How to present your interior design ideas to clients

After all, not every design concept is a winner. This is exactly why client presentations are a crucial part of every interior designer’s job. If you truly want to create an impact, the way you recent your ideas to the client is important. This is exactly why it is essential to begin only after you are convinced and completely confident about your designs. Only then will you be able to take the client through a visual journey through the design concept that you are presenting.

To begin with, the initial phase in design is very critical. Gathering inspiration to put together a presentation board is quite a creative process which is time consuming too. What you do in this phase decides how the remaining of the design or project will go. So, before you begin, talk extensively to the client and gather all the relevant information. It’s important to find out a little about the family and the members living in the house, their age groups, their general lifestyle and most importantly – their budget. Taking measurements and photographs of the place is also essential. When you have all the data at hand, you can begin working on the design plan. Well, presenting your plans to clients is a different challenge altogether. Here are a few tips to help you with the presentations:

Design boards
Design boards form the foundation of design presentations. Simple boards with pins and paper are highly effective. Print out each piece of furniture and use pins to ‘pin’ it up on the design board. In this way, you can move the pieces around and explain to your customers why a certain piece will look better in the living room and not the study. You can also use cut outs of fabric for upholstery and curtains. Design boards are a great way to present your clients with a basic idea of the design.

Digital designs
Digital designs give a realistic view of what the design will look like after it is completed. Pictures and Photoshop versions of the most probable design gives the client a fair idea of what the house will look like when finished. It is more convincing than printed boards.

CAD drawn furniture plan
A software drawn design is more accurate in terms of measurements and proportions. It gives the client proper reasoning for the selection of certain furniture due to either space restrictions or abundance.

3D models
3D models allow you to describe the project more effectively to the client. It need not always be a physical model; a computer based 3D model could also be used to virtually walk the client through the designs.

Finally, if you have any real samples to show, such as fabrics that will be used or materials, it would put the entire design in the right light.

Above all, be confident. Confidence could make or break any social interaction! It’s the key to convince your clients that you are right on track for the job you are hired!

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