ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - (Page 27) By Michael Berens BY MOST ACCOUNTS, 2008 was not a bad year for the inte- rior design industry—at least through the first three quarters. The shockwave from the meltdown of the housing market and mortgage industry did not rock most designers’ businesses until midyear. Then the banking and financial market crises in September and October threw both residential and commercial projects into uncertainty as the luxury and government sectors went into survival mode. As 2009 begins, caution is the watchword for designers as well as clients. The question on everyone’s mind is not whether 2009 will be worse than 2008 but by how much. In an ASID survey of more than 1,660 active allied and professional members, conducted between Sept. 23 and Oct. 14, 2008, close to half (45%) of the respondents expected their revenues and/or fees would be lower in 2008 than in 2007. Of those, a third said the decrease would be 50 percent or more. Even in down times, designers look for ways to create opportunities. bearing up Residential (both single family and multi-unit housing), office and retail projects were down the most. Residential designers said they were doing many more small projects, with kitchen and bath remodels being the most commonly requested. Similarly, declines in product sales dragged down annual revenue. About 42 percent of survey respondents stated that the amount of product they specified for comparable projects had decreased in 2008 as compared with 2007. Slightly less than 30 percent of respondents reported specifying about the same amount of product, and only 16 percent said they were specifying more product. While the slowdown affected firms of all sizes, sole practitioners and small firms reported the most, and most severe, reductions. About one in two sole practitioners and those in small firms reported decreases in revenue, compared with one in three for those in medium and larger firms. Some members commented that they were forced to close their businesses or www.asid.org january/february/09 icon 27 http://www.asid.org
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ASID Icon - January/February 2009 ASID Icon - January/February 2009 Contents President's Letter Of Note Innovations Getting it Right Shadowing Design Bearing Up Industry Contrast Up Close Design for Life Environotes Inside ASID Grassroots Showroom Resource Guide/Advertisers Needful Things ASID Icon - January/February 2009 ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - ASID Icon - January/February 2009 (Page Cover1) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - ASID Icon - January/February 2009 (Page Cover2) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - ASID Icon - January/February 2009 (Page 1) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - ASID Icon - January/February 2009 (Page 2) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Contents (Page 3) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Contents (Page 4) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Contents (Page 5) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - President's Letter (Page 6) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - President's Letter (Page 7) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Of Note (Page 8) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Of Note (Page 9) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Of Note (Page 10) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Of Note (Page 11) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Of Note (Page 12) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Of Note (Page 13) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Innovations (Page 14) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Innovations (Page 15) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Innovations (Page 16) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Innovations (Page 17) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Getting it Right (Page 18) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Getting it Right (Page 19) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Getting it Right (Page 20) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Getting it Right (Page 21) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Shadowing Design (Page 22) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Shadowing Design (Page 23) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Shadowing Design (Page 24) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Shadowing Design (Page 25) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Bearing Up (Page 26) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Bearing Up (Page 27) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Bearing Up (Page 28) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Bearing Up (Page 29) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Industry (Page 30) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Industry (Page 31) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Contrast (Page 32) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Contrast (Page 33) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Up Close (Page 34) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Up Close (Page 35) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Design for Life (Page 36) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Design for Life (Page 37) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Environotes (Page 38) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Environotes (Page 39) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Inside ASID (Page 40) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Inside ASID (Page 41) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Grassroots (Page 42) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Grassroots (Page 43) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Showroom (Page 44) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Showroom (Page 45) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Resource Guide/Advertisers (Page 46) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Resource Guide/Advertisers (Page 47) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Needful Things (Page 48) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Needful Things (Page Cover3) ASID Icon - January/February 2009 - Needful Things (Page Cover4)
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