Blog - designed to give Students and Entrepreneurs the information needed to successfully Design & Build their career and creative businesses so they can reach their goals and build a life they love.
As someone who began their career studying interior design and went on to work as an architect and university lecturer, I’ve seen the built environment from multiple angles. Whether interior design, interior architectural design, architecture, or architectural technology - all offer unique opportunities, but choosing the right path depends on your interests, skills, and long-term career goals.
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For those looking to study spatial design - interior, architectural, model making - making a model (especially to scale) is an important skill in communicating and developing ideas.
Modelmaking is a skill in itself. Model makers study a degree lasting typically 3 years where they learn everything it takes to create 3D models both physical and computerized.
ModelMakers go on to a wide range of roles from freelance work, to in-house at Architecture firms, with product designers right the way up to special effects on movie production.
ModelMaking takes a great deal of time and patience but can be a lot of fun, and if you can show your ability in your portfolio then it’ll set you ahead of the competition as this is not something taught at school level.
Time and patience!!
Good craft knife, the sharper the better but be careful, for obvious reasons. If you are using a scalpel and blades, change the blade often and dispose of it correctly.
Cutting matt so as not to cut your parent’s dining table.
Glue, and not tape. ModelMakers use superglue and a whole range of different glues but for this exercise UHU is good, PVA can be used but might not dry flat.
Metal ruler, do not use plastic as your blade will hack into it and may slide off and into you. Safety first.
Material, any. Try to stick to one colour, I recommend using white. Yes, it seems boring but it looks professional. Don’t spend a lot of money on material, reuse and recycle. Cardboard from boxes and packing is absolutely fine.
A bedroom, or room.
You are going to try to build a 3D model of your bedroom. So your model will likely have four walls, a floor, door, and windows (or whatever your room looks like).
First, sketch out the outline of your room - this is the floor plan and will help you build the overall structure (walls). Mark where the door is and then cut the walls to fit the right length, then cut the door and windows into the correct walls. This is the basic model of your room.
Next, start to plan out the furniture and create miniatures of your bed, cupboard, desk, chair, mirror, etc until the room feels complete.
Don’t be lazy here - try to recreate as many details within the room as possible.
It gets fun and the more you add to it, the better it will look. And whoever is looking at your model and portfolio will notice.
Start with fabric items such as your bedding (fold paper), curtains (curl or bend paper), and move on to items such as dressing gowns (get super creative with your paper and fabric, add thread, etc) model items on your desk or bedside table like a computer, books, and so on.
If you have time and are able to, try to cut a little silhouette of yourself as a scale person. Look at the door to help you draw out what height you should be compared to the door opening and then stand yourself up in your model.
TOP TIP: Architects and other spatial designers do this all the time in the office. Try building your model in only white materials and mount it on a larger board than the floor, so there’s a kind of frame around it. White (or all one colour, could also be black or cardboard brown) is more forgiving to mistakes and looks a lot more finished - even if it’s not.
Now take photographs of your model to include in your portfolio as carrying around the actual model is a little impractical and could damage it.
It’s also a good idea to place something beside it to show a scale for the model (if you aren’t happy with your silhouette person) and the detail you have put into it. Use something obvious like a pencil or ruler. Something that would naturally be on hand and not distract from the model itself.
Try out different angles for your photos (front for elevation, top for plan, side on for perspective). You can also consider doing a step-by-step page showing how you constructed your model.
Now either print these out or create a layout on A3 paper (or as a PDF) and add some text explaining the model.
For those looking to study Art and Design at University or College then making and filling sketchbooks is something you will become all too familiar with.
Artists and designers use sketchbooks in their everyday work and life both to record research, and to communicate and develop ideas. You might go through hundreds of sketchbooks and document many projects and ideas in them so let’s start out with the very basics - making one.
The sketchbook we are going to make will be creative and unique. You will reuse and recycle different materials for its creation and it will be a great addition to your project or portfolio.
Plus, it’s a good conversation piece for your interview.
A bunch of materials that can be reused - cardboard, packaging, cereal boxes, newspapers, etc. These will be used for the outer cover of your sketchbook and the inner pages. Mix materials to add interest - old newspaper, wrapping paper, paper bags, etc (the more variety, the better).
Thread, wool, wire, or cord to bind the pages together
A large needle
First, start off by selecting the outer cover and designing the size and shape of the sketchbook. Fold it in half so there’s a front and back cover, and cut into it as your design requires.
Next, consider how many pages there will be and mix up the paper you plan to use - you can always add in extra pages by simply sticking them in, and folding them out.
Pick the thread you will use to bind the book together. Line everything up and, using your large needed, start to make holes in all the pages from the front cover to the back, binding them into a book.
Don’t worry if it looks messy, it’s all part of the fun.
Now cut into the pages to reflect your design, i.e. if the front cover has a front door and windows cut into it then create this. As you flick through the pages, you see other doors and windows which connect one page to the next. The same could be created for letters, logos, or figures for fashion, etc.
TOP TIP: Your work should always be a reflection of you so personalize your sketchbook and consider branding or brand colours.
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Architect & former University Lecturer turned Entrepreneur. I help female Entrepreneurs successfully Design & Build their Creative Businesses in Interior Design, Architecture & Urban Sketching.
Hi, I’m Sonia. I help you successfully Design & Build your career and creative business in Interior Design, Architecture & Urban Sketching.
Architect & former University Lecturer turned Entrepreneur. I help Students and Entrepreneurs successfully Design & Build their Careers and Creative Businesses in Interior Design, Architecture & Urban Sketching.
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