The differences between an interior decorator and an interior designer may seem inconsequential, but there are actually many things that set these two careers apart. People who work as professional interior designers typically have more education, typically in the form of a bachelor’s degree from a four-year university. Some designers also extend their education and complete a graduate degree in a design specialization, which makes them more desirable to future employers and clients. Interior decorators may also receive training and education in their chosen field, but usually it is either from a community college or online distance learning institution. This difference is just the beginning, though.

The essence of an interior design career is more than just creating the outward appearance of a room, building or space. Interior designers often have experience with architecture and understand how to pull elements from the building itself into the room and implement the other items that are arranged throughout the design space. They can handle everything from choosing and arranging the furniture to configuring the lighting to dressing the windows and doors, or even choosing where the windows and doors will go in the case of new construction. Interior designers may also change the current structure of the architecture if it fits with their design plans.

Interior decorators are more concerned with the outward, aesthetic appearance of a room, building or space. They may choose the furniture, paint colors, wallpaper, flooring, cabinetry, tiles, linens, window treatments, artwork and accessories that are placed in a room. They are experts at picking out and arranging things to achieve a desired look. Interior decorators may be hired by individuals to decorate a room or an entire home, or they may work for corporations, small businesses and/or nonprofit organizations that need help decorating their offices or retail space.

While interior decorators usually work with all types of homes and businesses doing all sorts of decorating, interior designers typically have a specialty such as commercial spaces, offices, art galleries, private homes or building exteriors. These two professions also have a lot in common, though, and it’s not uncommon to find designers and decorators working hand in hand.

Institutions offering quality Interior Design Programs include Academy of Art University, International Academy of Design & Technology, The Art Institute, The Institute of Interior Design at SW Florida College and Harrington College of Design.

Find the perfect Interior Design School or Interior Design College today and start your path to a rewarding career.

There is great debate over who the most influential photographers in history are. Although in terms of art, photography is still a relatively new art form, there have already been enough photographic masters to fill volumes in the last two centuries. That being said, there are a few photographers who stand out as the most influential. Here is a list of some of the most influential photographers in history:

• William Henry Fox Talbot: Mr. Talbot was one of the first masters in the field, having published his first account of photography in 1839. Talbot greatly influenced those who came after him with his book, The Pencil of Nature.
• Matthew B. Brady: Born in 1822, Brady was a pioneer of photography who recorded many of the most well known images of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.
• Alfred Stieglitz: In the 1890s Stieglitz became active in the camera club movement and edited Camera Notes and later Camera Work, publishing photo-gravure plates. His greatest achievements were promoting photography so it was recognized as a fine art.
• Ansel Adams: This famous photographer is best known for his black and white pictures of the great outdoors in the western United States in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly of Yosemite National Park and the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Margaret Bourke-White: She never let danger get in the way of her art. Bourke-White’s most influential photos include scenes of breadlines during the Great Depression, concentration camp survivors of World War II, Gandhi just a few hours before he was assassinated and many more.
• Diane Arbus: This famous female photographer of the 1960s and 1970s was passionate about revealing the darker sides of society through her work. Her subjects included midgets, tattooed men, circus freaks and other individuals considered out of the mainstream.
• Annie Leibovitz: An American photographer known for her work in the entertainment industry, Ms. Leibovitz has been producing provocative and well-known photographs in magazines such as Rolling Stone, Time and Vanity Fair for decades.
• John Shaw: He’s shot photos all over the world for Audubon, National Geographic, National Wildlife, Nature’s Best, Outdoor Photographer and many other publications from the late 20^th century until the present.

Institutions offering quality Photography Programs include Academy of Art University, International Academy of Design & Technology, The Art Institute, Nossi College of Art and Harrington College of Design.

Find the perfect Photography School or Photography College today and start your path to a rewarding career.

Wondering how to become an art restorer? Perhaps you have a love of antiques, a passion for artwork or a perfectionists’ personality that drives your desire to make everything look as fresh, clean and beautiful as the day it was created. An art restorer is someone who specializes in the professional cleaning, repair and restoration of paintings, sculptures and various antiques that have been damaged or devalued through aging. It isn’t exactly an easy profession to go into but for someone who is passionate about art, it is a worthwhile endeavor.

