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SHOULD INTERIOR DESIGNERS BE REGULATED 1

The Issue of Regulating the Interior Design Profession and Its Effect on the Designers and the

Public

Madelyn Cichy

Appalachian State University

Author Note

Madelyn Cichy, Department of Applied Design, Appalachian State University, Interior Design

major.
SHOULD INTERIOR DESIGNERS BE REGULATED 2

Abstract

This paper explores the issue of regulating interior design in the professional field and gives an

opinion of what should be done about the issue. Interior design is discussed in terms of how the

job has changed throughout the years and how that affects not only the professionals in the field

but the general public. The discussion of the regulation of interior design continues with what

states at the moment have different forms of regulation and a bill that has been introduced to

nationally regulate the design profession. The main argument of people in favor of this

regulation make the argument that interior designers have an effect of the safety of the general

public while the opposing side argues that this regulation only favors the qualified interior

designers. A personal opinion in favor of regulating the interior design profession on a national

level discusses the thought process behind this proposal.

Keywords: interior design, regulation, general public, safety


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The Issue of Regulating the Interior Design Profession and Its Effect on the Designers and the

Public

Interior design is the practice of planning and supervising the design and execution of

building interiors. In more laminin terms, an interior designer is in charge of anything interior of

a building that includes, but is not limited to, the design, furnishings, finishes, and architectural

design or layout. Interior design has changed drastically over the past couple of decades, mainly

changing from being limited to just “surface ornamentation” to “designing for human behavior”

because the space a person is in can drastically affect aspects like their mood, motivation, and

work performance (Denise A. Guerin Thompson, Jo Ann Asher, 2004). Becoming an interior

design major takes a lot of work over the course of a few years, but only if you live in state

where being recognized by the state as an interior designer is required for you to practice.

The Issue

History of Interior Design Regulation. The AID, or American Institute of Interior

Designers, was founded in 1931 and became popular in the 1950s. In 1968 the AID started a

voluntary certification program which followed by the ability to become a licensed interior

designer. The AID merged with other design organizations in nineteen seventy-five to form the

American Society of Interior Designers, or ASID, and immediately began working on state

regulation of interior design (Adrienne Alexander Henjum, Jones, Jeremy, et al, 2010). In 2003

the first bill to be introduced to change interior design into a licensed profession, but the bill has

not been changed nor passed since it was originally introduced (Adrienne Alexander, et a, 20l0).

The Lack of Universal Acceptance. With the changing field of interior design, the field

requires more and more knowledge and requirements are necessary to be qualified for the

professional job. As of right now, the issue is that there is no universal acceptance or regulation
SHOULD INTERIOR DESIGNERS BE REGULATED 4

of what background and requirements is needed to be considered a professional interior designer

(Denise A. Guerin, et al, 2004). Occupational regulations are regulations that “aim to protect the

public health and safety by ensuring a minimum level of quality through state-mandated entry

requirements and professional restrictions”. Currently, twenty-five states have some form of

these regulations, Minnesota having the most restrictive form of this regulation by allowing only

qualified people to use the title of “certified interior designer”, but still allows anyone to practice

interior design work without certification (Adrienne Alexander, et al, 2010). The outstanding

argument in support of having these regulations in the interior design field is to have the ability

to protect the general public’s health and safety.

The Health and Safety of the General Public. The main argument of protecting the

public’s health, safety, and welfare is used in support of passing the bill introduced in 2003. One

of the supporting arguments is the variety of tasks interior designers are in charge of that could,

if not done properly, be harmful and possibly detrimental to a person’s life. Some of these tasks

include toxins, slip resistance, indoor air quality, building and fire codes, and disability access

and there are many more. Another supporting claim being made is that a licensed architect is not

“sufficient” enough to ensure public safety. Because of the growing knowledge needed by

interior designers, architects are no longer always required for a job especially in the case of

home remodeling and renovations (Adrienne Alexander, et al, 2010).

The Opposing Side. Opposing parties to the desire to regulate the interior design

profession have found that consumers do not benefit when the industry is regulated, the only

ones pushing for the field to be regulated is the interior designers themselves, and there are fewer

than one hundred lawsuits involving interior designers since the nineteen hundred (Dick M.

Carpenter II, 2008). The lawsuits were not about safety or code regulations but were for
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breaching contracts and customer complaints are extremely rare even when comparing regulated

and unregulated states (Dick M. Carpenter II, 2008). The people who oppose also claim that

there is a push for this regulation from interior designers is for them to exclude competitors and

take advantage of the economic benefits that would come from that.
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Policy Proposal

Being an interior design major does make me biased, but I do believe that the interior

design profession should be regulated for multiple reasons. The interior design program at

Appalachian State University, as well as any other interior design program at other universities

or colleges, is rigorous program that starts the first semester you start college, followed by a

portfolio review at the end of freshman year in which a student is either denied or accepted, and

then continued with three more years of intense studio classes, technical classes, internships,

field studies, and technical labs. After obtaining a four-year bachelor’s degree, an interior

designer who wants to be licensed must then take an intense written test on the technical

knowledge gained throughout the four years of school, followed by three required years of work-

related experience, and finally another test based on field-learned information. Putting in about

seven years of work before I am a licensed interior designer is a lot to put on the line, and it is

upsetting learning that as of right now anyone who wants is able to call themselves a professional

interior designer.

Not only does this issue personally affect me, but it affects the general public and people

in their everyday lives. This is issue is not well-known enough by the public for people to fully

knowledgeable that at the moment, anyone is able to be hired as a “professional” interior

designer to design any building, putting them in charge of making sure the interior structures of

any building follow things like fire and safety codes, air quality, and toxins that could be life-

threatening if not taken care of properly. This is huge debate going on since the early nineteen

hundred that should be brought to attention and people should become more educated about the

issue, but in the end the interior design profession that should be regulated.
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References

Alexander, Adrienne, Henjum, Jones, Jeremy, et al (2010). Overview and analysis of public

policy and law, Regulating Interior Designers,

https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/61691/ID_Licensing_Capstone_Pap

er_Final%5B1%5D.pdf;sequence=5.

II Carpenter, Dick M. (2008). How the interior design cartel’s attack on IJ’s designing cartels

misses the mark, Misinformation, https://ij.org/wp-

content/uploads/2015/03/misinformation-report.pdf.

Guerin, Denise A., Thompson, Jo Ann Asher (2004). An educational transformation, Interior

Design Education in the 21st Century,

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1939-1668.2004.tb00396.x.

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