Interior Designer

Geyer commercial interior designer  Margot Lane, 23, keeps a little book by her side so she can note down ideas when they come to her. Lane’s book of ideas has helped her pick up several awards, including being named 2007 Design Institute of Australia Graduate of the Year.

What’s an average day on the job?
It depends what stage of the process you are up to. Sometimes you are doing documentation or you are doing sketches and design development or you are doing presentations to clients. The majority of my day is spent on the computer. When I do get out of the office it is for meetings and site visits. We do a lot of supplier site visits or they come to us to show us the up-and-coming furniture and fabrics. We talk to clients about what they need their teams to do and how they want the company to grow. That gives us a basis on how to design the office. You are always learning.

Have you worked on any unusual places?
Cochlear, the hearing implant manufacturer, was the last place I worked on and that was pretty significant. They have labs that must have particular flooring, be static proof and have a specific air pressure and temperature. Working around all that to make it functional was quite a challenge.

Is getting the mix between fashion and function your biggest challenge?
It’s always a balance. Some of the stuff out there looks great but isn’t the right height for whatever purpose. And, of course, you have to meet the client’s budget.

What got you interested in interior design?
I did a course in interior decoration first. But it wasn’t really what I wanted to do. Retail design is my true passion — designing shops and boutiques. Decoration is more residential focused and doesn’t go into design-it is more about finishes such as curtains and things like that. Because I wanted to do more commercial work I did a CAD [Computer Animated Design] course, where I learned how to do it all on the computer, because the decoration was done mostly through drawings. Then I did an Advanced Diploma of Interior Design at Enmore TAFE.

What makes a good interior designer?
There is no point having a good design idea if you can’t communicate it to the client.
You are not always doing the things you necessarily want to do, but if you can still do it well for them and under budget, then that is what makes a good designer.

What do you most enjoy about your job?
Just getting a brief and exploring the different paths you can take. You have a massive logbook full of ideas and you may only use 10 per cent of what is in there, but the journey you go through, from making sketches and models to the final product, is so rewarding.

Is keeping up a logbook of ideas the secret to your success?
It is just a lot of scribble really. Most of the time you have a lot of designs that at the end of the day don’t work or are going to cost too much money, but they are good to have as a reference. Your brain is always thinking and ideas come at the strangest times.

Where does your inspiration come from?
I’ve done a lot travelling. Any chance I get, I trip off somewhere. I went to Tokyo and I was in love, especially because I’m into retail design. It is so different to what Australia has to offer and that is really inspiring. You could never copy it because it is so specialised over there but you grab bits and pieces of it.