As 2004 begins, the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) marks a milestone that is 30 years in the making. This year, NCIDQ enters its third decade of public protection as the organization and our profession grow every day.
Who would have ever known, or even ventured to dream, when the first interior design examination was administered in 1974 that less than 30 years later we would be an organization with more than 18,000 certificate holders? We hardly would have dared to dream that we would continue to grow, averaging—as we do now—about 1,000 new certificate holders each year. And yet, here we are 30 years later, and the NCIDQ examination is the benchmark for certification or licensure in more than half of the U.S. jurisdictions and eight Canadian provinces. Interior design is a legally recognized profession with statutes that regulate it. All of us can be proud of this progress.
As proud as we are, we are not content to rest on our achievements. Last November, NCIDQ convened its Annual Council of Delegates Meeting in San Diego to report on the year's work and to set the stage for the coming year. Our council is made up of a representative from each of our 19 member boards in the United States and Canada that regulate the practice of interior design in their jurisdiction. We were especially pleased to welcome guests from the Kentucky Board of Architects and the New Jersey State Board of Architects, both of whom are applying for NCIDQ membership this year.
Clearly, the practice will only continue to grow, and NCIDQ plans to take a lead in ensuring that the practitioners, regulators, educators, students and public at large have a very clear understanding of what interior design is—and isn't. The board of directors has an ambitious, but realistic, strategic plan for the future.
This plan for a renewed focus on awareness means that we will redouble our efforts to tell the interior design story so that all those involved understand the importance of our roles in the design process. It's no secret that there are myriad misconceptions in the marketplace, but NCIDQ's mission is clear. We are charged to protect the public by identifying those individuals who are competent to practice interior design. Within the context of that mission, we will begin to implement our strategic plan.
The most visible product of this mission is the NCIDQ examination, which we continually update and validate for fairness and relevance to our profession. Some of you may have been asked to participate in a survey last year as part of our practice analysis study. The results are in, and the data strongly indicate that NCIDQ's examination content is a valid accounting of the practice of interior design. This is good news for us at NCIDQ, of course, but also for us as professionals, employers, faculty and consumers since it provides objective and substantiated evidence that NCIDQ's exam accurately reflects the practice of interior design. If you'd like a copy of the Practice Analysis Report, please visit our Web site at www.ncidq.org for an order form.
NCIDQ's Interior Design Experience Program (IDEP), for recent graduates entering the profession, is gaining acceptance. Now, the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO) requires IDEP participation for all new intern members. ARIDO is the first of our member boards to enact this requirement, and we are committed to helping them implement it in 2004.
If you're looking for an effective and convenient way to earn continuing education credits, NCIDQ can help. Our monograph series will continue to grow this year. Read a short monograph on ethics or lighting design and take a quiz whenever—and wherever— it's convenient for you. We'll release more monographs this year, so be sure to visit our Web site often for updates of the newest titles.
Everything about NCIDQ is maturing. Our Web site will become an even more critical communications channel for us. To that end, we will launch a new Web site this year that effectively communicates our message and serves our wide range of stakeholders. Part of our growth process is our new logo, which you see above. We won't abandon our familiar logotype, but you'll begin to see it in a variety of colors and in this new format.
We are grateful to those visionaries who worked before us to bring NCIDQ to the place we are today. Now, we will go to work—building to make NCIDQ better for the next 30 years and beyond—to leave a better and stronger organization for those who will come after us.
J. Derrell Parker, FIIDA,ASID is the president of NCIDQ and founding partner of the Las Vegas, NV firm of Parker Scaggiari. He has been a registered interior designer in Nevada for 32 years and is an NCIDQ certificate holder. For more information or to order NCIDQ's Practice Analysis or a monograph, please visit www.ncidq.org or call (202) 721-0220.
Who would have ever known, or even ventured to dream, when the first interior design examination was administered in 1974 that less than 30 years later we would be an organization with more than 18,000 certificate holders? We hardly would have dared to dream that we would continue to grow, averaging—as we do now—about 1,000 new certificate holders each year. And yet, here we are 30 years later, and the NCIDQ examination is the benchmark for certification or licensure in more than half of the U.S. jurisdictions and eight Canadian provinces. Interior design is a legally recognized profession with statutes that regulate it. All of us can be proud of this progress.
As proud as we are, we are not content to rest on our achievements. Last November, NCIDQ convened its Annual Council of Delegates Meeting in San Diego to report on the year's work and to set the stage for the coming year. Our council is made up of a representative from each of our 19 member boards in the United States and Canada that regulate the practice of interior design in their jurisdiction. We were especially pleased to welcome guests from the Kentucky Board of Architects and the New Jersey State Board of Architects, both of whom are applying for NCIDQ membership this year.
Clearly, the practice will only continue to grow, and NCIDQ plans to take a lead in ensuring that the practitioners, regulators, educators, students and public at large have a very clear understanding of what interior design is—and isn't. The board of directors has an ambitious, but realistic, strategic plan for the future.
This plan for a renewed focus on awareness means that we will redouble our efforts to tell the interior design story so that all those involved understand the importance of our roles in the design process. It's no secret that there are myriad misconceptions in the marketplace, but NCIDQ's mission is clear. We are charged to protect the public by identifying those individuals who are competent to practice interior design. Within the context of that mission, we will begin to implement our strategic plan.
The most visible product of this mission is the NCIDQ examination, which we continually update and validate for fairness and relevance to our profession. Some of you may have been asked to participate in a survey last year as part of our practice analysis study. The results are in, and the data strongly indicate that NCIDQ's examination content is a valid accounting of the practice of interior design. This is good news for us at NCIDQ, of course, but also for us as professionals, employers, faculty and consumers since it provides objective and substantiated evidence that NCIDQ's exam accurately reflects the practice of interior design. If you'd like a copy of the Practice Analysis Report, please visit our Web site at www.ncidq.org for an order form.
NCIDQ's Interior Design Experience Program (IDEP), for recent graduates entering the profession, is gaining acceptance. Now, the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO) requires IDEP participation for all new intern members. ARIDO is the first of our member boards to enact this requirement, and we are committed to helping them implement it in 2004.
If you're looking for an effective and convenient way to earn continuing education credits, NCIDQ can help. Our monograph series will continue to grow this year. Read a short monograph on ethics or lighting design and take a quiz whenever—and wherever— it's convenient for you. We'll release more monographs this year, so be sure to visit our Web site often for updates of the newest titles.
Everything about NCIDQ is maturing. Our Web site will become an even more critical communications channel for us. To that end, we will launch a new Web site this year that effectively communicates our message and serves our wide range of stakeholders. Part of our growth process is our new logo, which you see above. We won't abandon our familiar logotype, but you'll begin to see it in a variety of colors and in this new format.
We are grateful to those visionaries who worked before us to bring NCIDQ to the place we are today. Now, we will go to work—building to make NCIDQ better for the next 30 years and beyond—to leave a better and stronger organization for those who will come after us.
J. Derrell Parker, FIIDA,ASID is the president of NCIDQ and founding partner of the Las Vegas, NV firm of Parker Scaggiari. He has been a registered interior designer in Nevada for 32 years and is an NCIDQ certificate holder. For more information or to order NCIDQ's Practice Analysis or a monograph, please visit www.ncidq.org or call (202) 721-0220.
