Education:
76%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
11%
Some College Courses
Floral Designer
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Job Outlook:
Decline
Education:
High school diploma or equivalent
Work From Home
Salary
High:
$46,560.00
Average:
$34,310.00
Hourly
Average:
$16.50
What they do:
Design, cut, and arrange live, dried, or artificial flowers and foliage.
On the job, you would:
- Confer with clients regarding price and type of arrangement desired and the date, time, and place of delivery.
- Select flora and foliage for arrangements, working with numerous combinations to synthesize and develop new creations.
- Order and purchase flowers and supplies from wholesalers and growers.
Important Qualities
Artistic ability. Floral designers use their sense of style to develop aesthetically pleasing designs.
Creativity. Floral designers must develop appropriate designs for different occasions. They must also be open to new ideas because trends in floral design change quickly.
Customer-service skills. Floral designers spend much of their day interacting with customers and suppliers. They must be able to understand what a customer is looking for, explain options, and provide high-quality products and service.
Organizational skills. Floral designers need to be well organized to keep the business operating smoothly and to ensure that orders are completed on time.
Personality
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Characteristics of this Career |
|---|---|---|---|
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85% | Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. | |
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82% | Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. | |
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81% | Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical. | |
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78% | Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. | |
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76% | Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job. | |
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72% | Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems. | |
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72% | Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. | |
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70% | Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. | |
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70% | Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. | |
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69% | Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. | |
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65% | Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Strengths |
|---|---|---|---|
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89% | Artistic - Work involves creating original visual artwork, performances, written works, food, or music for a variety of media, or applying artistic principles to the design of various objects and materials. Artistic occupations are often associated with visual arts, applied arts and design, performing arts, music, creative writing, media, or culinary art. | |
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67% | Enterprising - Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Values of the Work Environment |
|---|---|---|---|
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67% | Achievement - Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement. | |
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61% | Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. | |
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61% | Independence - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
Aptitude
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Abilities | Cognitive, Physical, Personality |
|---|---|---|---|
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75% | Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. | |
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75% | Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. | |
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72% | Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged. | |
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66% | Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem. | |
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66% | Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). | |
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66% | Visual Color Discrimination - The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness. | |
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66% | Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
Job Details
Responsibilities
Confer with clients to determine needs.
Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes.
Select materials or props.
Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products.
Construct distinctive physical objects for artistic, functional, or commercial purposes.
Maintain records, documents, or other files.
Provide educational information to the public.
Arrange artwork, products, or props.
Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes.
Train others on work processes.
Arrange delivery of goods or services.
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Attributes & Percentage of Time Spent |
|---|---|---|---|
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97% | Telephone - How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? | |
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95% | Deal With External Customers - How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job? | |
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94% | Face-to-Face Discussions - How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? | |
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90% | Structured versus Unstructured Work - To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? | |
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88% | Contact With Others - How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? | |
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88% | Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls - How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls? | |
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85% | Work With Work Group or Team - How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job? | |
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81% | Freedom to Make Decisions - How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? | |
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81% | Electronic Mail - How often do you use electronic mail in this job? | |
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80% | Spend Time Standing - How much does this job require standing? | |
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80% | Coordinate or Lead Others - How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job? | |
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78% | Time Pressure - How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines? | |
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78% | Indoors, Environmentally Controlled - How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? | |
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75% | Responsibility for Outcomes and Results - How responsible is the worker for work outcomes and results of other workers? | |
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73% | Physical Proximity - To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people? | |
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71% | Responsible for Others' Health and Safety - How much responsibility is there for the health and safety of others in this job? | |
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68% | Letters and Memos - How often does the job require written letters and memos? |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Tasks & Values |
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76% | Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. | |
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72% | Thinking Creatively - Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions. | |
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69% | Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work - Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. | |
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67% | Performing for or Working Directly with the Public - Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests. |
What Floral Designers Do
Floral designers, also called florists, arrange live, dried, and silk flowers and greenery to make decorative displays. They also help customers select flowers and containers, ribbons, and other accessories.
Duties
Floral designers typically do the following:
- Buy flowers and other products from wholesalers and suppliers to ensure that an adequate supply meets customers’ needs
- Determine the type of arrangement desired, the occasion, and the date, time, and location for delivery
- Recommend plants or flowers and greenery for each arrangement in accordance with the customer’s budget
- Design floral displays that evoke a particular sentiment or style
- Answer telephones, take orders, and wrap arrangements
Floral designers may create a single arrangement for a specific purpose or multiple displays for special occasions, such as weddings or funerals. They use artistry and their knowledge of different types of blooms to choose appropriate flowers or plants for each occasion. Floral designers need to know when flowers and plants are in season and available.
Floral designers also need to know the properties of flowers and other plants. Some flowers, such as carnations, can last for many hours outside of water. Other flowers are delicate and wilt more quickly. Some plants are poisonous to certain types of animals. For example, lilies are toxic to cats.
Floral designers must know the color varieties and average size of each flower and plant they sell. They may need to calculate the number of flowers that will fit into a particular vase or how many rose petals cover a space, such as the length of a walkway for a wedding procession.
Floral designers use their knowledge to recommend plants or flowers, greenery, and designs to customers. If the customer selects flowers, the designer uses that type of flower to arrange a visually appealing display. The designer may include items, such as stuffed animals or balloons, or use a decorative basket or vase when creating an arrangement.
