One of the most common things I hear from aspiring designers is that they don’t feel ready to call themselves an interior designer, so if you’ve ever wondered when the time is right for you to confidently call yourself an interior designer, you’re not alone! Almost everyone I speak to believes confidence comes after you’ve landed clients or finished a degree, but that’s not true.
I remember reading a book many years ago called The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman. In it, they shared a fascinating statistic: men typically feel ready to take on a new role when they’re about 50 percent qualified, whereas women often feel they need to be 100 percent qualified before they’ll even try. It’s something I see every day in my mentees.
So many talented designers hold back because they think they’re not ready yet, when in reality, confidence isn’t about being perfect or fully qualified. It’s about proof and belief. Proof that you can do the work, and belief that you’re allowed to try. So let’s explore a few reasons why drawing can help you to build your confidence as an interior designer and get rid of the imposter syndrome so that you can finally proudly call yourself one!
Drawing Gives You Clarity
When you start drawing your ideas, no matter whether it’s a plan, a section or a simple hand sketch, something changes inside of you! Suddenly, what was vague in your mind becomes real, possible and tangible. You can see how a space works, where things fit and what needs adjusting.
You stop saying “I think it could work” and start saying “Here’s how it will work.” That clarity builds certainty and certainty builds confidence. If you’re learning interior design, drawing is where it all starts. It’s not about creating perfect visuals; it’s about understanding space.
Drawing Gives You Ownership
So many new interior designers rely on Pinterest boards, reference images (and now AI) to express ideas, but when you can draw, you no longer depend on that. You can create from your own vision and invent, design and create what is in your mind (not what was in someone-else’s!)
Drawing helps you make confident decisions about layout, flow and proportion and that ownership changes how you see yourself because you’re not trying anymore… you’re designing (like a professional interior designer!)
IntoDesign Membership
IntoDesign is the mentorship membership for interior designers, helping you build skills, gain experience, find clients and grow your career.
Drawing Makes You Fluent In The Designer’s Language
When you draw, you start to think like a professional designer, for example, you notice things like scale, alignment, balance and light in every room you walk into. You also gain a new awareness of design, see thing and analyse spaces like a designer does and with that comes a new confidence to talk about your work. That’s when others begin to recognise you as a real designer, because you see yourself that way first!
Drawing Turns Learning Into Doing
Drawing turns knowledge into evidence, so each sketch or plan (no matter how imperfect) is proof that you’re progressing and that you’re becoming the designer you want to be. This is one of the simplest interior design career tips: draw every day, even for ten minutes. You’ll see your progress faster than you expect!
Drawing Gives You Something To Show
When you can show your ideas clearly, everything changes. Clients start to trust you, other professionals start to respect you and you start to feel legitimate. It’s the moment you stop hiding behind the fact that you’re still learning or studying interior design and start saying “I am an interior designer!”
Having drawings and visual plans as evidence gives you credibility and confidence I your skills and abilities. It’s the kind of confidence that no certificate, degree or biography ever could.
SketchUp For Web (SketchUp Free) Course For Beginners
If you would like to learn SketchUp for Web in a simple and easy way where I break everythign down, from manoeuvring before you start drawing to how to draw sections and elevations in SketchUp you will love this step by step course specifically designed for interior designers.
We have 2D furniture and lighting templates for you to use in your plans and provide support while learning to help you finally feel confident drawing as an interior designer. Also, once you sign up, you’ll also have access to our other courses, which are specifically designed for interior designers.
Jo Chrobak
