Online Floral Design Degrees
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Floral design is a fun, fulfilling, and creative career. Floral designers have the ability to express their creativity and emotions through beautiful flower arrangements in many different forms that brighten people's days. Floral designers must have a strong background in botany and plants, and know which flowers are blossoming during which season. Floral designers also need a strong sense of what is most aesthetically pleasing to their customers for the appropriate occasion or event. Anyone who has a green thumb and would enjoy creativity in their work should consider the floral design as a career option.
The daily work of floral designers revolves around cutting, drying, and arranging live or silk flowers that have been ordered by customers. These flower arrangements are sold as bouquets, corsages, wreaths, and centerpieces, among many others. They are then given as gifts, or used for decorations in funerals, holidays, weddings, and at a variety of other events.
There are different types of florists who work at different locations. Some work at the florists department in grocery and department stores, some work for Internet companies and make pre-arranged bouquets, while others work at botanical gardens. Floral designers who run their own companies, like all entrepreneurs, should prepare by taking marketing, finance, and business administration classes.
Featured Accredited Schools Offering Online Floral Design Degrees
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Learn more about Penn Foster Career School - Design & Technology
What are some of the specializations within this degree program?
There are no formal career specializations within floral design.
What degree levels are available?
- Diploma or Certificate in Floral Design: 6 weeks - 1 year to complete
- Associate Degree in Floral Design, Floriculture, or Ornamental Horticulture: 2 years to complete
- Bachelor's Degree in Floral Design, Floriculture, or Ornamental Horticulture: 4 years to complete
What are the educational and certification requirements?
Individuals wanting to gain experience and education in floral design must learn a great deal about botany, chemistry, pesticides, and soil management. It is also important for floral designers to have a strong sense of color theory, including physiological and cultural associations regarding color combinations. In addition, many floral designers manage their own businesses, so it would be highly beneficial to the overall success of their business to take some business courses in marketing, management, and finance. Once students have been working for a while and feel confident that they have mastered their work, they can then get their certification from The American Institute of Floral Designers.
Voluntary certification for floral designers to work in a floral shop and arrange flowers can be completed through the The American Institute of Floral Designers. This certification combines a process where the designer is given a four-hour period of time and must complete a funeral arrangement, a table arrangement, a wedding arrangement, wearable flowers, and then one last arrangement that the candidate may choose on his or her own. (BLS)
What kinds of classes will I be expected to take?
- Floral Composition and Beauty: This class teaches you the ropes of actually creating a stunning floral arrangement. You will learn how to build and challenge your own floral design aesthetic, grasp the importance of color, harmony, and shape, and hone your design acumen with repetition and transitional technique.
- Wedding Floral Design: The bread and butter to any great florist's career is producing beautiful bouquets and arrangements for nuptial celebrations. This class teaches you about which flowers hold ceremonial import, as well as the best blooms for altars, synagogues, and other religious structures.
- Texture and Fragrance: This class improves your skill in understanding the interplay between flowers and their foliage. You will also learn the ins and outs of fragrance: which flowers have too much, and what smells symbolize for your clients.
- Floral Harvest, Storage, and Distribution: Understand the nature of the flower market and how to succeed therein with this class. You will also learn how to collaborate with growers, handle wholesale and auctions, and how to store plants for freshness.
- Nomenclature and Physiology: Your excellence as a potential florist will only be as strong as your ability to tell one flower from another. This class will teach you all the types of blossoms you may run into, as well as the terminology used to discuss plant and floral structure.
If I pursue this program online, will I be required to complete any on-site training?
No. Online floral design programs rarely call upon you to be physically present at any point during the course of instruction.
What are some other degrees that are related to this program?
Art: Artists use many different types of mediums to communicate their ideas an emotions to their customer, clients, and viewers. Many times they work by doing freelance assignments, but other times they are hired and work for different businesses. They can work in different categories such as art directing, multimedia, crafts, and illustration.
Fashion Design: Fashion design is a highly competitive field in which business-minded artists predict and influence fashion trends and produce clothes either for designer boutiques or department stores. They must have a strong background in design, sewing, illustrating, pattern making, and trend forecasting.
Graphic Design: Graphic designers are normally hired by different companies to help communicate ideas about their business to clients through print and electronic media. Their work can be seen on the Internet, in magazines, and newspapers. Their main role is to help promote the company or client they are employed by and communicate different promotions that the business is running.
Interior Design: These individuals use their artistic skills to work with different real estate spaces and decorate them. They look at many different things such as furniture, color, texture, and the size of the space. Many people use interior designers to bring more value to a specific space.
Landscape Architecture: These individuals use their artistic skills to work with building architects and plan for what is going to happen on the exterior of the building or residence to make it look more visually appealing using plants and nature. They work with the client to figure out their needs and develop a plan for the final layout. Individuals must have a strong background in landscaping.
