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Commercial interior designer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Dr. Jennifer Jorgensen Ph.D.,
Cameron John M.F.A.
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical commercial interior designer skills. We ranked the top skills for commercial interior designers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 21.6% of commercial interior designer resumes contained revit as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a commercial interior designer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 commercial interior designer skills for your resume and career

1. Revit

Revit, also known as Autodesk Revit, is computer software used by architects, structural engineers, and designers to perform building modeling tasks. Revit was designed to facilitate users, draw building modeling structures in a 2D and 3D format. Creating such models allows architects and engineers to pre-planning, scheduling, estimating the life of the structure and the entire cost of construction.

Here's how commercial interior designers use revit:
  • Prepared complex Architecture and Engineering construction drawings for residential and commercial projects utilizing AutoCAD Architecture and REVIT.
  • Create a full set of structural plans in both programs along with a structural model in REVIT.

2. Sketch

Here's how commercial interior designers use sketch:
  • Initiated and oversaw development from initial concept sketch to final production, working closely with Chinese engineering and manufacturing vendors.
  • Developed handbags from initial sketch through final product including material sourcing, development of prototypes, sampling and technical specifications.

3. Space Planning

Space Planning is one of the most important elements of interior decorating. The interior designer takes the space available within a building, an apartment, a house, or another type of structure which is being renovated or otherwise altered, and then they begin to play around with the space, creating visions and revisions of the space on paper or in a specialised design program, according to the necessities of the project and clients at hand.

Here's how commercial interior designers use space planning:
  • Contracted with commercial furniture dealerships utilizing space planning and product specification services.
  • Advised client on interior design factors such as space planning, layout, color coordination, and utilization of furnishings.

4. Design Concepts

Here's how commercial interior designers use design concepts:
  • Contributed to design concepts and verified material selections.
  • Produced presentation boards and project books to illustrate design concepts to end-user.

5. Auto CAD

Here's how commercial interior designers use auto cad:
  • Prepared and presented final working drawings for manufacturing department using Auto CAD.
  • Designed Hydraulic Cylinders for Manufacturing Worked with Auto CAD in design application.

6. Design Development

Design development is used to refer to a number of positions and skills in a number of different industries. In the architectural world, Design Development is used to refer to an architectural plan that is already halfway or more done but needs further development, alteration, and testing. In the automotive industry, it refers to the skills necessary to create and develop new car, engine, and other designs, as well as to ensure that all designs are safe and effective.

Here's how commercial interior designers use design development:
  • Modify and prepare production drawings during design development phase.
  • Handled the execution, coordination and oversight of design, design development, design presentation and construction documents.

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7. Construction Drawings

Here's how commercial interior designers use construction drawings:
  • Create budgets, proposals, purchase orders and construction drawings.
  • Used ACAD and PVsyst to create construction drawings.

8. Leed

LEED is basically the acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is a certification program that approves the standards of buildings that are ecology-oriented. This includes the maintenance, building, and even the working of the ecological infrastructure.

Here's how commercial interior designers use leed:
  • Participated on LEED certified projects.
  • Led teams for over 1.5 million rentable square feet of LEED registered space, including firm's first LEED-CI project.

9. Construction Administration

Here's how commercial interior designers use construction administration:
  • Coordinated specifications and construction administration procedures.
  • Provided design services from initial survey through construction administration for new construction, renovation and historic restoration projects.

10. Installation Drawings

Here's how commercial interior designers use installation drawings:
  • Research furniture needs for customer requests, provided drawings for furniture consultants consisting of furniture layouts and installation drawings.
  • Provided installation drawings for various scopes of projects.

11. FF

FF stands for "finish-to-finish," which refers to a management process in many business. This indicates that one step a process--whether a production line or data analysis--must be finished before the next step can begin. This form of project management isn't found in many business models, however it may be necessary for certain fields such as computer programming.

Here's how commercial interior designers use ff:
  • Prepared FF & E and finish specifications and schedules as part of the model room Design Development package.
  • Produce FF & E selections and specifications as well as oversee installation and site inspections of various projects.

12. Furniture Systems

Here's how commercial interior designers use furniture systems:
  • Selected furniture systems, finishes and specifications.

