You’ve been charmed and have fallen…hook, line and sinker for Design! But, the practical soul that you are, you’ve also talked with family, friends, done a bit of research on your own, and have arrived at a conclusion…This is your calling and your passion. Well, congratulations! You’ve chosen well! But, considering how huge and varied this career is, it is now imperative that you take the next step very seriously. I’m talking about choosing a particular design course that resonates with your talent and aptitude.

Designers can be employed by manufacturing establishments, large corporations or design firms, both, in private and government domains. They can also go freelance or become entrepreneurs and start their own ventures. What course you choose now will be largely determined by what you ultimately want to do. This blog will support you in your decision-making by arming you with all the knowledge you need on the range of fields within the career of design and subsequently, what course you should enroll in at Trendz Academy. Here, I’ve outlined some of the fields in which designers are absorbed.

Fashion/Apparel Design
Fashion design deals with designing clothing. The process comprises of conceptualizing a theme, selecting a fabric and understanding the cuts, stitching, fit and drape. A fashion designing course is where you learn all about various fabrics, how to stitch them and how to communicate your concept thereby producing finished products.
This is the field for freelance design consultants, design managers, stylists, exhibition and visual display experts, forecasting and fashion trends forum organisers, costume designers, illustrators, pattern engineers and entrepreneurs. Getting through the basics of this course will help you tackle the nuances of this field, letting you find your specialisation at a later stage.

Textile Design
Textile Design is the creation of fabrics. It involves an in-depth study of spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, printing and finishing techniques. A course in textile designing opens up a wide range of careers in textile mills and export houses allowing you to also work with fashion designers, design studios, buying houses, handloom cooperatives and buying agencies as designers or fabric managers. You could also choose to work independently as a designer or an entrepreneur.

Knitwear Design
Knitwear Design is a more specific type of textile designing which deals with creating fabric through various methods of knitting. These can be hand knitting, weaving, computerised knitting et al. A course in knitwear designing will allow you to make a career as a knitwear designer, stylist, entrepreneur, design consultant, product developer, production manager, merchandiser, retail planner, business developer, forecaster, fashion writer or even an academician!

Communication/Graphic Design
Communication Design is a mosaic of various media designs used to communicate with an audience. This includes designing of posters, websites, logos, illustrations for advertisements, photography and much more.

Fashion Communication
Although this field is similar to communication design, it does give one an extra edge. A course in fashion communication does not only deal in aspects of communication design, but also exposes students to a sense of fashion and how to create it! Be informed…fashion journalism is a career that is gaining momentum even as you read this.

Animation Design
As the name suggests, this field is for those who live and breathe the creation of designs that bring alive movies, advertisements and the entertainment industry. A course in animation design deals with character development, design and storytelling. But, that’s not all. This is where you can also learn to design various forms of animation such as hand rendered art, computerised imagery or how to use 3D objects like puppets and figures. This course will empower you in the art of breathing life into a character. Highly paid professionals in this field are associated with design, drawing, layout and production of rich and attractive multimedia clips and the creation of characters for a variety of projects in movies, television and advertisements.

Multimedia Design
You would do well to know that most careers in the field of multimedia design require a bachelor’s degree in graphic design or fine arts with a specialisation in an appropriate medium like television, film, digital media or audio and video production. A course in multimedia design will give you applicable and practical coursework that will help you build a strong work portfolio that is priceless for this career. A graduate can look forward to work as a freelance multimedia designer, or be employed by various private and public institutions.

IT Integrated/ New Media Design
Designers in the field of digital media create images, effects and animation for film, video, computers and other multi-media outlets. Their work typically involves designing a visual presentation of information and entertainment using computer programs. A bachelor’s degree in computer graphics or another relevant field is generally required, and prospective employers want to see a solid portfolio of the candidate’s work. Many digital media designers are self-employed. A course in IT integrated and new media design will equip you to learn all necessary skills required to make your mark in this field along with building a meaningful portfolio!

Digital game design
Digital game designers work with a team, developing and designing video games. Game designers are an important part of a comprehensive team of designers and developers that coordinate and execute the complex task of creating a new video game. Much sought after, a game designer’s job involves designing characters, levels, puzzles, art and animation in a game. They may also write code, using various computer programming languages. Depending on their career obligations, they may also be responsible for project management tasks and testing early versions of video games. A digital game design course prepares you to handle all the requirements of this field helping you to create original designs.

Visual Communication Design
The field of visual communication design is all about the business of graphic design and multimedia concepts. The main goal of a visual communication design course is to create professionals in this sphere that have the capacity to develop a concept and design a platform or product for a specific target audience. The end result of that design must be both, something that informs and is informative.