The degrees needed to become an art restorer vary, as each restoration business has different requirements, and many art restorers also go into business for themselves. The most common degrees required for art restoration jobs are Bachelor of Art degrees in art history, fine art and/or studio art. If you’re serious about this job and want to impress future employers with your skills, you may also want to think about earning a master’s degree in fine art conservation with specialization in a particular field that interests you.

If you want to go into antique or art restoration, you may find employment with antique dealers, art conservatories, art galleries, museums or restoration companies. Your job duties will include examining and cleaning works of art, doing research on them, deciding what repairs need to be made, if any, and using the resources you have available to make those repairs. Museums are the most prestigious places to work, but these job positions are the most sought after and hardest to get, so you might not be able to find a museum job right away. If you do, though, you can make as much as $100 an hour based on experience. Entry level positions with galleries, conservatories, dealerships and restorations companies may only start at $15 an hour, but salaries in this field increase based on experience and merit.

As an art restorer, you may have other career options such as giving lectures on art restoration at conferences or teaching college courses based on your specialty if you have earned a master’s degree or PhD.

Find the perfect Art and Design School or Art and Design College today and start your path to a rewarding career.

Are you dying to find out how to become a fashion designer? Want to become the next Giorgio Armani or Coco Channel? Well, you’d better get started now, and you’d better know people – the chances that you’ll reach the levels of success that those famous names did are slim to none. The good news is that if you have talent and are willing to work hard, you can have a fashion career that gives you a comfortable and fulfilling life, even if you don’t become a household name.

The first step to becoming a fashion designer is to assess your abilities. You must be able to sketch and sew, and you must have an eye for colors, patterns, designs and details. You’ll also need an inner drive and a strong will to succeed even when things look bleak and people are critical of your work, because the competition is fierce in this industry. If you still think you have what it takes, the next step is to get at least a two-year degree in fashion design, if not a bachelor’s degree. Business courses will be very helpful in addition to the designing and design-software courses because they will teach you how to market yourself and get ahead. Internships are also very helpful for you to gain experience.

Make sure to keep all your sketches and take photographs of your completed work to put together a portfolio. Once you’re done with school, training programs and/or internships, then you can begin showing the world how creative you are by applying for jobs with fashion houses, and you can begin marketing your own creations to local shops with your portfolio in hand. If you completed an internship, you may also be able to get hired on as an employee when your internship is completed. If anything, use your internship as a place to make connections—this is what you need more than anything to get ahead as a fashion designer.

The median expected salary for fashion designers is just under $50,000, but if you are one of the lucky ones you can make millions. It is important to be realistic, however, because there are only so many Versaces in the world.

Institutions offering quality Fashion Design and Merchandising Programs include Academy of Art University, International Academy of Design & Technology, The Art Institute, Berkeley College and Fashion Careers College.

Find the perfect Fashion Design School or Fashion Design College today and start your path to a rewarding career.

The following list of the top 10 qualities of a great designer can be very helpful for anyone considering going into the deign industry. These are the qualities that are needed to create beautiful designs and please clients, whatever type of design you go into. If you don’t have these qualities, you should consider either working to cultivate them or consider choosing a different career. From hands-on fashion design to virtual design on the Web, these are the top 10 qualities of a great designer.

1. Artistic Skills: Anyone interested in going into a design career should have some innate artistic ability that enables them to learn the latest techniques and please clients.
2. Artistic Vision: This is perhaps the most important of the top ten qualities of a great designer. You have to be able to visualize the end result and achieve it.
3. Communication Abilities: As a designer you must be able to communicate with clients and colleagues to understand what needs to be done to create what the client wants.
4. Creative Side: Designers must have a creative side to come up with new ideas for projects, drawing inspiration from different sources and using different methods.
5. Eye for Color and Texture: Whether you’re working with interiors, clothing or Web sites, you must have an eye for color and texture to choose shades and materials for your work.
6. Modesty: Great designers are also humble, able to accept criticism and ready to give clients what they want even when it differs from their own personal taste.
7. Problem Solving Skills: You will have to put out fires and solve problems on the fly as a designer, and it helps if you can remain cool, calm and collected.
8. Technical Ability: Technical skills are a must for any designer. You’ve got to be able to use the latest computer programs and tools to get the job done.
9. Understanding of Your Audience: You must be able to read your audience and customize your work to meet their wants and needs.

10.  Work Well With Others: It’s important to be a team player as a designer, as you will often be working with other designers and professionals on projects.

Find the perfect Art and Design School or Design College today and start your path to a rewarding career.

