Transcript Note: No class February 24th! Yippee!

Here’s a good example of a
presentation
 Word
outline (this help avoid wordiness)
 Insert an outline into PowerPoint
 Use spell Check
 Insert pictures and scans
 Insert Web links
 Practice out loud
Welcome to the Profession
 Designers
vs. Decorators
 Sales vs. services
 Self-image vs. Public Image
 Young profession
Who you work with…
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Architects:
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Engineers:
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MEP – they look to the interior designers to coordinate
details, figure out interferences between systems (no, they
don’t do that)
Consultants of all sorts
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Often handle only the building envelope and project
management
Sometimes a more collaborative process
Lighting, furniture, hardware, codes, specs, etc
Sub-contractors
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Everything from programming to construction administration
Saves on overhead; increases organizational load
What will you earn?
 Well,
less than just about everyone else
in the field
 In general, you’ll earn more at a bigger
firm
 In general, you’ll earn more in an urban
area
 Varies by region
What is a profession?
Sociological definition:
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The use of skills based on theoretical knowledge
Education and training in these skills
The competence of professionals ensured by
examinations
A code of conduct to ensure professional integrity
Performance of a service that is for the public
good
A professional association that organizes
members
From NCIDQ:
 “The
professional Interior Designer is
qualified by education, experience and
examination to enhance the function and
quality of interior spaces. For the purpose
of improving the quality of life, increasing
productivity, and protecting the health,
safety, and welfare of the public”
History of Interior
Design-ing
Timeline
Before
th
mid-20
 Architects
century
and craftsmen did most
interior decorating
 Artisans often had direct control over
part of high-end design
 American designers looked to Europe
for what was perceived as quality
 Suppliers (in Europe) were called
ensembeliers or ateliers
Elsie DeWolfe - society
decorator
 Worked
on residential decorating with the
wives of the wealthy
 Received fee for service, rather than
commission on goods
 Author of The House in Good Taste (1913)
 Exercise of taste and conscious control of
design themes
Popularizing design for the
general public
 First
School: Parson’s School of Design, in
New York City
 Began offering courses in 1904
 House Beautiful and House and Garden
made design part of the public discourse
After WW1,
 Increased
prosperity
 Society designer’s still looking to Europe
 Public desire for homegrown arts and
crafts
 Growth of large, high quality manufacturers
in US, particularly in Mid-west
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Grand Rapids Furniture Exposition (1878)
1920’s
 Art
Deco sweeps country
 Films glorify new, home-grown aesthetic
 All aspects of design: interiors, exteriors,
landscape, and graphics
 Particularly “Contract work” in office
Buildings
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Dorothy Draper was a specialist
Early 1930’s: Depths of the
Depression
 Society
decorators unaffected
 Grand Rapids furniture manufacturer
conference in 1931
To generate business in flagging economy
 William Moore founded American Institute of
Interior Decorators (AID)
 Membership based on experience and
education
 No formal testing
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1940’s: New Philosophies
and Responsibilities
 Bauhaus
influence: manufactured furniture
and simpler aesthetic
 Department stores offer affordable, welldesigned furniture and other interior fittings
 Florence Knoll form planning group for
commercial interiors
 Curtain walls, acoustical ceilings, and
drywall plastering systems
1950’s: Growth and Dispute
Team Fur Planung – office
landscape systems
 Open plans with screens
 Formation of National Society for Interior
Designers (NSID)
 Quickborner
Dispute with AID over qualifications
 Decoration vs. Designers
 Licensing, education, practice requirements
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1960’s and 1970’s: Push for
standards
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Lot’s of special design organizations
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Institute of Business Designers (IBD)
National Office Furnishings Association (NOFA)
Institute of Office Planners
National Exposition of Contract Furnishings
(NEOCON) (1969)
Foundation for Interior Design Education
Research (FIDER) establishes education
standards (1970)
NCIDQ develops exam in 1974
AID and NSID join (in 1975) as American Society
of Interior Designers (ASID)
1980’s and 1990’s:
Expansion and Legislation
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Increase in responsibilities, depth and breadth of
profession
Alabama passes title registration for interior
designers (1982)
ADA pushes responsibilities further (1992)
