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Apparel designer vs interior designer

The differences between apparel designers and interior designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an apparel designer, becoming an interior designer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an apparel designer has an average salary of $65,467, which is higher than the $52,482 average annual salary of an interior designer.

The top three skills for an apparel designer include adobe illustrator, tech packs and sketch. The most important skills for an interior designer are revit, space planning, and sketch.

Apparel designer vs interior designer overview

Apparel DesignerInterior Designer
Yearly salary$65,467$52,482
Hourly rate$31.47$25.23
Growth rate3%1%
Number of jobs46,43648,020
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age3742
Years of experience64

What does an apparel designer do?

Apparel designers, also known as clothing or fashion designers, conceptualize and produce items of clothing. They frequently specialize in one type of design, like active, casual, or evening wear. Typical duties include monitoring current fashion trends and forecast future ones, sketching new designs, choosing patterns and fabrics to utilize in garments, and supervising production. They may present items to creative directors, clients, or retailers to determine if the garments are to be conventionally designed or mass-produced.

What does an interior designer do?

An interior designer helps people decorate their rooms and spaces, creating the most functional and beautiful area as possible. They sit with clients to plan desired goals, visualize the space's functions, and sketch the design plan. Then, they pick and order materials and furnishings needed for the project. Additionally, they create a project timeline, estimate cost, and supervise the construction and installation. They follow-up with clients to guarantee their satisfaction once the project is completed. Interior designers should have an understanding of building and construction as well as public safety and security. They must be flexible in their time since they work to meet client needs.

Apparel designer vs interior designer salary

Apparel designers and interior designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Apparel DesignerInterior Designer
Average salary$65,467$52,482
Salary rangeBetween $40,000 And $105,000Between $35,000 And $78,000
Highest paying CityRichmond, CASacramento, CA
Highest paying stateNevadaNorth Dakota
Best paying companyFanaticsGerman International School New York
Best paying industryManufacturingConstruction

Differences between apparel designer and interior designer education

There are a few differences between an apparel designer and an interior designer in terms of educational background:

Apparel DesignerInterior Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorGraphic DesignInterior Design
Most common collegeCornell UniversityCornell University

Apparel designer vs interior designer demographics

Here are the differences between apparel designers' and interior designers' demographics:

Apparel DesignerInterior Designer
Average age3742
Gender ratioMale, 32.8% Female, 67.2%Male, 21.0% Female, 79.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 11.6% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 1.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 4.6% White, 82.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage18%23%

Differences between apparel designer and interior designer duties and responsibilities

Apparel designer example responsibilities.

  • Develop marketing and brand awareness initiatives through social media outlets; create and manage company Facebook and Houzz profiles.
  • Create detailed conceptual and sketch presentations for senior management seasonally.
  • Prepare PowerPoint documents for client presentation that include furniture and material selections.
  • Select NYC print studios to handle outsource design projects and monitor progress to ensure work are completed on deadline.
  • Design Missy sweater line for domestic sweater manufacturer.

Interior designer example responsibilities.

  • Establish and manage firm's account on NYC DOB website; fulfill office duties and manage office.
  • Lead the development of BIM modeling content for the architecture team as a direct report to the executive and lead architects.
  • Project management, interior design, transition planning, and furniture specification for military healthcare projects.
  • Participate on leer certified projects.
  • Put together client invoices in QuickBooks.
  • Design email using HTML and inline CSS/CSS3.
  • Show more

Apparel designer vs interior designer skills

Common apparel designer skills
  • Adobe Illustrator, 10%
  • Tech Packs, 8%
  • Sketch, 6%
  • Apparel Design, 6%
  • Technical Design, 5%
  • PLM, 5%
Common interior designer skills
  • Revit, 12%
  • Space Planning, 8%
  • Sketch, 6%
  • Design Concepts, 6%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • FF, 5%

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