I graduated with a BA (Hons) Interior Design (Decoration) from Southampton Solent University in 2011, like many interior design graduates, it was hard to find that first break to enter the design world. When my degree essays and projects had come to an end, I missed the designing and saw that the National Design Academy had set up the NDA National Design Award. I spent the next few weeks completing the brief for this competition – to design the interior of a £1million Penthouse apartment in Nottingham and several weeks later, I was surprised to get a phone call to say I was a runner up for the competition! It was when I attended the award ceremony for this that I was told about the new MA course at the NDA and it sounded perfect.
Online distance learning allowed me to stay at home in Cornwall and when I finally got my first graduate interior design job it allowed me to continue to work on both my MA and my career. The MA allowed me to study at a higher level, which in turn increased my skills that could be applied in my interior design career. The course content varied from learning about research methods, to sustainable design to project management of an interior design project. All of the modules could be completed to reflect your own research interests in interior design so you could create your own specific research pathway, which made it more enjoyable for me.
I recently completed my MA and I am now working as a freelance interior designer for Camellia Interiors in Cornwall and have recently set up online home accessories shop; Eka Home. The Masters course at the NDA has opened so many doors for me and the vast amount I learnt gave me the confidence to further my career in interior design. I would highly recommend the NDA to anybody wanting to study interior design as the courses teach everything you need, the tutors are helpful and the fact you can study from home at a more affordable cost to another university is perfect.
