A great home exterior not only protects a home from all of the elements, but it also makes a home more beautiful, raises its value, and helps maintain property values for the surrounding community.
Exterior home designers work with many different people ranging from architects to landscapers to city officials, so familiarizing yourself with all aspects of exterior home design will help you to excel in this field. Although the selection of classes you take will vary according to the services you want to offer, there are some basic classes you will need to get started.
Exterior Design Software
Attending a class dedicated to the software of your choice is essential to this trade. In the technology-dependent world in which we live it will be hard to compete without some kind of software and the knowledge to use it efficiently. As of 2010 the top-rated software for exterior design is Home and Landscape Design by Punch! Software, but personal preference plays a key role in finding the right software for you. After selecting the software, call the manufacturer to find out information on classes available locally. Many software manufacturers offer classes for their products online.
Landscape Design
A class in landscape design is required regardless of whether the exterior designer contracts this job out or does it himself. Basic landscape design principles include surveying, landscape calculations, irrigation, lighting, plant and flower selection, site analysis and design, installing plants and grass, hardscapes and landscape maintenance. Many programs are available online and at local community colleges.
Introductory Urban Planning
Topics covered in an urban planning class generally include environmental policy, city development, community and economic development and urban design. These classes help the exterior designer to recognize the needs of a community, and upgrade homes in such a way that they benefit both the homeowners and the communities they live in. The needs of a community vary widely according to many different factors such as population growth and local weather conditions. As an exterior designer your job will not just consist of making the outsides of houses look pretty, you also have an obligation to help the neighborhoods they are in thrive for years to come. For example, you would not build lush gardens that required great amounts of water in a desert community that had few resources for water.
Introductory Visual Arts
An introductory visual arts class introduces the beginning exterior designer to the appreciation and understanding of visual art. Topics covered include art history, color theory, color perception, art mediums and visual perception. These classes will prepare you to create professional exterior home designs that function practically as well as beautifully. Not just any visual arts class will provide the lessons needed for the home design industry----the class must be part of an architectural or home design program.
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