How to be good fashion designer?

In recent years fashion designing has gained a lot of name and fame. Today, fashion designing is one of the topmost and highly pursued courses. Fashion designing is one of those courses that are pursued out of passion and hobbies and can also lead to a profitable and prosperous career. The fashion industry has expanded dramatically in the past few years. Therefore, if we go by numbers, it is evident that a career in fashion designing can open up a plethora of opportunities.

There are many designing colleges in Pune that offer amazing designing courses to the students. In order to become a fashion designer, one should consider pursuing a bachelor's degree in design. Fashion design graduates are not only hired by renowned fashion designers but also retail outlets. The salary earned by a fashion designer depends upon the company they’re working in and experience. But on an average, a fashion designer earns about 3 Lakhs per annum. However, becoming a fashion designer is no cake walk. To be a good fashion designer one should possess the following skills -

●      HIGH ON CREATIVITY AND ARTISTIC SKILLS- If you want to make a mark into the fashion world, you need to have a great sense of art and creativity. Imagination is necessarily required to convert the ideas into products. A fashion designer has the ability to convert a raw material into a masterpiece of art. A person can pursue design only if he has the caliber to create ideas and put them into execution with inherent skills.

●      BRILLIANT DRAWING SKILLS- To start the design production process, a fashion designer needs to sketch raw ideas on to paper. For this task, you need to have exceptional drawing skills. Without drawing skills, it will become too difficult for a fashion designer to vent out his ideas. If you’re lacking in this particular area, you can take up classes and learn sketching.

●      FINE EYE FOR DETAIL- Fashion designers need to have brilliant eyes and observing power apart from their creativity skills. The ability to notice and observe even the finest details of a cloth is required for a fashion designer to become successful. It is necessary to look into all the minute embroidery and richute. All great fashion designers have the talent of making out even the smallest intricacies.

●      EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS- To design anything, you need to have a team and collaboration with colleagues. Nobody can work alone on a single project. There has to be effective communication and teamwork within the team. A fashion designer requires leadership quality to explain the work to the subordinates and work with them in harmony. A fashion designer needs to have a keen sense of professionalism. In fact, great communication skills are also required to draw more and better clients.

●      BUSINESS ACUMEN- Good fashion designers need to have sharp business sense. To survive in the fashion world, fashion designers need to have a deep understanding of business and it’s areas like finance, sales and marketing. To sustain a fashion brand, not only creativity is required but also and more importantly, a keen sense of the business world.

●      INTEREST IN EVERGREEN TRENDS AND DYNAMISM- Fashion trends change from time to time. So it is essentially important for the fashion designers to remain updated with the new trends. Nobody wants to wear outfits that are outdated. Everybody runs behind the new trends.

If you feel that you lack the skills to be a good fashion designer, there is no need to get disheartened. Just enroll yourself into great fashion designing colleges and within no time you will be able to grasp all the necessary skills required to be a successful fashion designer.

What can you do with a Bachelor of Design Degree?

Bachelor of design is a four-year full-time undergraduate course offering specializations like product design, fashion design, industrial design, textile design, communication, etc. The eligibility of B. Design is the completion of class XII with 50% in any stream or diploma of design. This course is best suited for people interested in transforming their creativity and imagination into designs. There are plenty of industrial design courses in India that offer attractive career opportunities in India. A B.design degree provides the opportunity to work in various sectors.

MAJOR CAREER OPTIONS AFTER BACHELOR OF DESIGN -

●  INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER - An industrial designer creates products and systems that improve the function, value, and appearance in factories or houses. Industrial designers aim at satisfying the customers to the maximum. They sketch the product's design, keeping in mind the ergonomics, usability, marketing, and economic viability of the product.

●   GRAPHIC DESIGNER - Graphic design is the craft of creating visual content for communication. Logos and product packages are some examples of graphic design. The primary aim of a graphic designer is to create content that catches people's attention and become easily recognizable.

●   INTERIOR DESIGNER - This field deals with designing interiors for houses, offices, hotels, schools, etc. An interior designer designs the setting for furniture, floor, lighting, color schemes, etc. keeping in mind the finances required for the designing. This job is one of the most lucrative jobs in today's world.

●  FASHION DESIGNER - A fashion designer has expertise in textile and clothing materials. It is the art of creating clothes and accessories through fabrics, styles, patterns, colors, and trends.

●     JEWELRY DESIGNER - Jewellery designers work with precious metals, diamonds, beads, gemstones to create artistic jewelry. There are plenty of recruiting companies that look for designers. Jewelry designers can also start their own business or freelance.

A bachelor's degree in design can open possibilities to work in numerous industries like media, public relations, education, business, and communication. There are so many communication design courses in India that provide a vast scope to the amateur designers. This degree requires the alignment of design knowledge and skills for innovative creations, and it's development.

