GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF CREATIVITY — ARE YOU KIDDING?

As you look at the beautiful pictures of marvelous environments in any magazine, and read articles about miraculous transformations that have been accomplished, have you ever questioned the designer’s qualifications?  The results speak for themselves!

Ludicrous as it may seem, there are three organizations — the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), and the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) — that are trying to establish laws in every state, including Oregon and Washington, to control the interior design profession and create an anti-competitive environment which will:

•  Limit your choice about who you hire to help you define your project with detailed plans and specifications, and help you select products

•  Increase your investment in professional fees

•  Increase your taxes (a new board to govern 2,500 designers could cost the state as much as one million dollars a year)

•  Put many qualified, experienced designers (including kitchen-bath specialists) out of business

•  Hurt an already-suffering economy

•  Damage the future of the interior design profession by making entry-level jobs impossible to get

The education, experience and examination qualifications set forth in model legislation created by ASID, IIDA, and NCIDQ, are not reasonably achieved.  Currently, there are only three schools in Oregon that comply with the requirements of model legislation.  There are approximately 2,500 professional designers in Oregon, but less than 10% of those people have passed the only examination recommended in the model legislation, the NCIDQ. The NCIDQ test emphasizes the significance of commercial design and minimizes the importance of residential design.  There is a big difference between the two, just as there’s a huge difference between the practices of a heart surgeon and a neurosurgeon.

Proponents of legislation want you to believe that you will put yourself at risk if you hire a design professional who doesn’t meet their qualifications. You will hear them say that they are working “to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public”.  Historically, there is no evidence to prove that any designer in Oregon or Washington has hurt anyone’s health or jeopardized their safety.  We have building codes which are updated every two years.  There are building inspectors to enforce the codes, to protect your health and safety.   You bear the burden of protecting your welfare by asking questions, checking references, and verifying experience before you hire a design professional.

ASK QUESTIONS

You need to get information, so you can make an informed decision about who will be the best designer for you.  Here are five questions to help you:

• What is your specialty? (NOTE:  No one can do everything!)

• How long have you been a designer?

• How do you communicate your ideas to your clients and their contractor?

• What are three examples of creative solutions you’ve devised to solve particular problems?

• Why do you think your qualifications meet my (our) needs?

Certifications are one measure of a designer’s commitment to professional, ethical practice.  Passing a test only means that the person is able to pass the test.  It says nothing about their innate creativity or what they will do to help you achieve your goals.

Patti Morrow, the Executive Director of the Interior Design Protection Council (IDPC) in New Hampshire, says:

“Interior design is a profession that combines both creative ability and critical thinking skills to achieve an outcome in the built environment that is both functional and beautiful.  Historically, it has been the qualifications of intelligence, imagination, and integrity that have produced aesthetically superior as well as overwhelmingly safe results.  The majority of states in this country do not have state-imposed regulation, and there has been no evidence presented in any state that the unregulated practice of interior design places the public in any form of jeopardy.”

In the coming year, you will be hearing and reading about legislation to regulate the interior
design profession in Oregon and Washington.  When the time comes, it will be very important for you to contact State Senators and Representatives, to register your opposition to any proposed legislation.  Regulation of the interior design profession is not inevitable, and it is not needed.  It’s not good for you!