About ASID & ASID Texas Chapter
The American Society of Interior Designers [ASID] is a community of people – designers, industry representatives, educators and students – committed to interior design. Through education, knowledge sharing, advocacy, community building and outreach, the Society strives to advance the interior design profession and, in the process, to demonstrate and celebrate the power of design to positively change people’s lives. ASID is where design comes to life. Its more than 38,000 members engage in a variety of professional programs and activities through a network of 48 chapters throughout the United States and Canada.
Founded in 1975 with the consolidation of the American Institute of Decorators [AID] and the National Society of Interior Designers [NSID], the American Society of Interior Designers is the oldest, largest and leading professional organization for interior designers. Professional members of ASID must pass rigorous acceptance standards: they must have an accredited design education and equivalent work experience in interior design, and have successfully passed a two-day accreditation examination administered by the National Council for Interior Design Qualification [NCIDQ].
The ASID Texas Chapter represents over 1,600 professional, educator and industry representative members throughout the state of Texas excluding the greater Houston area, which is covered by the ASID Texas Gulf Coast Chapter. Members work in both the residential and commercial fields, either as sole proprietors or as part of small or large firms. Within the state and around the world, they provide valuable services and useful products to their clients. Members strive to improve the quality of life for all of their clients through the creation of aesthetically pleasing, thoughtful design that takes into account the health, safety and welfare of the public.
The career path of a professional Interior Designer involves formal education, entry-level work experience, and a national qualifying examination [NCIDQ]. Before you can even apply to take the exam, entry-level work experience is required. State and provincial licensing boards require proof of quality interior design experience for licensure and/or registration. Legislative rules vary from state to state. Texas, along with about 17 other states, is a “Title State.” This means that an individual cannot call himself an Interior Designer until he has passed the NCIDQ Exam, shown the state proof of this achievement, paid a registration fee to the state, and, finally, registered with the state. If one calls oneself an Interior Designer and someone who knows otherwise reports that person, he can be fined heavily and prosecuted either in civil and/or criminal court. Five states are “Title / Practice States,” which basically means that one cannot say that he practices interior design, let alone say that he is an Interior Designer, without facing strict penalties. Finally, some states have no laws governing interior design at all.
The State of Texas requires that every year an Interior Designer must accrue a total of eight Continuing Education Program Hours. All of these educational hours must have to do with the health, safety and welfare of the public. In other words, programs and classes on popular new colors or the introduction of new fabrics and furniture would not qualify. One of these hours must address barrier-free design, which deals with special regulations for designing for people dealing with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Texas Accessibility Standards (TAS) play a huge part in Commercial and Institutional design fields, and they are being incorporated more and more into residential design.
ASID has mounted a comprehensive initiative to raise the bar for individuals entering and working in the design profession, not only to protect the designers but also the clients who hire them.