IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 8

From IIda

Design is...

Those who practice it, those who preach it, those who play with it, those who
teach it, those who breathlessly adore it—and those who just admire it from afar—
all have varying ways of defining design. Why is the definition of this profession
so multifaceted and diverse? Perhaps because it isn’t a single profession, and because
it is as much about thinking as it is about doing, and as much about strategy as
it is about passion. And it is everything about that messy, complex, ever-changing,
strong, fragile thing called humanity.
Design at its best resists definition, because design itself defines us. It defines
our humanity, our instincts, our culture, and our very being. We as a civilization
are better because of design and we will be better because of design. Yet,
as human beings, we instinctively seek to order, to classify, to put things into
terms and standards that make sense and into words that align our thinking.
Design demands order and simplicity yet ironically it revels in, encourages—
and celebrates—a certain unruliness that allows for serendipity, happenstance,
and unilateral grooviness.

JAMES WILLIAMSon

IIDA, LEED AP
2012–2013 President

ChEryL S. DUrST

Hon. FIIDA, LEED AP, IIDA
Executive Vice President/CEO

Whether your thinking is critical or creative, or an admirable blend of both on
a good day, you have a Design Story that IIDA wants to hear. This issue of Perspective
is but one example of how IIDA defines design. In Perspective we are thoughtleader-y about design. On FaceBook, we get a little more personal, and a bit cheekier.
IIDA Chapters are current, relevant, and consistent in their efforts. As an association
we do all the stuff we are supposed to like protect, advance, enhance, elevate,
provide, and shout from the rafters. Our “Design Is” reality is firmly grounded
in the immediate and future wants, needs, and aspirations of our members. But as we
expand to meet our global members’ needs, or our members’ global needs (because
we have and do both), that “Design Is” reality has grown to encompass a world that
regards design as so much more than it was 20 years ago, at IIDA’s inception.
We want to hear from you and about your own “Design Is” definition and reality.
Take a moment, enjoy this issue, then visit us at www.iida.org or on FaceBook
or Twitter (@IIDA_HQ), or contact Cheryl directly at cdurst@iida.org, and join
us in our “Design Is. . .” dialogue.

The Association for Design Professionals
Perspective is the journal of the International
Interior Design Association
© 2012.

Please recycle this
journal or pass
it on to a client,
colleague, or
design student.
8

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013