There are many tools and programs used by animation majors. It is necessary to have the right tools to complete all the assignments and move forward with your career, especially if you plan on doing freelance work rather than working in an office. With the right tools and software programs, animation majors can learn how to create virtually any animated world imaginable. But without the right tools it’s virtually impossible.

Most animators obtain all the tools that an illustrator would use for their work, including all the professional pencils, pens, paints and paper that are needed to create drawings. This is because animators often create sketches before making their vision come to life using 2D and 3D animation software. The most important tools and programs used by animation majors, though, are related to the actual creation of computer generated animation. Every software program has its own specialized focus for particular features of animation, and as students advance through their courses and their careers they may also advance to higher levels of software.

When animation students begin learning the basics, they typically start out with Macromedia Flash, which is meant for cartooning and creating Web pages. Another popular animation software package is 3D Studio Max, which is commonly used for creating video games. Such well-known games as Grand Theft Auto 3 and Metal Gear Solid 2 were created using this software. As students advance in their training, they may begin using software programs like Maya, which is a more sophisticated program used to create 3D graphics and complicated models. This type of software takes a while to master but once you’ve got it down you can create some truly amazing moving images. A good computer with a large screen and various animation features is also necessary for any animation major.

The tools and programs used by animation majors are always changing as technology improves and new products hit the market. It is necessary to stay on top of trends in the tools and software programs in order to get the best training and have a successful career in this constantly evolving industry.

Institutions offering quality Animation Programs include Anthem Institute, Academy of Art University, International Academy of Design & Technology, The Art Institute, The Career Interior of American International College and Westwood College.

Find the perfect Art and Design School or Animation College today and start your path to a rewarding career.

Web design jobs are extremely important in today’s economy because so much business is done online, and organizations need to have well designed Web sites to get their message across. This job is certainly in demand, and there are many career options for those who have the skills and experience in Web design. As long as people are doing business and spreading information via the Internet, Web design jobs will be crucial to our global marketplace.

Most people want to know about the salary potential when they consider Web design jobs, but there are different factors that will influence your earnings in this profession. The average salary range for a Web designer is between $35,000 and $65,000, but it all depends on your skills and experience. If you’re interested in this career, you’re also probably wondering about the degrees needed, which also ties into the salary. It’s a good idea to get a degree in art or design from an accredited institution. This way you can prove that you have the computer skills and the art aesthetics needed to do the job well.

In order to qualify for Web design jobs, you must have knowledge of technologies such as HTML, PHP, SQL, Dreamweaver, Flash and Photoshop among others. And then you need to get some experience. Most Web designers complete internships for several months, either while in the last year of college or directly after college, to get some experience and hopefully land a paying job. Many other Web designers prefer working freelance, although a great number of independent contractors in this field got experience working with a firm before they went off on their own. It is necessary to build up a portfolio before you can expect people to trust you with their Web site.

Web design jobs are crucial to our society because they help create the Web sites that promote commerce and provide information to the masses. Just like brick and mortar business owners need sign painters and advertisers to make their businesses look sharp, Web site owners need designers to give them the best functioning and looking site possible.

Institutions offering quality Web Design Programs include Academy of Art University, International Academy of Design & Technology, The Art Institutes, DeVry University, ITT Technical Institute and ECPI College of Technology.

Find the perfect Art and Design School or Web Design College today and start your path to a rewarding career.

Photography jobs are perfect for creative people who have artistic vision and the skills to see it through. There are many different career options for photographers ranging from freelance artists to wedding photographers to portrait studio associates and beyond. You may photograph people or you may photograph nature, or even gritty urban settings for an artistic piece. The career information and degrees needed for the job will depend on what kind of photography you want to pursue and whether you want to work for yourself or for someone else. 

The salary is an important consideration for those looking into photography jobs. Many freelance photographers start out doing photography work on the side since it is very competitive, and the jobs can be plentiful in some seasons and scarce in others. Photographers can earn anywhere from $15,000 a year while doing it on the side as a beginner to $50,000+ a year once you have built a solid clientele. It will also depend on the type of photography—there is a greater demand for wedding photographers than many others, for example. Fine art photographers have the most unpredictable salary because it all depends on whether other people want to buy your work.

Most photographers go to some sort of formal photography training program, but it doesn’t have to be a four-year university. There are many art and design schools as well as community college programs that can prepare you for photography jobs. The degrees needed are not nearly as important as the equipment needed, as you can’t do the job without the right tools. The various cameras, lenses, lighting equipment and accessories that are necessary to take beautiful and artistic photos with different types of effects can get very expensive.

