| Our oversaturated industry |
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Posted: Thursday, February 11, 2010 12:20 pm
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Is the rise in industry representatives good for business or bad for design morale?
2009 saw a flurry of design talent creeping out of the proverbial woodwork and announcing itself on the design scene. The interior design industry is now flourishing with fresh new designers, and, as it seems, a whole host of associations ready to provide the professionals with the services they need to move forward in the industry. With the emergence of SBID and the already founded BIID (formerly BIDA) it appeared that we had finally opened the doors to allow our designers to choose between the industry bodies that could best provide for them. It seems that fellow designers did not stop there in their quest to provide for the industry and we now have several other organisations such as the IDA vying for our designers’ attention.Vanessa Brady at SBID and Colin Watson of the IDA were on hand to comment about the recent uprising in industry representation. It is clear that both are out to provide the very vest service for their particular areas of the industry and each has their own area of strength to lend to our designers.So, is the industry going to be oversaturated with associations and societies or is this a step in the right direction? Can we move forward from this without creating a division between designers and what do you see happening in 2010 within the business of the industry?
 Vanessa Brady, SBID
The SBID is a professional organisation and not a trade organisation and the key differentiation for us is that we exist to promote standards; therefore our disciplines are unique from other organisations that exist to promote trade, it is why we are a charity.
Our aim is to provide a route for a designer based upon a degree course. When a design practitioner has graduated having invested time in study and incurred substantial costs they really want to be separated from those that have purchased design courses or those that have not received any training at all.
Without a measured procedure which is both regulated by an independent body and with regularity to ensure ongoing knowledge, it can not be referred to as a profession and that is where ostensibly where the problem lies.
We have therefore engaged with the House of Commons on this matter and numerous organisations across the sectors of competition in which interior design dovetails. Throughout this process we have engaged with the industry and we will deliver a profession for our members who represent the top twenty per cent demographic of designers, architects, manufacturers and suppliers the majority of whom previously were uninspired to join interior design groups.
We are working in three key areas, firstly on a research programme in association with BRE and government through our sustainability board. We are also working with Universities across the Country to ensure the standards adopted and taught are the right fit for all stakeholders. Finally we are working with our members to provide networking opportunities that raise standards within the profession, in these three core areas we automatically bring security to the consumer when selecting a provider which brings an added benefit to our members, it is a win-win-win situation for all stakeholders.
We have 674 members and have not yet begun marketing; the previous seven months have been spent in research so we are very confident that we have identified the right product to bring a fresh wind through the industry. www.sbid.org
 Colin Watson, IDA
The IDA is the professional body representing Interior Design Professionals and practices working principally, but not exclusively in the International commercial interiors market with public and private sector clients. The need for this has been in the melting pot for some time and after a series of meetings by Interior Design professionals, it became clear to them that no industry body satisfactorily represented interior design practices and individuals in the commercial market place.
Circumstances have led to there being more than one organization with an interest in representing the interior designer in the UK. The CSD was at one time active in the sector but now has little support from Interior Designers. I do not really understand the objectives of SBID as there is no apparent links with the supply chain in the commercial sector and it appears to be a breakaway group from BIDA, so duplicating what is already established. BIDA (now BIID), which was established 40 years ago and now with institute status, is seen by IDA members (new and potential) as serving a different part of the market. This part historically specialized in residential and smaller scale projects and of course this perceived difference has been a matter of considerable debate for interior designers. Exactly how do you define what is smaller scale, are not all interior designers trained, qualified and more importantly experienced to work effectively in all interior design applications? The answer is actually no and it is clear there is a barrier, that is why the IDA has a strong demand from practices that are not already members of an industry body and have extensive experience in hotels, education, government and public buildings, corporate offices, retail and the like.
I met BIID President Iris Dunbar early in 2009 and explained that I had received considerable demand from Interior Design Practices to establish an independent body. The defining characteristic in addition to those already mentioned, was they tended to work extensively with the supply chain represented by the BCFA. They made it clear that the membership profile of BIID did not fit with the type of projects they typically worked on. Over the course of a number of meetings during 2009 we agreed there was a common goal to raise the status of interior designers no matter which market they served or what perceptions they may have about representation. The winning of hearts and minds would be best served not by challenging attitudes on allegiance but approaching the issues from two ends and meeting in the middle.
This approach will ensure that we reduce duplication of effort and move more quickly to develop the interior design profession. www.theida.co.uk |
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