Hospitals and Homes: What Qualifications Are Right for Designers?

April 8, 2008; Page A18  Wall Street Journal

This article ["Watch Out for That Pillow"] is right on the mark, but one very important factor needs to be added: ASID does not have the support of the interior design community.

Of the conservative estimate of 112,000 designers in the U.S., fewer than 4,000 are thought to have actually passed the exam they presume to hold up as the standard for everyone else (3%). They do not have a mandate, nor have the other 97% of designers elected them to speak on their behalf.

A grassroots movement of interior designers to oppose legislation has begun to take hold. Last year, 24 bills to impose some type of interior design regulation were introduced; none of them were enacted. This year, all state legislature bills that have, or have attempted to be introduced, have been met with resistance and defeat.

There are already systems in place (codes, inspections, etc.) which adequately provide protection for the consumer, and whether a designer is licensed or not, the codes have to be followed.

And really, let's give credit for a little common sense here, people. In commercial applications, hospitals for example, do you really think that the hospital's administrator is not going to thoroughly review the qualifications of the interior designer it intends to hire?

The call to arms has been made, and interior designers are ready to battle to protect their livelihoods.

Patti Morrow

Executive Director

The Interior Design Protection Council

Concord, N.H.

Mr. Neily's point was that ASID has aggressively pushed for licensing laws that are so sweeping they would require a license even for the most basic services a designer could provide, including the selection of throw pillows.

This is not speculation; this was in fact the effect of the licensing law ASID pushed for and successfully passed in Alabama. After the 2001 law, Alabama designers could go to jail if they did not have a license and offered advice for a fee on the color or placement of throw pillows.

This must underscore for you the unreal and ridiculous nature of the ASID crusade to regulate all competition out of business.

Interior designers throughout this country should be free to pursue the credentials they feel best prepare them for the job, and then be responsible for competing in the marketplace by demonstrating they are actually good at the job -- not by simply making their competition illegal.

Jennifer M. Perkins

Staff Attorney

Institute for Justice, Arizona Chapter

Tempe, Ariz.