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Ellie Kyle: Hard Work, Small Details Make the Difference
Ellie Kyle
B.S., Interior Design with minors in Marketing and Design & Innovation Management
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation, I will continue to work for my current company, Varitone Architecture & Interior Design, as I have for the past year and a half. I will also be getting married right after graduation, and will then be moving with my husband across the country to New York (as he is in the Air Force).
Once I gain enough experience in the interior design field, I want to get my NCIDQ certification and ultimately start my own interior design and consulting business. While I have been doing small projects on the side during college (from redesigning bathrooms to whole house floors), I would love to take that to the next level and help even more people with their design needs.
What is the most valuable thing you learned, regarding your academic studies?
Upon graduation, I will have a B.S. in Interior Design and minors in Marketing and Design & Innovation Management. I think one of the most valuable things I have learned from my studies is that every little detail matters, and even adding or removing one small element can change the entire experience of the space. You can create a floor plan based on how you feel it would look best, but you also have to keep every single detail in mind — what is the flow of the space? Where will the outlets be located? How convenient are the doors for ease of exiting? How will this color make your client feel in the space?
Design is not just about what you like but also how your end-user will experience it. Interior designers don’t simply just place a pillow on a couch and call it “design.” Interior designers conduct historic and UX research, use 2D and 3D software, and apply systematic creative processes to reinvent their client’s experience and ultimately create more dynamic and personalized spaces.
What are you most proud of regarding your student experience? What was the biggest challenge?
I’m honestly proud of all of the late nights, weekends, and early mornings I spent working on assignments and projects (which also proved to be the biggest challenge of my college career). All of the work I put into each and every one of my classes brought me to where I am today, and gave me a sense of pride and accomplishment for the degree that I’ve earned.