i+D - January/February 2020 - 36

License to Practice - By Brian J. Barth

The Battle Ahead
Dennis pointed out a further fact that a majority of voters-in any state-are likely unaware of: The profession has
already been deregulated in a significant way.
In 2009 the Institute for Justice, which describes itself as a libertarian law firm, sued the Florida Board of Architecture
and Interior Design in an effort to overturn the state's licensing law. The case, known as Locke versus Shore,
was partially successful. "The court said that because interior design is such a broad term-you have decorators,
residential designers, commercial designers, interior architects, and more, all with different levels of competence and
areas of practice-that the state of Florida cannot restrict that term only to license holders," says Bryan Soukup, the
vice president of government and public affairs at the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). In other words:
Anyone can use the term. And, because the case was settled in federal appeals court, it forms a legal precedent,
giving credence to other such cases in other states.
But, the court also made a distinction in favor of regulated designers, says Soukup. "They said that for certain aspects
of interior design-for example, designing in code-regulated spaces-that qualifiers on the term interior design can be
restricted, if reasonably and accurately tailored." Thus, terms like registered interior designer (RID), certified interior
designer (CID), and licensed interior designer (LID) are allowed. This helps to ensure that individuals lacking technical
knowledge can't stamp construction plans or respond to RFPs for large-scale commercial and government projects.

Bryan Soukup,
American Society
of Interior
Designers (ASID)

The battle is far from over, however, as similar efforts to
deregulate the profession are underway across the country.
At the root of the issue is a profound misunderstanding
of the responsibility of qualified interior designers to ensure
not just the beauty of interior environments, but also the
health, safety, and welfare of their occupants. The Institute
for Justice, for example, has referred to ASID as a "cartel"
and has pushed out white papers, press releases, and
PSA-style videos to advance its cause. This is why ASID
not only shows up in courts and at state capitols to advocate
for appropriate policy, but it also works aggressively to raise
awareness of the profession at large.
The organization, along with others such as CIDQ, have been
putting out videos and other promotional materials depicting
real-life examples that demonstrate the seriousness of the
profession in a way to which the average person can relate.
"Interior designers need to know the fire retardancy of
commercial furniture fabrics and the fire ratings of nonloadbearing
partition walls," says Soukup. "In medical and assisted-living
environments, they make sure that off-gassing from carpets
and wallcoverings are not compromising the health of infants or
the elderly and that flooring materials don't encourage slips and
falls." Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act is
another huge area of responsibility that the public may take for
granted but would care about deeply if they were more aware.
"The majority of fatalities during hurricanes Katrina and Maria
were people with some sort of cognitive impairment or physical
disability who just weren't able to get out of their nursing
homes or their public housing in a safe manner," says Soukup.
"Qualified interior designers are the professionals who are most
skilled and most knowledgeable about applying those interior
accessibility standards."

36

i+D - January/February 2020



i+D - January/February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i+D - January/February 2020

Contents
i+D - January/February 2020 - Cover1
i+D - January/February 2020 - Cover2
i+D - January/February 2020 - 3
i+D - January/February 2020 - 4
i+D - January/February 2020 - 5
i+D - January/February 2020 - Contents
i+D - January/February 2020 - 7
i+D - January/February 2020 - 8
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i+D - January/February 2020 - 12
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i+D - January/February 2020 - Cover3
i+D - January/February 2020 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/asid/asid/design_product_guide_2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/id/20211112
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/id/20210910
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/id/20210708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/asid/design_product_guide_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/id/20210506
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/id/20210304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20210102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20201112_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20201112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200910_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/asid/design_product_guide
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200708_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200506_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200304_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200102_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20191112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20191112_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190910_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190708_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190506_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190304_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190102_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20181112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20181112_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180910_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180708_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180506_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180304_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180102_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180102
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com