Become a Professional Interior Designer!

ALL YOU NEED IS A PULSE….MAYBE……NO JUST CASH….OKAY WE ARE NOT DOCTORS SO WE CAN’T CONFIRM YOUR VITALS…..BUT WE ARE PROFESSIONAL INTERIOR DESIGN EDUCATORS- SO IF YOU HAVE CASH YOU TOO CAN BECOME A PROFESSIONAL INTERIOR DESIGNER….

So riddle me this- the authors of the Interior Design Body of Knowledge suggest that“….Interior design professionals must become and remain engaged with the evolving BOK or be marginalized by the profession as being less qualified.”

How is remaining engaged with the B.O.K. going to marginalize this;

http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/48069/become-a-professional-interior-designer   ?  This kills me…..”Interior design is a great career as it is easy to earn extra money working part-time or full-time with very little expense.”

Or this;

http://www.examiner.com/marketing-in-los-angeles/toilet-paper-gets-chic-designer-covers ?

Jonathon Adler could give a #2 (pun intended) about the BOK….he is going to make a S**T load of cash as an “interior designer” (he is actually a potter/ceramicist but that does not matter per the above educational standards)- he may not be registered or licensed or a member of ASID or IIDA, butt he could care less and neither do his many clients and the public that buys this crap….”Wow that Jonathon Adler is the greatest INTERIOR DESIGNER ever….I mean only an INTERIOR DESIGNER would think to decorate a toilet paper holder- they are so creative…..I wish I could be a professional interior designer…hey wait gosh it looks like I can be…in my spare time

So while I don’t disagree with the B.O.K. recommendation I wonder just how and who will make this marginalization happen? Will it happen by magic? Will it happen because some of us say it will? Will the popular media make it happen? Of course the answer to all the above is NO. It is up to us.  Unfortunately for many of us regulation is the only readily apparent answer. As our only public relations effort, regulation of the term and the practice of interior design made sense during the first 30+ years of the ID regulation effort. Had we been successful at ameliorating  the term and the practice of “interior design” to LEGALLY be what we wanted it to be then we could literally sue those pesky interior decorator designers wannabe’s into submission.  BUTT we lost that battle- now we have to rely on Uncle Sam to sort us out…. The very government representative that told us we cannot tell interior designers that they cannot be interior designers.

Let’s ponder that imponderable as we reach for our TP from one of Adler’s TP holders.

 

I WANT YOU……TO BECOME A REGISTERED/CERTIFIED/LICENSED INTERIOR DESIGNER

P.S. Hey Kimberly Clark the names you came up with for Adler’s TP holders are disappointing….“Barjello Blue”, “Chevron Pink” and “Clover Green”…PPPFFTTT!  That’s a missed opportunity if I ever saw one…”Bare Bottom Blues”, “Private Parts Pink” and……and…..can’t come up with one for green…..now if they had used brown I could work with that one……..

3 responses to “Become a Professional Interior Designer!”

  1. Well, I now can’t become a LEED AP (Version ?) without working on a LEED project, but then I can’t work on a LEED project without being an accredited LEED specialist of some sort? I just found out that my college is adding yet another semester of TIME to my program – the prerequisites have changed – so add 3 semesters to my 63 unit BEGINNING cert program – rounds out to about 7 semesters! OH yeah! AND my school is no longer CIDA certified so the “certification” I’ll received is based on the REPUTATION of the program!!!!! Not to mention the thousands and thousands of dollars I’ve spent on gas, memberships, books, etc. So, will I have an AS ID, yet still call myself an Interior Decorator (not that I mind calling myself an Interior Decorator…? Will any one hire me or is that the marginalization they’re speaking of? Yes, I too am rapidly becoming a paranoid schizophrenic…

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  2. Thanks Sparkle good to see you are still hanging in there albeit a bit stressed. It is rough enough choosing an educational path to reach what career goals a prospective student may set for themself. But to have the rules changed in the process is crazy.

    Unfortunately this world of certifications, specialization, credentials and accreditations is not going to get any clearer, easier or fairer.

    All I can offer is that ultimately titles and acronyms after your name are meaningless as long as you can prove that you know what you are doing. And that if you have the will/talent/skills the way forward will present itself. It may not be obvious and you may even have to create your own path but it with persistence and dedication (and maybe a bit more time and money;-) it will happen.

    If LEED interests you become a LEED Green Associate
    If NCIDQ is a goal start networking with NCIDQ certified professionals.
    Good Luck

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  3. Thanks so much for being the voice of reason!

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