Student Legislative Resources
Getting Involved | Ten Things You Can Do
Legislation, Politics and the Interior Designer
As a student preparing to embark on a career in interior design, it is imperative that you take time to advocate for your profession, your right to practice and the benefits of interior design to the public. Don’t make the mistake of overlooking the importance of your political involvement to your profession.
Across the nation, efforts are underway to grow and advance the interior design profession through legislation that legally recognizes the profession and protects interior designers’ right to practice. Interior design students are an integral part of these efforts.
Reasons to Become Involved:
- One of your most important responsibilities as a professional will be to protect and promote the interior design profession and its benefits and responsibilities to the public. Political involvement is a major component in promoting and protecting the interior design profession and ensuring that interior designers are allowed to practice within the full scope of their abilities.
- Interior design is a young profession. In order for the profession to grow and advance, you must make an effort to educate legislators and the public about the scope and benefits of interior design.
- Legislators make decisions every day that will affect your future profession and business. Most legislators are not interior designers and have never managed or worked in an interior design business. They need direct involvement from you in order to make decisions in the best interest of your clients and the public. It is no secret that some other professional groups would like to limit, control or even eliminate the practice of interior design as a unique profession. It would be naïve to believe that they are not making their cases before the legislature. If interior designers are going to advance the profession, you must be more vigilant in promoting interior design than the opposition is in their attempts to weaken it.
- Only interior designers know what is best for the interior design profession-and most importantly, the consumers of interior design services. If you have ideas or concerns, you must broach them directly with your legislators. After all, they are elected to represent you, but cannot address your needs adequately if they are not educated about them.
- You are the future of the interior design profession-make the most of it. Your future as a professional interior designer depends on the protection of your right to practice. You must take an active role in protecting it.
- Act now to promote and protect your future profession. Join your state’s interior design legislative coalition. Visit the ASID Web site, http://www.asid.org/ to learn more about the legislative issues affecting interior design. For more information on how you can become involved, contact the ASID Government and Public Affairs department at (202) 546-3480, or e-mail gpa@asid.org.