Plants typically are showcased in attractive containers and are available for immediate sale. Although more complex floral displays must be ordered in advance, floral designers often create small bouquets or arrangements while customers wait. When they are responsible for multiple arrangements for a special occasion, such as a wedding or funeral, floral designers usually create and set up these decorations just before the event, then remove them afterward. Some floral designers work with event planners on a contract basis when creating arrangements for these types of occasions.
Floral designers also give customers instructions on how to care for flowers and plants, including what the ideal temperature is and how often the water should be changed. For plants or cut flowers, floral designers often provide plant or flower food as part of the sale.
Floral designers also order new flowers, greenery, and plants from suppliers. They process newly arrived shipments by stripping leaves that would be below the water line. Floral designers cut new flowers, transplant plants, mix plant or flower food solutions, fill containers with the food solutions, and sanitize workspaces. They keep most flowers and plants in cool display cases so that the products stay fresh and live longer.
Some floral designers have formal agreements with the managers of hotels and restaurants or the owners of office buildings and private homes to replace old flowers or plants with new ones on a recurring schedule—usually daily, weekly, or monthly—to keep areas looking fresh and appealing. They may work with interior designers in creating displays.
Floral designers who are self-employed or have their own shop also must do business tasks, such as advertising, pricing, inventory, and taxes. Some designers hire and supervise staff to help with these tasks.
Work Environment
Floral designers held about 54,500 jobs in 2022. The largest employers of floral designers were as follows:
| Florists | 52% |
| Self-employed workers | 20 |
| Grocery and specialty food retailers | 11 |
| Wholesale trade | 3 |
| Lawn and garden equipment and supplies retailers | 2 |
Floral designers in retail businesses serve walk-in customers as well as customers placing orders over the telephone, on the Internet, or through other florists. Some floral designers who work on a contract basis when creating arrangements for events, such as weddings, have to travel to event locations.
Work Schedules
Many floral designers work full time, although their hours may vary with the work setting.
Independent shops are typically open during regular business hours. Floral departments inside grocery stores or other stores may stay open longer.
Floral designers are busier at certain times of the year, such as holidays, than at other times. Because freshly cut flowers are perishable, most orders cannot be completed too far in advance. Therefore, designers often work additional hours just before and during holidays. In addition, many part-time and seasonal opportunities are available around certain holidays, such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day.
Getting Started
How to Become a Floral Designer
Most floral designers learn their skills on the job over the course of a few months.
Most floral designers have a high school diploma or the equivalent and learn their skills on the job in a few months.
Education
Most floral designers have a high school diploma or the equivalent. Postsecondary programs may be useful for florists who want to start their own business. Programs in floral design and caring techniques for flowers and plants are available through private floral schools, vocational schools, and community colleges. Most of these programs offer a certificate or diploma. Classes in flower and plant identification, floral design concepts, and advertising and other business courses, as well as experience working in a greenhouse, are part of many certificate and diploma programs. Some community colleges and universities offer certificates or associate’s degrees in floriculture/floristry operations and management.
Training
New floral designers typically get hands-on experience working with an experienced floral designer. They may start by preparing simple flower arrangements and practicing the basics of tying bows and ribbons, cutting stems to appropriate lengths, and learning about the proper handling and care of flowers and plants. Floral designers also learn about the different types and growth properties of flowers and plants, how to use flowers in complex floral designs, and which flowers and plants complement each other.
Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations
The American Institute of Floral Designers offers the Certified Floral Designer credential. Although certification is voluntary, it indicates a measure of floral design knowledge and expertise gained through work experience or education.
Advancement
Formal training in floral design may be helpful for people who are interested in opening their own business or in becoming a chief floral designer or supervisor.
Job Outlook
Employment of floral designers is projected to decline 18 percent from 2022 to 2032.
Despite declining employment, about 4,700 openings for floral designers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment
Although there will continue to be demand for floral arrangements at events such as weddings and funerals, the need for floral designers is projected to decline along with the number of florist shops. Local florist shops often fulfill online orders from flower delivery services. This practice may increase the number of orders florist shops receive, but it also may dampen the demand for additional shops as each existing shop widens its customer service area.
In addition, grocery stores offer floral decorations, cut flowers, and plants. Customers may find it more convenient to buy flowers or plants at these stores than to travel to florist shops.
Contacts for More Information
For more information about becoming a Certified Floral Designer, visit
American Institute of Floral Designers
For more information about careers in floral design, visit
Similar Occupations
This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of floral designers.
| Occupation | Job Duties | Entry-Level Education | Median Annual Pay, May 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Craft and Fine Artists |
Craft and fine artists use a variety of materials and techniques to create art for sale and exhibition. |
See How to Become One | $53,140 |
|
Fashion Designers |
Fashion designers create clothing, accessories, and footwear. |
Bachelor's degree | $76,700 |
|
Graphic Designers |
Graphic designers create visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. |
Bachelor's degree | $57,990 |
|
Interior Designers |
Interior designers make indoor spaces functional, safe, and beautiful by determining space requirements and selecting essential and decorative items. |
Bachelor's degree | $61,590 |
|
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners |
Meeting, convention, and event planners arrange all aspects of events and professional gatherings. |
Bachelor's degree | $52,560 |