ICON - The magazine of the American Society of Interior Designers - (Page 10)

president’s message THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERIOR DESIGNERS Nov/Dec 07 ASID President Rita Carson Guest, FASID Executive Director Michael Alin, Hon. FASID Interior Designers Around the World Rita Carson Guest, FASID In July, I had the honor of representing ASID—along with Suzan Globus, FASID (now past president), and Society Executive Director Michael Alin, Hon. FASID—at an IFI conference in New York City. IFI, which considers itself the United Nations of interior design, is the International Federation of Interior Architects and Interior Designers (www.iﬁworld.org), with members from 45 countries. Present at this meeting were the leaders of design organizations and interior design educators from Europe, India, Australia, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Canada, Norway, Taiwan, Singapore, Italy, Qatar and the United States. (For more information about IFI, see the article on page 65.) One of the major issues mentioned by everyone was the difﬁculty deﬁning interior design to consumers. Some of us concluded that interior designers are best at meeting human needs while also considering the value of bringing “beauty and comfort” into the lives of human beings. Perhaps that is why consumers are confused. How can someone who understands beauty also understand the technical aspects of good design, space planning, etc.? Tiiu Poldma, Ph.D., an educator from Canada, presented an address that asked some fundamental questions about our profession: What constitutes truth and knowledge in interior design in today’s changing global society? Of what value is interior design in today’s world? How can interior design be integral to solving real, human problems in meaningful ways within the built environment? Dr. Poldma stated, “Interior design is a profession grounded in the values of empathy, care and service; values that are used to integrate art and science with ethics to enhance the built environment. This is done through the application of design process thinking to the broad problems and contexts of society. These issues are complex due to the nature of the human condition. We need to understand what research must be done on design processes, and how this can be expressed using core values that underpin interior design knowledge construction.” We spent time in small groups, deﬁning core values needed to inform fundamental studies for educational programs in interior design. The group I participated in came up with the following: Core Values Needed to Be a Good Interior Designer • Ability to translate needs, ideas and desires • Ability to provide usability and functionality into appropriate interiors within psychologically enhancing space • An understanding of human behavior • A sharp focus on the needs of people • An understanding and concern for sustainability • An ability to know how to “do no harm” • Ability to be ethically responsible • Must have the ability to communicate both verbally and visually • Must have empathy for human life • Must have passion for design • Must have aesthetic understanding • Must be technically competent • Must have respect for human life Within interior design research, we need to explore the human side of design. We need to develop means and methods to measure how an interior space affects human beings who spend 90 percent of their lives within interior environments. One question that arose was how we might use subjective experiences within interior spaces as part of the measure. As professional designers, we can encourage both educators and students to take on these important questions and develop the means and methods to better deﬁne our profession. ASID Staff Editor Jennifer M. Lipner Associate Editor Kerry O’Leary Director of Research & Knowledge Resources Michael Berens Design & Art Production Karen Berube, K.Designs ASID ICON Editorial Advisory Council John Connell, AIA; Laura Ethridge-Morris, ASID; Judy Fosshage, ASID; Janel N. Fowler, ASID; Maria LaPiana, editor, Connecticut Home & Garden; David Michael Miller, ASID; Melinda Sechrist, FASID; Katie Weeks, senior editor, Contract magazine Send submissions and correspondence to ASID ICON 608 Massachusetts Ave., NE Washington, DC 20002-6006 (202) 546-3480 • (202) 546-3240 fax publications@asid.org Publisher Charles Popper Project Manager Heather Ciocca Publication Director Erik Henson Marketing Associate Jessica Craik Sales Representatives Debbi Brown, Jennifer DiCapua, Shane Holt, Heather Locke, Hector Lopez, Bill Lovett, Marjorie Pedrick, Albert Quintero, Josh Rothburd, Mark Tumarkin, Chris Vermeulen, Paul Walley, Marcus Weston, Jason Zawada Editor Michael Senecal Designer Emma Law Advertising Art Julius Muljadi For advertising information, please contact Erik Henson at (800) 369-6220. Volume 9, Number 6, ASID ICON (ISSN 1527-0580) is published six times a year in January, March, May, July, September and November for the American Society of Interior Designers by Naylor, LLC, 5950 NW First Place, Gainesville, FL 32607; (800) 369-6220; (352) 331-3525 fax. Copyright 2007 by Naylor, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part prohibited without written authorization. Receipt of ASID ICON is a beneﬁt of membership in the American Society of Interior Designers. Published October 2007/AID-S0607/5813 Postmaster send changes of address to: ASID ICON, c/o ASID Customer Service, 608 Massachusetts Ave., N.E., Washington, DC 20002-6006. 10 ASID ICON | THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERIOR DESIGNERS

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ICON - The magazine of the American Society of Interior Designers

ICON - The magazine of the American Society of Interior Designers Contents President’s Message Good to Know Innovations Breathing Life into a Building Designs for Senior Living On the Move Thinking Green Aging in Style Industry Inside ASID Grassroots ASID National Industry Partner Focus Showroom Advertisers Resource Guide Annual Articles Index

ICON - The magazine of the American Society of Interior Designers

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