amanda Reynal Interiors | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Architects Schipper Kastner | Des Moines, Iowa |
| BH Management | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Boat’s Home Furnishings | Pella, Iowa |
| CallisonRTKL | Dallas, Texas |
| Corgan Associates, Inc. | Dallas, Texas |
| Custom Granite & Stone | Ankeny, Iowa |
| Damon Liss Design | New York City, New York |
| DB Developments, Inc. | Libertyville, Illinois |
| Distinctive Designs for Kitchens and Baths | Springfield, Illinois |
| Dreamscape Home Builders | West Des Moines, Iowa |
| Fredman Design Group | Chicago, Illinois |
| HGA Architects & Engineers | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| HNI Corporation | Muscatine, Iowa |
| Homemakers | Des Moines, Iowa |
| IA – Interior Architects | Dallas, Texas |
| K. Renee Home | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Koch Brothers Inc. | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Kris McViker | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Leiht Restoration (2) | Ames, Iowa |
| Martin Gardner Architecture, P.C. | Marion, Iowa |
| MBH Architecture | San Francisco, California |
| NELSON | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Pigott, Inc. | Des Moines, Iowa |
| RDG Planning & Design | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Saxton Inc. | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Scott Rice Office Works | Lenexa, Kansas |
| Simonson and Associates, L.L.C. | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Steffen Furniture | Spencer, Iowa |
| Streetsense | Washington, District of Columbia |
| Tiffany Brooks Interiors | Chicago, Illinois |
| Vivid Home | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Ware Malcomb | Chicago, Illinois |
| Workspace Inc. | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Yaeger Architecture, Inc. | Overland Park, Kansas |
