With the world pulled together closer by the internet, it’s easier to access superior quality education in your desired field of study at the tap of a screen.
Interior Design is a rising career where science meets art. It’s a fascinating field where you learn to change the look of any space.
We’ve made a list of 10 resources where you can access quality interior design courses depending on what you need – a taste of the subject or the push your resume needs.
1. Coursera
Coursera hosts a number of courses in interior design. While not all of them are free, the platform has a number of free essential design courses like 3D CAD Fundamental, The Language of Design, Roman Architecture and so on.
- Pros: These are conducted by professional instructors from reputed universities like Yale University, National Taiwan University and California Institute of the Arts.
- Cons: You need a Google or Facebook Account to sign in and access all the content or make a Coursera account.
2. MIT OpenCourseWare
Even when materials are available for free, most platforms ask you to register using your email or Google account, which can be a hassle and lead to questions of privacy.
The Principles of Design course at MIT OpenCourseWare contains free course materials covering the entire curriculum as taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Pros: There is literally no hassle of registration or signing up. You can complete the course at your own pace, read at your leisure, reducing the barriers of access to knowledge.
- Cons: No certification or proof of having completed the course.
--> Also read: Top 10 Interior Designers in India: All You Need To Know
3. Aditya Centre of Excellence (ACE)
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Comparing free online options and other certification courses in Interior Design, Free courses do not offer on-demand tutor and only give you a taste of the subject.
The NSDC certified Interior Design Home Space course at Aditya Centre of Excellence (ACE) is uniquely designed. The in-depth program at ACE offers full-time instruction and a tutor you can depend on for clearing queries – you are not on your own.
It gives you the best of both worlds, preparing you to take over the responsibilities and role of an Interior Designer.
- Pros: It helps students get the benefit of the hybrid mode i.e., online and offline modes of instruction.
- Cons: Course is not free, ensuring good quality of course material.
4. Oxford Home Study Centre
This platform provides free lessons in four major interior design fields:
- Room by Room Designing
- Interior Design
- Diploma in Interior Design
- Certificate in Interior Design
- Pros: It is an extensive course that has no entry requirements. Anyone can enroll.
- Cons: Upon completion, the CPD Accredited certificate is issued for a small fee.
5. The Design Cure Academy
Photoshop Launch is an essential course for budding interior designers that familiarizes them with the most important aspects of Photoshop.
- Pros: Interior designers don’t need to learn everything about Photoshop which is why this course is tailored to meet their specific needs in the industry.
- Cons: It can only be accessed with a 30-day Free Trial after which you need to pay for the lessons.
6. Alison
Alison provides a Diploma in Interior Design course on its platform that “suits anyone who wants to make rooms beautiful”.
- Pros: The course is an extensive exploration of Interior Design and trains its students to professionally decorate building interiors.
- Cons: While the course is absolutely free of cost, Alison collects a nominal fee for accessing the official diploma certificate.
7. YouTube
Believe it or not, YouTube houses a wide range of instructional videos on sketching like a professional designer.
YouTube generally receives a lot of bad reputation for having low quality content, but we discovered a bunch of Youtuber gems who post videos on drawing tutorials.
- Pros: Candy Brush, Jescia Hopper and BudisArch are Youtubers who upload drawing tutorials, which are extremely useful if you have an eye for design.
- Cons: It is difficult to sort through the poor value videos to discover quality ones.
--> Also read: 5 Major Interior Design Careers: Scope, Job Roles, Salaries
8. HowCast
Howcast is an amazing resource to learn new skills. The platform has a short Interior Design Basics tutorial with simple home decorating tips.
Interior designer Blanche Garcia, from the reality show “Hotel Impossible” gives important tips on home improvement and décor in this video series.
- Pros: The biggest benefit of such tutorial videos is that the knowledge comes from an experienced professional who has worked in the industry for long.
- Cons: No certification; it is only a guide for anyone interested in Interior Design.
9. SWAYAM
Free online education is the goal of Swayam, a programme initiated by the Government of India.The platform hosts a number of free lectures and courses on various disciplines and Design is one of them.
You can find courses on Understanding Design and CAD (Computer Aided Design) on the platform.
- Pros: The courses are taught by professors from reputed Indian universities including IIT Bombay and IGNOU.
- Cons: Very few Design-related courses available. Students need to pay a fee to attempt the examination and grade card.
10. Home Design Institute (HDI)
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Home Design Institute, Paris offers a free course in Interior Design Fundamentals with the benefits of real time online learning.
This course teaches you the history and theory of interior design, colour schemes etc. This can help you kickstart plans to start a career in interior designer.
- Pros: It’s a purely online mode of teaching, and works out for anyone who wants to get started with the basics of Interior Design.
- Cons: With 5 sessions spread over a month, the course duration is extremely short.
11. Better Homes and Gardens (#BONUS)
If you’re looking for ideas to decorate your own home space with a tinge of self-learning, the Do-It-Yourself guides and ideas on the website are a treasure-trove of knowledge.
It provides a wide variety of write-ups on storage solutions, traditional decorating, small-space decorating and so on.
- Pros: Any creative mind can put to use this free to use and easily accessible arena of information.
- Cons: The content is mostly DIY guides which the users need to utilise themselves.
Aditya Centre of Excellence (ACE)
The NSDC certified Interior Design Home Space course at Aditya Centre of Excellence (ACE) is uniquely designed.
The in-depth program at ACE offers full-time instruction and a tutor you can depend on for clearing queries – you are not on your own.
- With a hybrid mode of teaching i.e., online and offline, it gives you the best of both worlds, preparing you to take over the responsibilities and role of an Interior Designer.
- The intensive course structure covers all the major dimensions of Interior Design Home Space, in a span of 9 months.
- The residential Interior Project and Dissertation prepares you for taking up real projects outside the academic space.
