A furniture designer uses a variety of skills to design new furniture and related products for industrial, commercial and domestic clients. The products vary greatly, from design or limited batches of furniture, to mass produced items. Designers work alone or alongside colleagues creating concepts and designs that balance innovative design, functional requirements and aesthetic appeal. There may also be product development responsibilities involved.
The process of furniture design demands creativity, business awareness and skills in marketing, finance, sales and manufacturing. The role may involve a number of functions, particularly for the self-employed, including designer, production manager, buyer, salesperson, accountant, and maintenance engineer. The exact nature of the role will depend on the setting: a self-employed/freelance designer usually works alone or with one or two other like-minded craftspeople.
Self-employed designers usually need to engage in some form of self-promotion - e.g. attending trade exhibitions and design shows, or arranging publicity through specialist publications; in-house designers in a manufacturing company may originate new designs or improve existing designs consultants often work to a brief agreed with the client and have responsibility for managing a project on the client's behalf.
Activities vary according to the type of furniture being designed and made, but may include working to and developing briefs from clients establishing design and performance criteria testing product concepts using sketches, analysing market trends; assessing the viability of new design ideas and proposals in the current and predicted market and responding to national and local economic issues.
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