13. Design Projects

Design projects are used to create a product or service to serve a specific customer or client need. They may entail thinking about the ideas, materials necessary for the idea and the steps that will be followed to realize the idea.

Here's how commercial interior designers use design projects:
  • Managed interior design projects and activities for various renovation-related projects.
  • Originated my own practice of Interior Design which includes residential and commercial design projects.

14. Design Firm

A design firm is a company or organization that specializes in providing design services in different fields such as information technology, graphics, engineering, and architecture.

Here's how commercial interior designers use design firm:
  • Awarded one of the Top 25 Interior Design Firms in Minneapolis/St.
  • Design team member for corporate and commercial design firm.

15. Design Process

The process by which a product is formed is referred to as the design process. It requires the conceptualization of what the product may look like in terms of aesthetics, what it will be made of and most importantly, what it will do. A design process puts this process in order so that the creation of the product is seamless and has the least amount of errors and slack while it is being made.

Here's how commercial interior designers use design process:
  • Followed engineering design process from beginning to proposal of specific, concrete recommendations for an inexpensive passive solar greenhouse allowing earlier planting
  • Conducted research to determine cultural and social implications of project design to ensure culturally conscience design process within a given region.
top-skills

What skills help Commercial Interior Designers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on commercial interior designer resumes?

Dr. Jennifer Jorgensen Ph.D.Dr. Jennifer Jorgensen Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

The retail industry is robust and requires many skills. Content and industry-related knowledge are essential, including comfort with computer applications like Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Excel. Beyond knowledge of the industry, job candidates need excellent communication skills in written and oral forms. It's also highly recommended that job candidates have work experience in their area of interest, which could include an internship, job shadow, or part-time position.

What commercial interior designer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Cameron John M.F.A.Cameron John M.F.A. LinkedIn profile

Lecturer, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Interior Architecture and Design offers an opportunity to help clients - real people - realize their vision. Whether it is a single-family home, a corporate office, or a hospital - the spaces designed are real. These spaces have tangible effect on the well-being, health, and happiness of others. The challenges of any field of design - architecture or otherwise - are that it is often a pursuit of passion. Design work often involves late nights and long hours to reach submittal deadlines and manage the complexities of any project. The volume of information you need to coordinate and manage requires a high level of organization and focus. Attention to detail is incredibly important. Design work is not as highly compensated as other professional pursuits for the amount of expertise and work that goes into realizing a project.

What type of skills will young commercial interior designers need?

Bennie F. JohnsonBennie F. Johnson LinkedIn profile

Executive Director, AIGA, the professional association for design

Our Design Futures research from 2018 covered this topic in some detail. Some highlights of needed skills include an understanding of business models, complex systems, and data. One of the seven Design Futures trends is "Bridging Physical and Digital Experiences," which has become even more important in a COVID world. Of course, mastering craft and specific tools remain important, especially for entry-level work, but so is a general ability to "learn how to learn," as the rate of technical change (and obsolescence) is only getting faster.

In May of 2020, AIGA conducted an industry pulse check survey around the impact of COVID-19 on the design community and found, not surprisingly, that adaptability skills continue to be the most critical for design professionals, and collaboration made the list of top five skills for the first time.

What hard/technical skills are most important for commercial interior designers?

Vibhavari Jani

Associate Professor, Kansas State University

Ability to master various software: Revit, Rhyno, Sketchup, 3D rendering software (Enscape and Lunion), BIM.

List of commercial interior designer skills to add to your resume

Commercial interior designer skills

The most important skills for a commercial interior designer resume and required skills for a commercial interior designer to have include:

  • Revit
  • Sketch
  • Space Planning
  • Design Concepts
  • Auto CAD
  • Design Development
  • Construction Drawings
  • Leed
  • Construction Administration
  • Installation Drawings
  • FF
  • Furniture Systems
  • Design Projects
  • Design Firm
  • Design Process
  • Furniture Layouts
  • Healthcare
  • Furniture Specifications
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Product Specifications
  • Office Furniture
  • Design Services
  • Design Ideas
  • Material Selection
  • Architectural Drawings
  • Presentation Boards
  • FFE
  • PowerPoint
  • Client Presentations
  • Resource Library
  • Project Budget
  • Cost Estimates
  • Residential Projects
  • Furniture Selection

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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