Interior Designer, Interior Architect, Interior Decorator…what professional title do you use?

Posted: 1.4.12 9:30 am

It has long been a hot topic that gathers much chatter and personal opinions amongst many. I know that I personally have sat through several discussion groups, forums, etc. and participated in much debate over the ‘naming game.’ The topic resurfaced to me as I was reading through one of my weekly LinkedIN feeds that took me to IIDA group. Click here for the blog discussion. I did read through a handful of them but in no way did I attempt to tackle the already 276 (and growing) comments!

I could write a very long explanation of my thoughts on this but will try and be as concise as possible. I personally believe that all of these ‘titles’ only confuse matters. We (Indiana and several other states) have made some major breakthroughs when we were able to pass legislation and create a registry for Interior Designers. In the past two years, the State of Indiana has registered over 420 professionals as ‘Registered Interior Designers.’ This has been a major stride in strengthening our profession as a whole and separating out (and recognizing) those professionals that have met and completed a nationally and highly recognized set of standards.

All in all, I truly believe that we need ONE title and ONE unified voice for our profession.

Jill

I agree…there is something to be said of the “POWER OF ONE”, whether your referring to an individual or a group. As Interior Designers, to be taken seriously as professionals we need to be consistent with how we represent ourselves both within our profession and to the public.
Tony

I agree with the thought of “Power of One.” If the we in the industry can’t decide what to call ourselves, how can we expect the public to understand the importance of what we do. I wonder if the people who call themselves the various titles all see themselves doing the same job. In other words, does an Interior Designer have the same definition for what they do as someone who calls him or herself and Interior Architect or Interior Decorator. In my mind I can come up with a definition for each and although they may have commonalities they could easily be different.
http://www.facebook.com/dudekorator Michael Dudek

Hey sorry I am late to this discussion- Jill I wish you had chimed in on the LinkedIn discussion.

I do not disagree with you but is it Uncle Sam’s job to sort out the qualified from the non-qualified?

Not to get too fussy with this….well- Okay let’s get fussy- in your response to Tony you said “As Interior Designers, to be taken seriously as professionals we need to be consistent with how we represent ourselves both within our profession and to the public.”

As a “registered” interior designer your response should have been “As Registered Interior Designers, to be taken seriously as professionals we need to be consistent with how we represent ourselves both within our profession and to the public.”

So yes we do need to be consistent. That is the challenge.

Thanks

Jill

Thanks Michael….you are right, I should have phased it; “as Registered Interior Designers”!! I am glad you bought that to the forefront. Even as an old veteran in the game, the title is relatively new to many of us (in Indiana) who have not had the opportunity until July 2009. to make the distinction. So I guess it is time we learn to use it wisely….and consistently!

Interior Designer, Interior Architect, Interior Decorator…what professional title do you use?

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