In addition to decorating the furnishings, an interior designer plans and creates the overall design and functionality of indoor spaces ranging from a single room to an entire building complex. Interior designers must be creative, imaginative, visually oriented, good listeners with an eye for detail. They must stay current with quickly changing trends in design.

Three out of 10 designers are self-employed--almost 5 times the proportion for all professional and related occupations. Creativity is crucial in all design occupations; most designers need a bachelor´s degree, and candidates with a master´s degree hold an advantage. Keen competition is expected for most jobs, despite projected faster-than-average employment growth, because many talented individuals are attracted to careers as designers.
(Source: U.S. Department of Labor)

Housing business to open studio
The city´s booming housing market has landed another commercial user. California-based KB Homes has taken out leases totaling more than 5,600 square feet at two locations. The leases were negotiated by Danette Potochick of Coldwell Banker Commercial.

Soothing fountains bubble upward
Christy Best loves the sound of falling water -- especially when she is trying to sleep.

Feng shui credited with promoting balance, harmony
Feng shui, an ancient Chinese practice literally means wind and water. This philosophy originated thousands of years ago as a means of creating order and balance in one´s life through the careful placement of objects within a space.

Bold color adds drama to ´plain´ room
It happens at least once every few hours on the home improvement television networks: A chic designer breezes into a humdrum room, quickly takes stock and begins to work his or her design magic.

1. Go to your career section. Then, explore one or more of the web links related to this job. Make copies of web pages you find interesting and organize them into a reference file or notebook to share with others.

2. Search recent copies of The Daytona Beach News-Journal for evidence of this occupaion. Clip examples from display ads, classified ads, news articles, features, editorials, and the comics.

3. From the pages of The News-Journal, identify people and organizations that can be contacted for more information about this occupation. Investigate one or more and organize your findings into a scrapbook to share with your class. Please feel free to add useful ones to the Resource List for this occupation in the Job Center.

4. Clip words from The Daytona Beach News-Journal that describe, or are used in, this occupation. Define each and then, using Puzzlemaker, create a crossword puzzle to challenge friends or classmates.

5. Visit NewsVoyages.com and search for information about this job in online papers from other parts of the U.S. Print out pages that you find interesting and share them with your class or family.

Career Options and Opportunities: What´s in Your Future?
Just a few decades ago, after a person graduated from high school or college, he or she probably chose a job and settled into it-and stuck with it! Changing careers was not a thing most people considered. Nowadays, however, it´s not uncommon for people to change careers one or more times between graduation and retirement.

American Society of Interior Designers
Designers work in a wide range of settings, both commercial and residential. Surveys indicate that a majority of designers practice at least part of the time in both the residential and commercial areas, although they tend to favor one or the other.
http://www.asid.org/career_center/interior_design_career/index.asp

Designers - Occupational Outlook Handbook
Designers are people with a desire to create. They combine practical knowledge with artistic ability to turn abstract ideas into formal designs for the merchandise we buy, the clothes we wear, the publications we read, and the living and office space we inhabit.
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos090.htm

Interior Design Jobs
Search Job Listings by State and Design Category.
http://www.interiordesignjobs.com/searchjobs.asp

College of Design, Construction & Planning - University of Florida
Information on this department.
http://www.dcp.ufl.edu/index.htm

Interior Design at Florida State University
The department of interior design offers the Bachelor of Science and the Bachelor of Arts degrees with many areas of minor emphasis available from other academic disciplines.
http://www.fsu.edu/%7Esvad/interior_design/IDindex.html

Discovery School´s Puzzlemaker
Puzzlemaker is a puzzle generation tool for teachers, students and parents. Create and print customized word search, crossword and math puzzles using your word lists.
http://www.puzzlemaker.com/

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