How to choose a Design College

An in-depth study in design has recently come up as a popular choice among students pursuing higher education. The design industry has changed vastly over the last few years and offers several rewarding opportunities for those who aim to pursue a career in it. Several colleges have started offering fashion designing courses in Pune and other cities along with other disciplines. This variety has made it harder for students to choose a college to pursue their studies. Here some things you should ensure while selecting a design college for your higher studies:

1. Courses offered: While selecting a college, it is essential to keep in mind the curriculum offered at the college. You must also consider the specializations that are provided by the college and the course structure. Design colleges offer various courses in fashion design, product design, industrial design, interior design, and many other specializations. So make sure that the college you choose has the course you wish to pursue. Go through the course structure so that you will get an idea of what your academic year will look like if you choose that college.

2. Industry Exposure: In an industry like design which is a creative field, students must have a good portfolio and some industry experience before they enter the professional world. Before you take admission into any college, make sure that they offer enough exposure to students through activities such as seminars, expert interactions, and industry integrated projects. Colleges that provide a chance to take up internships are even better since students will get real working experience. This helps them in not only upgrading their resume but also gaining new skills and enhancing their abilities.

3. Facilities offered: Another aspect you should consider while choosing a design school is the infrastructural facilities that they offer. Design is a hands-on field and requires studios and other industry-level infrastructure for optimum learning, so ensure that the school provides all the needed facilities before you take admission.

4. Alumni: Finding out about the alumni of the school will help you understand the scope of opportunities that the students in a particular college get. It will also give you an idea of the career path followed by the alumni of a specific institution and the role of the institute in shaping their careers. So make sure you look into the alumni of a college before making your final decision.

Choosing a college is an important and difficult task as it decides the future path of your career. You could be tempted to go for the most reputed industrial design courses or fashion designing, but ensure that you look into all the aspects before making a final choice. As long as you keep your best interest at heart, you will be able to find the right college for you.

Tips on how to get into a Design College

Design Colleges in Pune will be starting with their admissions soon, which means for all those who want to pursue designing, this is your chance. Designing has now become one of the mainstream careers and a popular choice among students. However, since not many people have pursued this before, students are confused regarding the requirements, courses available, and how to get into a design college. Here are a few tips that you can keep in mind to facilitate your admission procedure:

1. Build your portfolio: Right from when you decide that you want to pursue designing, make sure that you file all your artwork in a structured manner in your portfolio. This will create a compilation of your work and also help you enhance your skills through practice. A portfolio is a reflection of your artistic abilities and interest in the field, which the interviewing panel will undoubtedly be looking for. So make sure that you put the best of your work in your portfolio as it will create a good impression.

2. Brush up on the basics: Most colleges have a studio test for students before admissions. In this test, they might ask you to make a few sketches on the spot or gives you assignments to test your time management skills. To be well prepared for this, it is recommended for you to brush up on the basics before your exam so that you can attempt it without any difficulty and are also able to answer all the questions that they might ask in the interview.

3. Know your goals: As someone who wants to get into a design college, you should have a clear idea of your goals and ambitions that you wish to achieve. Since this is an artistic field, it is very easy to get distracted or follow someone else’s style of work and lose your original touch. So, when attempting admission tests and studio tests for the colleges, stay true to your style and focused on your goals.

The admission to several fashion communication colleges is also conducted through a variety of written exams and studio tests, interviews. So make sure you are prepared beforehand. There are several specializations that you can choose from in designing so make sure that you choose a course that best aligns with your interest.

Job Opportunities after a Degree in Designing

Pursuing a creative field like a career in designing can be a challenging task since it is not a mainstream career option. Society has always perceived such artistic fields as hobbies rather than full-time jobs. However, along with the advancement of other fields, this field too has regenerated itself and has a growing popularity among students these days. However, a majority of students who are interested in a creative career, still do not have much clue about the industry and the types of career paths that they can choose. So here are a few types of design jobs that one can pursue:

1. Graphic Designer: This is one of the most common and high demand jobs in the industry. A graphic designer works with software like the Adobe Suite. The work of a graphic designer involves creating advertising, marketing, and brand-related illustrations. One has to be tech-savvy and have good artistic skills and a sense of colour as well to be a graphic designer. Graphic designers are hired in all kinds of companies, including software companies and advertising firms.

2. Interior Designer: These professionals work with interior spaces to meet the needs of their clients and make the places more functional, aesthetic and sustainable. Interior designers have always been in demand and often work closely with civil engineers and architects. These designers need to have excellent spatial skills and should be good at sketching as well. Proficiency in software such as CAD is also needed. Interior designers can be hired in firms or by clients for different projects.

3. Product Designer: Every product that we humans use in our daily life has been meticulously designed by someone in the industry. Product designers are employed in every industry and enjoy a very good salary as well. Professionals in this field need to have good drawing skills, colour perception, imaginative and original designs and at the same time, be able to create designs that have optimum functionality and minimal production cost. It is a very challenging yet rewarding job that you can choose to pursue.

4. UX Designer: An UX designer (aka User experience designer) works in the field of designing websites, mobile applications, and other software. The main task for a UX designer is to ensure that the design is aesthetic, easy to navigate and intuitive for users to interact with. They need to be skilled technologically as well as artistically. As per industry standards, UX designers have the highest average salary of $96,505 in the U.S among all the designing careers.

For students who wish to pursue a career in this field, many colleges offer Industrial Design Courses in India along with other courses in designing as well. Even though it is still an upcoming field, there are several opportunities for students to pursue a lucrative career in this field.