Photography jobs are not for everyone. You need to have the creative spirit and technical ability earned either through school or self-training, and you need all the right equipment. You also need to have a competitive spirit and a sense of perseverance in order to continue on when things get discouraging. If you have these traits, this could be the ideal creative career for you. 

Institutions offering quality Photography Programs include Academy of Art University, International Academy of Design & Technology, The Art Institute, Ohio Institute of Photography and Technology and Harrington College of Design.

Find the perfect Art and Design School or Photography College today and start your path to a rewarding career.

If you’re going to work as an interior designer, you’ll need the right interior design tools to do the job. Even amateur interior designers and students must have the right tools if they are going to get the job done right every time and continue advancing their skills. Since the interior design tools of the trade are so important, most designers have dedicated tool kits where they can store everything they’ll ever need in one convenient and easy to locate place. 

One of the first tools that sets an interior designer apart is the use of a color wheel. Used in every stage of interior design, it helps designers make decisions about paint, flooring, wallpaper, window treatments, furniture and other accessories. Next, you will need graph paper, pencils, pens, rulers, a protractor, measuring tape, a t-square and a yard stick to make sure you have the right edges, dimensions and measurements and to plan an interior design job correctly.

Push pins and thumb tacks are important interior design tools for the creative planning components of the process. When you want to hang things on the wall you will also need picture wire, plastic anchors and cup hooks, as well as pins and needles. And when you want to cut fabric you will need some professional grade scissors with tempered blades.

Chances are you will also need some tougher cutting tools than scissors during some of your interior design jobs, including a box cutter and utility knife to open supplies or to deal with lightweight objects, plus a handsaw for working with wood and tougher fabrics like carpet. Some scraping and cleaning tasks may require a single-edged razor as well.

A professional glue gun is one of the most important interior design tools that you will use again and again, and extra glue sticks are a must. Rubber bands, plastic ties and sewing needles with thread may also be practical when you need to attach things together. And for tougher tasks, c-clamps, hammers, pliers and screwdrivers may be required. Paint brushes and rollers are also required, so don’t forget about those.

These are the basic interior design tools you will need on a daily basis. As the job requires, you will also need to purchase fabrics, carpets, paints, stencils, picture frames, decorative pieces and much more. 

Institutions offering quality Interior Design Programs include Academy of Art University, International Academy of Design & Technology, The Art Institute, The Institute of Interior Design at SW Florida College and Harrington College of Design.

Find the perfect Art and Design School or Interior Design College today and start your path to a rewarding career.

The web design tools that students must learn to use are much different from the tools used by students of other majors in the areas of fine arts, humanities, sciences and other traditional subjects. The best web design tools and programs used for web design majors are the same necessary tools that these students will likely use once they finish school and begin their careers in this promising field. Software programs such as Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Illustrator, Coffee Cup, Smart FTP, Ultra Edit and Web Editor are a few of the basic tools all web editors need to know about.

The latest version of Adobe Dreamweaver is a necessity for any web designer. If you are going to create shopping carts, drop-down menus, integrated multimedia and real-time interactive database features, you will need to know this program. This program is considered one of the best web design tools because it offers strong support for cascading style sheets (CSS) and all of the major scripting languages that are in use today. Adobe Illustrator is another important program, which offers the most cutting edge color tools, drawing tools and text controls with a host of user-friendly features.

Coffee Cup is one of the better basic web design tools for home users and small business owners, and it is a great place for students to start learning. It is often used for creating simple yet stylish ecommerce sites, which most web editors will probably create many of in their lifetime. SmartFTP is one of the leading web design tools that allows users to transfer files between their computer and an online server, which students and professionals need to have. As far as text editing goes, UltraEdit Text Editor is one of the best tools around. Whether you’re working with text, HTML and HEX or editing Java, JavaScript, Pearl and PHP, you will need this program. You may also find the latest Web Studio program useful during your studies and your career. This program is used for producing professional looking pages in very short periods of time.

These are considered some of the best web design tools around. If you’re studying web design, you’ll need to understand and use these tools.

Institutions offering quality Web Design Programs Academy of Art University, International Academy of Design & Technology, The Art Institute, Strayer University and Devry University

Find the perfect Art and Design School or Web Design College today and start your path to a rewarding career.