Interior Designer Resources Directory :: Interior Design Article
Your Most Important Design - Your Life
Ask any student January till May what their most pressing issue is and you will probably hear "to get a job." I however, think the answer should be "to get the right job." If you look at life as a design problem, you don't just look for a solution, you look for the best solution. You study the program requirements, analyze data, examine options and hopefully expand boundaries when searching for the right solutions to a design problem. Why not apply the practices to your career.
The Programming Stage: What do you want in a career and design driven life? What types of experiences are on your list? Do you want to travel? Are you more comfortable meeting with clients or behind the scenes influence? Contract, hospitality, residential or any other specialty of particular interest to you?
Analyze Date: With your program in place, begin to match employer's locations and experiences that will best help you achieve your goal. Research web sites, publications and local professional associations for information and contacts that most closely align with your aspirations. Don’t apply to a health care centric design firm if you want a career in hospitality.
Examine Options: Is this a first time job to test an interest level or “I’m here to stay” job? What firm will give me a well-rounded experience? Which firm might I move up in or get caught up in a repetitious dead-end role? What firm meets the majority of my goals and aspirations in an area I wish to explore? These are the questions to be asked now.
Expand Boundaries: Now is the time to explore an interest or locale you might not be able to explore later in life. Experiences in an area that support your design direction may be the ticket. For example: working for a construction company for a year before joining a design firm may provide valuable experience if you are looking at residential design.
If you have done your homework and explore your options, you should have a very satisfied client, “you.”
A graduate of Auburn University, Don holds both a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design and a Bachelor of Architecture. Don founded the firm H. Don Bowden - Architect, P.C. in Enterprise, Alabama, in 1985. The firm offers both architecture and interior design services. Work includes residential, corporate, commercial, retail and governmental design. Don's professional affiliations include the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). He is a Fellow of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and an Alabama Chapter of American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Medalist. Don served as the National President of the American Society of Interior Designers 2002-2003. He currently serves as chair-elect of the Board of Trustees of the American Society of Interior Designers Foundation. Don has received many honors for the design of residential, retail, corporate and adaptive re-use projects. Recent projects include the restoration and interior design of the Governor's Club in Magnolia Springs, a new Center for the Opera and Symphony in Mobile, custom residential and corporate projects throughout the Southeast, the new Wesley Foundation Center at the University of South Alabama, and the new command center for Keesler AFB, in Biloxi, MS. Don has been published in Southern Living, Mobile Bay Monthly, ASID Icon, The Wall Street Journal, and Drapery & Window Covering Magazine. He has been cited in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Real Simple Magazine, Mobile Press Register, Architectural Record, The Chicago Tribune, and numerous other newspaper and magazines nationwide. He recently served as a juror for the Naval Facilities Design Awards. He can be reached at don@bowdenarchitecture.com
