WASHINGTON – The National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) has launched a newly redesigned NCIDQ Web site. The new site has greater functionality and appeal and is focused around a more audience-specific experience, allowing users to search for information they want based on their specific needs.
The new design is part of an overall initiative designed to improve the user experience and strengthen the NCIDQ brand for the organization, Certificate holders, exam candidates and students. NCIDQ conducted extensive research on internal and external perceptions of NCIDQ, its message and the effectiveness of its Web site. After focus groups with NCIDQ Certificate holders, exam candidates, volunteers, interior design educators and students, new site architecture was mapped out that presented information based on the user.
“The goal of the redesign was to create a deeper and more user-friendly online resource that our various constituents would be able to use time and time again,” says Jeffrey Kenney, NCIDQ executive director. “We listened to what our audiences had to say and tried to meet as many of those needs as possible. We’ve built out the examination area of the Web site significantly, which will be a 24/7 source of timely and accurate information on all aspects of the NCIDQ Examination—from initial eligibility to scoring and everything in between.”
In addition to the enhanced examination information, NCIDQ has also added many new features to the site. Inside the Q is a new blog that focuses on all facets of NCIDQ—from insider tips on application process to special messages from NCIDQ’s executive director. Consumers of interior design services will find information that explains the benefits of hiring an NCIDQ Certificate holder, how interior designers protect the public and the difference between an interior designer and a decorator. Educators, employers and media representatives will also find dedicated areas of the Web site. Links to NCIDQ’s regular column in Interiors & Sources magazine have also been added so that users can quickly find NCIDQ’s articles in one convenient location.
NCIDQ also introduces QShop—an online shopping cart. QShop provides instant access to NCIDQ’s continuing education monographs and examination study materials. Shoppers can create accounts, purchase materials through secure credit card transactions, track shipments and manage their orders with ease.
Visit the enhanced NCIDQ Web site at www.ncidq.org.
NCIDQ® is an organization of regulatory boards and provincial associations in the United States and Canada whose core purpose is to protect the health, life safety and welfare of the public by establishing standards of competence in the practice of interior design. More information about the organization may be found at www.ncidq.org.