Lawsuits, life-safety issues, sick-building
syndrome, etc
Sustainability, sophisticated materials and product
research
Integration of technology into designs and into
design project production
IBD becomes IIDA (1994) to
help unify alphabet soup
 Attempt
to consolidate organizations
 Attempt to clarify mission
 ASID didn’t join up
Divisions of the profession
 Residential
 Commercial
 Public
(“contract”) work
work
 “Green” or sustainable design
 Public advocacy
Educational standards
 Mainly
since WWII
 Roots in Fine Arts as much as Architecture
 Programs from two (associates degree) to
seven years (BA or Masters)
 “FIDER leads the interior design profession
to excellence by setting standards and
accrediting academic programs”
FIDER professional standards:
Professional Associations
 Intangible
Benefits:
Professional pride; recognition;
 Interaction and socialization
 Educational opportunities
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 Other
benefits:
Leadership and training
 Mailings; practice aids; competitions
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 Business
services; political lobbying
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ASID
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Largest – 30,000 members
“satisfy the needs of the Society’s customers through
professional education, knowledge sharing and
expansion of the interior design practice and market”
IIDA
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“IIDA is a professional networking and educational
association committed to enhancing the quality of life
through excellence in interior design and advancing
interior design through knowledge”
Perspective magazine
The Dreaded NCIDQ Exam
 Given
twice a year (April and October), and
you have to register way in advance
 Eligibility basically a four-year degree and
two years of approved work experience
 Sections not passed must be re-taken
 No time limit to pass all three
 ASID’s STEP workshops help study
 Three
sections over two days (can be
taken all at once, or separately)
1: Principles of ID – 150 multiple-choice
questions
 2: Contract development and organization –
also multiple-choice
 3: Schematics and design development –
interpret a program and produce a practical
design solution
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Licensing and Title Acts
 State
by state
 Title Acts – limiting use of titles
 Licensing (or practice acts) – establish who
can practice a profession
Effects stamping drawings – needs to be a
“design professional”
 Can limit liability – but also ability to take on
projects
 24 states have licensing (incl. CT and ME)

Continuing Education Units
(CEU’s)
 Required
for most memberships and
licensing
 Annual totals, based on number of hours
attended
 Manufacturer’s reps will often offer
“classes”
Questions for discussion:
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Is interior design a profession on its own, or is
it a sub-set of architecture
 Will practice acts harm the profession by
forcing out too many practitioners?
 Is Trading Spaces an example of interior
decorating or interior design?
 Does Trading Spaces help the promote
interior design to the general public?
 Do you think a title act in Massachusetts will
enhance the reputation of the profession?
Review Meyers Briggs Tests
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What was your profile description?
 Was it relatively accurate?
 What implications might it have on what sort
of position you’d be good (or bad) at?
 Would you want to be judged by this sort of
test
 Would you use this test to evaluate your own
employees?
Personal Goal Setting
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Write a personal mission statement, such as
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“ To believe in myself and allow myself to try, to
experiment, to experience, thus to learn.
To strive each day to be willing to pay the price to
achieve greater happiness, confidence and
spiritual growth.
To do some work that benefits others and is
enjoyable to me
To treat others based on the principles that I hold
important
Write a narrative about yourself
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Here is a summary of the questions in the book (p.47):
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What is your number one interest in design?
What or who influenced your interest?
What kind of skills do you have right now? Are there any special or
unique skills or experiences that you could offer an employer?
What specific career goals would you share with a potential
employer?
What could you do right now to improve your chances of eventually
getting the job you most want?
List three of your biggest successes
List five goals that you want to accomplish in the next year
List three goals you hope to accomplish by the time you’re 30
List three goals you hope to accomplish by the time you’re 50
List any “mini goals” that might help achieve these larger goals
You can either write out you mission and then list your lists and
sub-goals, tactics, etc. Or you could transform those lists into a
two-page paragraph style paper.