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Interior designer vs project designer

The differences between interior designers and project designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an interior designer and a project designer. Additionally, a project designer has an average salary of $64,943, which is higher than the $52,482 average annual salary of an interior designer.

The top three skills for an interior designer include revit, space planning and sketch. The most important skills for a project designer are revit, sketch, and design concepts.

Interior designer vs project designer overview

Interior DesignerProject Designer
Yearly salary$52,482$64,943
Hourly rate$25.23$31.22
Growth rate1%1%
Number of jobs48,02060,364
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

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.

What does a project designer do?

A Project Designer provides assistance in project design and development activities based on customer requirements. They develop solutions to client architectural complexities.

Interior designer vs project designer salary

Interior designers and project designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Interior DesignerProject Designer
Average salary$52,482$64,943
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $78,000Between $47,000 And $89,000
Highest paying CitySacramento, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNorth DakotaNew Mexico
Best paying companyGerman International School New YorkApple
Best paying industryConstructionManufacturing

Differences between interior designer and project designer education

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

Interior DesignerProject Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorInterior DesignArchitecture
Most common collegeCornell UniversityCornell University

Interior designer vs project designer demographics

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

Interior DesignerProject Designer
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 21.0% Female, 79.0%Male, 66.5% Female, 33.5%
Race ratioBlack 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%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 Percentage23%23%

Differences between interior designer and project designer duties and responsibilities

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.
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Project designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead efforts to redesign and convert existing self-pace and instructor-le course materials into eLearning and web-base formats.
  • Provide 2D AutoCAD and 3D Sketchup drawings for client presentations.
  • Implement AIA layering standards and create file management standards for the office.
  • Calculate size of ductwork, hydronic piping, plumbing, and gas piping.
  • Time management, procedure, and field sketch expertise, must be absolute, and perfect.
  • Prepare and deliver construction documents using Revit and AutoCAD for each project on time and within budget.
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Interior designer vs project designer skills

Common interior designer skills
  • Revit, 12%
  • Space Planning, 8%
  • Sketch, 6%
  • Design Concepts, 6%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • FF, 5%
Common project designer skills
  • Revit, 17%
  • Sketch, 8%
  • Design Concepts, 5%
  • Auto CAD, 5%
  • SketchUp, 5%
  • Design Development, 4%

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