KLC: Honest Thoughts
I’ve been a bit quiet on here lately. As always, I had every intention of posting weekly, but life gets in the way. The big news is that I’ve completed my certificate and am awaiting my final marks. Overall, it was incredibly intense and a lot of hard work, but also the best decision I’ve made in a long time. I thought I’d pop on here and share my honest thoughts, as well as a photo dump of anything and everything KLC related…
Course Structure
The certificate was 11 weeks, every week day from 10am to 4pm (leaving enough time to do things before and afterwards). That’s not to say there wasn’t evening and weekend work - it certainly ramped up over the course and I did put my social life on hold as a result. I kind of took the approach that I was investing in myself and wanted to learn as much as possible. Plus, I wasn’t going to miss out on much from Jan to Mar, so why not just focus…
The course was made up of lectures and workshops, as well as a number of projects:
Project 1: Guest Suite (Bedroom and Bathroom)
Project 2: Ground Floor (Kitchen, Dining Room, Living Room, Office)
Mini Project 1: Working to a Budget
Mini Project 2: Estimating Quantities for Window Treatments
Evolution of Style Project: A Choice of Property (I selected the 1930s case study).
Content
As part of the lectures and workshops (along with showroom visits), we learnt everything needed to complete the course.
What I liked most? Surprisingly CAD and SketchUp (the latter being very much like Sims!). I also enjoyed learning about taking the brief (probably since I’m used to working with clients), space planning, colour, hand rendering, styling, the list continues…
What I liked least? It’s a struggle, but I would say the presentation at the end - nevertheless, that’s just a reflection on me and my dislike for public speaking!
What was missing? It seems like InDesign and Photoshop are used across the industry, especially if you want to create something aesthetically pleasing. Since Adobe software was covered at the end of the course, I would perhaps advise picking this up on the side.
People
I do not have a bad word to say here. Any design school is always going to bring together a unique collection of people - each very different and all creatively inclined. I’ve made long term friends and was able to work under dedicated, supportive, caring and compassionate tutors.
Overall, I loved the opportunity to get back in the classroom as I feel I thrive in this scenario. If you’re thinking of doing something similar, my advice would definitely be to go for it (although, if you do have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out). I’ve got a long way to go and I’m currently deep in job applications, portfolio building, as well as working on a few projects here and there, but I’m so excited for the next chapter. And I’ll try to be a bit more regular on here…