Product Design
The field of product design combines art, design and technology to create products for practical use. A course in product designing will give you skills that equip you to combine all three aspects to create such products. This is where you can develop expertise that ranges from understanding how humans interact with products around them; understanding various materials and how they can be handled; recognising a problem that a product could solve; creating a prototype and then developing a final product after testing.

Accessory Design
This field needs no explanation. Like the name suggests, accessory design is all about learning how to work with various materials to make fashion that ranges from jewellery, footwear, bags to anything used to accessorise one’s look. A course in accessory design will show you how to build creativity and skills that are mandatory for a career in this field.

Interior Design
The field of Interior design is concerned with the arrangement of a living space – the organising, managing and planning of the interiors of rooms within homes, offices, retail spaces, showrooms, hotels, airports, exhibition halls, conference centers, theaters, television and film studios. A course in interior design is what you need if the above is your passion. As the field demands, this course will train you in all aspects of interior design including designing the exteriors of a space. It involves an understanding of the basics of architecture as well as the aesthetics of a space.

Automobile/ Transportation Design
Automobile designing is the process of designing the appearance and functionality of automobiles, including cars, trucks, vans, buses and even motorcycles. Consider this: the interior and exterior of every vehicle on the market today has been designed by an automobile designer. These designers who have a specialisation in this field are usually responsible for the color scheme of an automobile, along with the way the vehicle is shaped. Besides making a vehicle attractive, designers are also partly responsible for designing the shape of the car as well. A majority of automobile designers work in the concept and design departments of large automobile manufacturers. It goes without saying, a course in automobile and transportation design prepares you on all fronts for this challenging field.

Footwear Design
The field of footwear designing is a focused approach to fashion design and is one where the learning never stops. A course that trains you for this fluid and ever changing field, ensures a career where you as a professional would be responsible for conceptualising, creating and showcasing shoe designs for a variety of markets. Many footwear designers specialise even further, designing shoes for particular ages, genders, careers or environments…footwear for senior citizens, women, nurses, and rock-climbing are just a few examples. Full-time footwear designer jobs can be found with corporate shoe retailers and boutique footwear design companies. But, most footwear designers pursue freelance work or entrepreneurial ventures.

Jewellery Design
The intricate and precision-demanding field of jewellery designing is highly niche. Jewellery designers work with precious metals, diamonds, beads and gemstones to create wearable pieces of art. One-of-a-kind pieces are created for high-end jewelers or an entire line for a mass-market fashion designer! Designers may also choose to sell their jewellery themselves. A course in jewellery designing is what you need for the necessary expertise in creating jewellery sometimes entirely by hand. Training that lets you begin the design process by using computer-aided design (CAD) software, is also given. As with many artists, jewellery designers are often freelance workers and must continually seek assignments or customers in a competitive market.

Strategic Design Management
Design management is the process of cohesively connecting all aspects involved in the design process, including design, development, marketing and technology, while also staying focused on the needs of the client. Design management professionals can work in various industries including advertising and marketing, architecture, graphic design or motion pictures. A course in strategic design management will groom you in finding your place in this highly competitive and mentally demanding field. Entry-level design management professionals can work as marketing assistants, production assistants and project management assistants. More experienced design management professionals can seek employment as brand strategists, advertising executives, product developers, project managers, marketing managers and business directors.

Fashion Merchandising
Fashion merchandising is a rather broad term that can be used to describe the business and trading aspect of the fashion industry. This field requires professionals with an eye for style and a head for business. A training course in this field is what you will need to do if you’re looking at a robust fashion merchandising career. As the name suggests, this field involves buying, pricing, marketing, displaying and selling certain types of garments and accessories.

Retail Management
This is the field for those interested in trendsetting! Both, retail managers and purchasing managers ring in new trends in apparel and accessories that consumers are always on the lookout for. A training programme in retail management usually covers the historical and cultural considerations of fashion…a very important chunk of study in this field. It also provides students with necessary technical knowledge useful in creating fabrics and garments. Contemporary trends in the industry and the development of the visual design skills needed to promote fashion products are emphasised.

Fine Arts
Fine arts is a field where personal visions are expressed through art. Artists or Artistes may express their creativity through personal creations such as paintings, drawings or crafts. Depending on their skills and abilities, that are fine-tuned through a range of training classes, fine arts majors may choose from a wide variety of career options. Such artists typically work on their creations while holding another job. But, some opportunities may lead to a full-time career.