Interior Design
The faculty of the Interior Design Program believes that the interior designer must respond to all of the needs of human beings: aesthetic, spiritual, physical, social and cultural. The focus of the design student must always be the human condition and its context.
We are also committed to the attitude that interior design is essentially an expressive art form applied to the solution of human problems in three-dimensional space and form. Our curriculum, therefore, is based within the applied arts and the liberal arts. It is directed toward the universal aspects of the design experience in the belief that the most serviceable education will prepare a student to adapt to a constantly changing world, and to assume a role of leadership and responsibility within a global society.
Specifically, our purpose is to educate students by encouraging and facilitating their development both intellectually and artistically, through the study of interior design as an evolving discipline and an applied art form. Our mission is to prepare the students for professional involvement in the interior design field, with their foci and actions directed towards the betterment of the human experience; and, to contribute to the advancement of the profession. Further our mission is to instill in our students an understanding of the implications and responsibilities of interior design practitioners and the importance of ethical professional conduct within their immediate contexts, and extending to their regional and global communities.
Please refer to the Interior Design FAQs more information on the program we offer.
| Undergraduate Program | Graduate Program |
| Area Facilities | Faculty Bios |
| Student Gallery | Faculty Gallery |
Undergraduate Program
The Interior Design emphasis is committed to offering a broad, liberal education to its students as well as preparing them for participation in the profession. The interior designer must respond to all of the needs of human beings: aesthetic, spiritual, physical, social and cultural. The focus of the design student, therefore, must be upon the human condition within the proximate environment. The Interior Design program is committed to the attitude that interior design is essentially an expressive art form applied to the solution of human problems in three-dimensional space and form.
The curriculum of Interior Design is directed toward the universal aspects of the design experience in the belief that the most serviceable education will prepare a student to survive professionally in a constantly changing world. Key elements in the student’s education are the ability to identify problems, collect and analyze pertinent data, synthesize concepts, and offer creative solutions.
Click here for the Interior Design Undergraduate Checklist (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Graduate Program
At the graduate level the Interior Design emphasis is focused on academic specialization within the interior design field’s many options. Interests in social, cultural and universal concern are encouraged. The highly individualized nature of the curriculum allows for advanced expression of interior design, exhibition and publication of thesis.
Click here for more information on SDSU Studio Art Graduate Programs.
Area Facilites
There are two Interior Design studio classrooms equipped with drafting tables and parallel edges. The School maintains a computer facility that includes eighteen PC stations with up-to-date software, such as AutoCad. The Ilse Ruocco Design Resource Center is housed in the Interior Design area and supports the program as a supplementary facility that has a material sample storage room, product information files and library.
Faculty Bios
Kotaro Nakamura
Kotaro Nakamura has over 20 years of teaching experience in the design of interior and exterior built environments. He also runs an architectural firm in San Diego, as well as its sister office in San Francisco, and has been recognized and rewarded for his design excellence through numerous local, national, and international design awards.
Kotaro has been concentrating his efforts on digital technology in design utilizing CAD, graphics, presentation, and animation programs. He has implemented WEB based teaching by providing tutorials, assignments, references, and WEB grades through the internet.
Kotaro has an extensive knowledge of energy efficiency and environmentally sensitive design methods because of his environmental engineering and design background. He has experience in the Savings by Design program, which is held by a local energy company, and LEED certification through the Green Building Design Council.
Kotaro's involvement in the community started with the City of San Diego Arts Advisory Board to the City Council. Since then, he has served on the Hospice Board, the Japanese Friendship Garden Advisory Board, the Strategic Framework Citizen's Committee, and various other city and community organizations.
Kerry A. Nelson
Kerry A. Nelson , ASID is a Certified Interior Designer in California, with specialties in residential interiors and lighting design. She has practiced both contract and residential interior design since 1982, and has won many awards for her projects, which have been reviewed in national and international design publications; including, “Interiors”, “Contract” and “Trends”.
She is a Past-president of the San Diego Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), served on its Board of Directors for five years, and has participated in numerous ASID Designer Showcases as General Chair, member of the Design Acceptance Committee, or selected interior designer featured in the “Union-Tribune” and “San Diego Home Garden Lifestyles”.
Since 1983 she also has been an educator, beginning at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Currently she is a Full Professor and leads the Interior Design Program at San Diego State University, where she teaches lecture courses on design history and theory, as well as advanced interior design studios.
Philosophically and artistically, she is committed to the concepts of past, present and future; the home as sanctuary; the interrelationship of natural and man-made environments; adaptive reuse of buildings and objects; and cross-cultural influences – ideas which permeate her professional practice and course contents.