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Clarifying Interior Design Titles and Labels.

If you attended an educational program that granted you a certificate upon completion- that does NOT mean you are “certified” interior designer.

If you passed the NCIDQ Examination- that does NOT mean you are a “licensed” interior designer.

If you received an interior architecture degree from a CIDA accredited school- that does NOT mean you are an “interior architect”.

If you want to be a “certified interior designer” learn what that means.

If you want to be a “licensed interior designer” learn what that entails.

If you want to be an “interior architect” take the ARE exam.

I do not know how much clearer this can be.   This is not my opinion folks…the above are legally and ethically demonstrable titles and labels that are often applied inappropriately and even illegally.  It is easy to get confused.  If this helps one person figure out who they are, or what they do, then I am good.

You are welcome to ignore the above…but now you do so knowing the difference.

Confused? Feel free to ask.  Disagree? Tell me why.

Thanks for reading on.

Michael Dudek

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4 responses to “Clarifying Interior Design Titles and Labels.”

  1. Jodie L Thill Avatar
    Jodie L Thill

    Did you intend to state “If you received an interior architecture degree from a CIDA accredited school- that does NOT mean you are an “interior architect”.? Thank you for the clarification.

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  2. Michael Dudek Avatar
    Michael Dudek

    Oh my I spent hours trying to word those as succinctly as possible and forgot the most important word “NOT” Thanks for following up

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  3. Ali McCormick Avatar
    Ali McCormick

    Is the program that the New York Institute of Art + Design offers legitimate? They tout that their certification program makes you eligible for the RIDQC exam, is it highly regarded to get that certification or is it a scam for money? Is the NCIDQ the only real accreditation that matters in the professional interior design world?

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    1. Michael Dudek Avatar
      Michael Dudek

      You do NOT need any certification or credential to perform residential interior design. As far as the practice of unregulated residential design it is merely a credential that you can market to prospective clients.
      The RIDQC exam, or credential, is not accepted by any state (U.S.) board that regulates the practice of Interior Design. As far as I know the NCIDQ Exam is the baseline exam that is accepted by all states that do regulate the practice of interior design generally as practiced by commercial interior designers.
      As to the legitimacy of the NYIAD program I will leave that to your judgement. Hope that helps.

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