Fighting The Good Fight

On August 4th, 2011 we held a regulation celebration hosted by ASID (American Society of Interior Design), IIDA (International Interior Design Association), and IDAF (Interior Design Association Foundation). It was held at The Art Institute of Tampa, and was one of the most exciting business events I have ever attended. This event was able to occur since the Florida House bill 5005 did not pass after storming its way to the senate. I was so thrown away by the amount of people that arrived to the event, and at one point, being president of The Design Alliance, had to speak in front of everyone there. Intimidating, is all I can say about that experience. There were at least 200 people who attended. Students from three different schools, four Senators, and one House of Representatives were amongst warm my heart, and to know that a community of designers can come together for a common cause is breath taking. We are not the “occupation” so many others want us to be, or believe that’s what we are. I feel as though we are a family in some way, and that we see and understand the need for our career choice to be a profession. To know that each designer in that location had the right to sign and seal construction documents is such an amazing thing, and If you think about the situation logically, almost every other profession in the building industry has to have a license in order to do what they do and have their own company and firm. We have the right to a profession just as much as anyone else in the building industry. As each senator and representative took the stage to talk I felt more and more comfortable that the public is becoming aware of what we do.  Events like this make me have so much confidence for when January arrives and they try to deregulate our profession again. I cannot and will not back down; I will let the public know who we are and who I am. Together I know that we will fight the good fight.

Ignorance Isn't Bliss

It seems as though people tend to steer from the truth in order to help themselves. I have never been one to do this, but there are many within the interior design industry that believes our profession is merely an occupation. Why? I ask myself. Why would you want to degrade an idea that is as invigorating as interior design? We protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, a public that utilize buildings every day. To think that we are trying to keep our profession regulated for self-indulgence is beyond anything that I can comprehend. As a student, I have realized the hours of research and preparation that must be completed before any conceptual design occurs. As a person I have realized that not just anybody should design contract spaces. The public is unaware, and being a student I have seen that we need to educate the public. Opinion is not the case when it comes to the definition of what interior design is. Fact is the clear solution. 

When speaking about the health, safety, and welfare of the public, sustainability is a key idea that supports this concept. By utilizing sustainable concepts we are seeking materials that cause less waste and pollution in society. Designers are even recycling products from its previous space into new ones in order to create less waste.  According to Merriam Webster dictionary, sustainable is defined as “of, relating to or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.” Building constructions contribute to a large sum of waste within our society, and as a whole we must understand that in due time we need to remove our carbon foot print. Our society also consumes more energy and clean water than we actually are capable of producing. Through the use of motion sensors in spaces and implementing water saving faucets we can lower costs of electric and water bills for businesses and allow them to create a larger profit. 

Sustainability is the idea of thinking forward, and allowing this earth to be usable years from now. It is the idea of creating less waste and more innovative ideas that seek out efficiency and productivity within a space. These concepts should be implemented into every design on a daily basis, and anyone who calls themselves an “interior designer” but does not agree with the statements above should stop labeling themselves that right away. I don’t say this to be rude, I say this to let the people know that the hours of research that I conduct on sustainability is not a joke. I don’t decorate. I design. I am a logical person, and I understand the need to make a space be less damaging to the environment and the humans that utilize the space.