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Furniture designer and CAD technician: David

This Case Study belongs to Furniture designer.

After graduating with a BA in Furniture Design and Craftsmanship, I spent three years gaining practical experience in furniture making. I wanted to attain a certain level of furniture-making skills and knowledge as a precursor to moving towards a design and project management related role in the furniture and interiors industry. During my degree I gained a practical understanding of traditional and modern furniture-making techniques, a knowledge of how to present work using CAD and by sketches, and skills in project management with the emphasis on working to deadlines.

I'm now working as a furniture designer and CAD technician and in this role it is important to:

• have good time management skills;
• have an understanding of the aims of your employer’s company;
• understand the client’s expectations;
• have good CAD knowledge;
• have clear communication skills;
• be able to manage more than two projects at the same time and to have a good tracking system.

In my current role, I report to the design director with whom I liaise for new work. I'm involved in taking briefings from clients on their requirements and conducting site surveys of the client’s home. Following on from this, I work with the design director on the initial design concepts, which he will ultimately approve. Further to this, a schedule is set and it's then my job to do the working drawings, deal with suppliers and subcontractors and track the project until it's delivered on time to the client’s home. As my career is progressing, I'm given more project-based responsibilities and I'm intending to develop my career to a project manager position.

I enjoy the variety of the work although it's mainly office based, but I do go on visits to clients’ homes and to the fabricators. The less enjoyable parts of the job are when projects don't go to plan and then having to manage the situation bearing the client in mind. An important tip I'd give to prospective furniture designers is to have a good cross check system in place.

My advice to graduates looking to work in this field is that it's important to be a good listener, have a good eye for detail, be prepared to put in the extra effort in the beginning and be passionate about what you do!

Case Study sourced by Rita Kapadia of AGCAS, 12 January 2009.