Hello friends! I thought it might be useful for others who are interested in studying interior design online to hear about my personal experience with the National Design Academy. In this National Design Academy Review I’m going to share my honest opinions on this course, covering the Diploma, the Foundation Degree, and the top-up BA Interior Design.
Before I get into this review, I just want to note that I am not affiliated with the NDA in any way other than being a past student. I have not been asked to write this review, and I do not benefit from it in any way.
Ok, now that that’s out of the way, let’s dive in.
Why I Chose The National Design Academy for My Degree
There’s a lot of choice out there when it comes to doing an Interior Design degree, but I had a few obstacles standing in my way.
First of all, I was a mature student. I left school halfway through my A-levels, so I needed to take an access course or do a foundation year before starting a degree.
And secondly, I wanted to travel the world! This is probably the biggest reason I was looking for an online qualification. I didn’t want to commit to being in one place for the next three or four years.
Choosing the NDA took away both of these obstacles for me.
I started out by taking the Diploma in Professional Interior Design. The great thing about this course is that not only does it give you a great introduction to the basic principles of interior design, but upon completion students are eligible to apply for the FdA Interior Design under their ‘guaranteed progression’ scheme.
After I completed the Diploma, I progressed to the FdA, and once I had completed this I went on to do the BA Interior Design Top-up to give me a full Degree.
My Experience of The National Design Academy
Overall, I had a great experience studying with the NDA. I enjoyed everything from the foundation degree right through to the BA top-up. I found it incredibly easy to use the online learning system, which lets you access the lectures and study materials at your own pace.
This degree definitely delivered on its promise of being flexible. I even managed to do part of the FdA while I was living in Nepal with frequent power outages!
The only downside I found with the National Design Academy is that they didn’t include any CAD training as part of the degree. Since hand drawing is considered very outdated these days, I would definitely recommend taking an in-depth CAD course.
Recently the NDA have added a CAD course option as a short course through the NDA, however, it’s very expensive, and doesn’t include photoreal rendering.
If you’re looking for a CAD course, A really good option for Interior Designers is the SketchUp Hub, which offers a great range of courses that will take you from complete beginner to creating professional floor plans and photorealistic images of your design concepts in a matter of weeks. The course was created by a former NDA student and professional 3D visualiser, Anita Brown, and it’s super affordable too.
I have used both AutoCad and SketchUp, and out of the two I would definitely recommend SketchUp. It’s super intuitive and easy to use, and gives you the exact same end result as AutoCad. It’s a no-brainer.
The National Design Academy Pros and Cons
Ok, so to sum it up, here are a few of the pros and cons I found with the course.
Pros:
- Flexible study
- Easy-to-digest modules
- Easy-to-use online learning interface
- Friendly tutors
- Great Facebook community
- Guaranteed progression to the next level upon completion
- Affordable
- Flexible payment options
- Accredited qualifications
Cons:
- No specific CAD training included in the course
Would I Recommend the National Design Academy?
Yes, overall I would happily recommend the National Design Academy to anyone looking to do a Degree in Interior Design.
If you don’t need a full degree, then the Diploma is a great option too. Just make sure you learn a CAD software like Sketchup so that you can present your work professionally when the time comes.
I hope this information is useful to anyone else looking to get into interior design. Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments below and I will do my best to answer.
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