Difference between - interior designer & interior architect

What is the difference between an interior designer and an interior architect? This is a question which has
provoked a lot of debate. Interior designers and interior architects are both interior specialists of the built
environment. They both design internal spaces using a process that encompasses ergonomics, space-planning,
selection of materials, services and proposed use of space.Where the professions differ is in terms of:


(a) Specialization, and
(b) Area of work


(a) Specialization
An interior designer will tend to specialize in colour selection, material specifications and costing. Spaces will be
visualised in terms of technical drawings and computer-aided design.
An interior architect will tend to focus more on space-planning, conservation, and relationship of the internal
space to the external architectural elements.

(b) Area of work
Interior designers work in both the retail and domestic sector. They may work for interior design or architectural
firms.
Interior architects tend to work mostly in the commercial sector and in conjunction with architects.


So interior architecture is a specialist architectural discipline that concerns itself with the internal forms of a
building.