How to choose a commercial interior designer in Brisbane
8 questions to ask before you sign
Choosing a commercial interior designer is a bigger decision than most businesses expect. It's not just a matter of finding stylish office furniture, natural lighting or a biophilic planting scheme you like the look of in a portfolio — it's choosing the person responsible for whether your fitout gets built on budget, on program and to code.
Brisbane has no shortage of designers who can put together a beautiful concept board. Far fewer can take that concept through documentation, compliance and construction without it falling apart along the way. Here are eight questions worth asking before you sign anyone.
Are you licensed to prepare construction documentation?
A QBCC licence means a designer can legally prepare the technical documentation builders and certifiers rely on — not just a concept render. Ask to see it.
How many years of commercial (not residential) experience do you have?
Commercial fitouts carry compliance, egress and services requirements residential design doesn't touch. A portfolio heavy on homes is a signal to ask more questions, not fewer.
Who prepares the tender documentation builders actually price from?
Some designers hand you a mood board and leave documentation to someone else. Ask specifically who produces the drawings your builder will quote against — vague answers here often mean cost blowouts later.
Can I see a project similar to mine, start to finish?
Ask for a comparable sector or scale — office, retail, medical, hospitality — and ask what changed between concept and final build. Real projects have real compromises; a designer who can walk you through them is worth more than one showing only polished hero shots.
How do you handle building certification and compliance?
Fire egress, accessibility, services coordination and certifier sign-off shouldn't be an afterthought. Ask how these are built into the design process, not bolted on at the end.
What happens if something needs to change mid-construction?
Site conditions and budgets shift. Ask whether the designer stays involved through construction to manage changes, or whether their job ends once documentation is handed over.
How is your fee structured?
Understand upfront whether the fee is fixed, staged, or a percentage of construction cost, and what's included at each stage — concept, documentation, tender, construction support.
Who will I actually be working with day to day?
Larger studios often hand a project to a junior once it's signed. Ask specifically who your point of contact is through concept, documentation and construction — and whether that's the person you're speaking with now.
A cheaper designer can become expensive fast if drawings are rejected or incomplete — and in Queensland, commercial fitout design documentation may require legal authorisation. Two questions worth asking before you sign anyone: can this designer produce documentation the landlord and certifier will actually accept, and are they legally authorised and insured to prepare it?
Most of the expensive mistakes in a commercial fitout happen before the designer or builder is properly engaged — when a lease is signed without fully understanding the design, approval, cost and timing pathway ahead.
One point of accountability, start to finish
Design, approvals and delivery aligned through one team reduces gaps, conflicting advice and avoidable delays — and keeps the original design intent intact through to handover.
Ready to ask the right questions?
Leithal Designs is award-winning and QBCC-licensed — with 25+ years delivering commercial fitouts across Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Get in touch