Category Archives: Safety and Welfare

I have been thinking about this issue way more than most sane people……..Unfortunately defining the professional domain of Interior Design is a mind numbingly complex, confusing, and completely debatable issue. I certainly understand why many of my peers avoid it like the plague.

In our case (the United States) we have convinced ourselves that it is the government’s responsibility to tell us who is a qualified interior designer and who is not. We have been trying for 35+ years to obtain Uncle Sam’s oversight to help us weed out the interior designer wannabe’s. That effort has caused an insurmountable backlash that, those of us who care about such things, find deeply troubling. I have spent much of this blog waxing (what the hell does that mean anyway) unpoetic about the problems inherent in pursuing government regulation of professional issues that are clearly the responsibility of the profession to deal with.

In my mind we (the profession) have become blindly devoted to a form of professional legitimization that has actually caused more negative public relations than progress. Despite what you might think of the anti-regulation effort -do not think that it is ineffective or short lived.

If you are unaware that there is a concerted effort to de-professionalize Interior Design you are welcome to inform yourselves here;

http://www.idpcinfo.org/

http://www.ij.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2376&Itemid=249

Now assuming that you look at both sides of this issue objectively I hope that you might possibly reach the same conclusion as Professionalinteriordesigner.  What we have here is an absolute debacle.  As long as we pursue government oversight of our professional domain we can expect a concerted and effective push-back. So much so that we are creating enemies out of allies. Never mind the expense of untold financial and intellectual capital on this effort. This is just stupid.

So I have been looking at how others have pursued professional legitimization of interior design. Yes it is in fact a global issue. This is best defined by this organization;

 http://www.ifiworld.org/

If Professionalinteriordesigner were to suddenly be anointed Supreme Leader of the Interior Design profession I would make IFI the de facto representative organization for the profession and I would instill a global credential system that would provide indisputable and globally defensible professional legitimization. 

Some call me a dreamer.