Allied Membership Helpful Hints
Tips # 1: Has Your Professional Chapter Contacted You?
One significant key to a successful ASID membership experience is to get involved in your chapter through meetings, special events and other networking opportunities. If your chapter has not yet contacted you, we encourage you to proactively get in touch with them. You can now view your chapter affiliation when you log in to your personal ASID profile at www.asid.org. To find out your local chapter's information, visit www.asid.org/locate.
If you have any questions about how to contact your chapter, please e-mail the ASID Customer Service Team at
membership@asid.org
Tips # 2: Code of Ethics?
ASID members are required to conduct their professional practice in a manner that will inspire the respect of clients, suppliers of goods and services to the profession and fellow professional designers, as well as the general public. It is the individual responsibility of every member of ASID to uphold this code and bylaws of the Society.
Tips # 3: Member Referral Service
Take advantage of a valuable member benefit—The ASID Member Referral Service! Reach potential clients through the referral service by creating a personal profile, complete with photos that the public can view when searching for an interior designer in their area.
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Editing capabilities will be at your fingertips 24 hours a day via the ASID Web site. You can change the photos you have displayed, update your contact information, and revise your profile at your convenience. If you haven't participated in the referral service before, now is the perfect time to join!
To begin your profile, simply log in to our Web site. This service is open to all active practitioner members of ASID in good standing. Please click here for step-by-step instructions on how to enroll. To view a list of FAQs, please click here.
Questions about the referral service? Please send them to membership@asid.org.
Tips # 4: Report Your CEUs
As of a new ASID policy, practitioner members are now required to take at least six contact hours of continuing education coursework every two years. When you pay your dues it indicates that you agree to remain in compliance with the CEU requirement because it is a required condition of membership. You do not have to submit any information about the courses you have attended and you do not have to report anything online. The only exception will be in the event you are one of the members selected for an audit, in which case more detailed records will be requested. If you have any questions regarding your CEU compliance, please click here to visit our FAQ section. You can also contact us at (202) 546-3480 or by e-mail at education@asid.org.
Tips # 5: Have You Heard From Us?
One benefit of being an ASID member is that you are automatically subscribed to our own award-winning bimonthly magazine, ASID ICON, where you can find information about current trends and industry news. As a member you also receive the biweekly e-newsletter, NewsFlash, and industry news updates, all of which will keep you in the know in the design and business world, as well as Society happenings.
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If you have not been receiving ASID ICON and are an active ASID practitioner member, please make sure that we have your preferred address. If you are no longer receiving the e-newsletters, that most likely means we have an undeliverable e-mail address for you. To change your e-mail or your mailing address, please go to www.asid.org and login to update your profile.
Tips # 6: Highlights of the ASID Web site
As an ASID practitioner member you have a number of benefits, including the access to use and explore the ASID Web site, www.asid.org. A source of membership information, marketing tools and industry news, asid.org serves many purposes and can be a great tool. Listed below a few of the many features the ASID Web site has to offer.
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Industry Partner Directory: A national directory of ASID Industry Partners, including both company and representative contact information. The directory can be used to search the membership by company name, representative, state, chapter, or products and services.
Designer Referral Service: A searchable database of ASID designers, including individual designer profiles, complete with pictures of projects and descriptions of work.
Chapter Contact Information: A complete listing of all 48 ASID chapters' contact information.
Events Calendar: A comprehensive events listing, including national/international design events and ASID chapter events.
ASID ICON Online: The Society's bi-monthly magazine can be found online in digital format. ASID ICON presents editorial content on the leading industry issues, including sustainability, universal design, design specialties, business practices and how to market and grow your business.
Job Bank: Have a job opening? Need an intern? The ASID Job Bank can be a great source for posting and finding jobs within the industry. Remember, all Industry Partners receive free internship postings.
Membership Self Service: Login online to update your membership contact information. You can also sign up and manage your profile on the Member Referral Page, as well as report your CEUs and your design specialties.
Knowledge Center: Gain access to professional interior design news, research and information on topics such as, sustainable design, business and technology, aging and accessibility and the design profession.
Tips # 7: Have you visited ASID Connex, our online social networking site?
ASID Connex, a new social networking site, allows members to connect with one another and share information. The community is exclusively for ASID members and is password protected. On ASID Connex you will have the opportunity to create a profile, add pictures, add people to your network, select your interests, create and join groups, create and join new discussions. and interact via instant message and e-mail.
To get started, log on to Connex at www.asidconnex.org
Tips # 8: ASID Advantage
ASID offers many incentives through the ASID Advantage program, which offers members access to business tools and affinity programs.
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- Interior contract documents: ASID residential and commercial interior documents are the most widely accepted standard forms in the interior design industry. They not only protect the designer but also build consumer confidence by facilitating communications among all involved parties of a project.
- ASID MasterCard® credit card from Bank of America: Eligible members can obtain credit and the advantages of a low introductory annual percentage rate (APR) and no annual fee. ASID cardholders can access their credit card information including current activity, statements, balance information and electronic payment scheduling by logging on to the Bank of America Web site.
- ASID Job Bank: The ASID Job Bank provides access to new employment opportunities in the design field. Visit the Job Bank through www.asid.org to view the latest openings in commercial and residential design, facilities management, retail design, health care design, hospitality design, internships and more!
- Insurance: Through a partnership with The Insurance Exchange Inc., members have access to professional liability insurance, business owners insurance, disability, life and long-term care insurance.
- Discounted publication subscriptions: ASID members receive special subscription rates to several interior design related magazines.
Tips # 9: Interior Design Legislation: What Is at Stake and Why it Is Important to You
Interior designers make important decisions every day that affect the health, safety and welfare of the public and the public benefits when interior design professionals are required to meet competency standards. Through registration establishing enforceable standards of minimum competency, we can be assured that consumers are receiving the best possible service that the interior design profession has to offer.
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The public's failure to understand the difference between the design professions necessitates a clearly defined profession of interior design. State interior design legislation is the means to that end. Only through registration and licensure do states legally recognize a profession. That legal recognition enables consumers to differentiate the responsibilities and services of each design profession.
As a student of interior design, it is imperative that you take an active role in legally defining the interior design profession—for the welfare of the public and the future of the profession.
What is interior design legislation?
States legally recognize the interior design profession through interior design legislation. The legislation establishes minimum standards of qualification that an interior designer has to meet to become registered in the state. Interior design legislation protects and benefits public health, safety and welfare.
In addition to establishing standards of minimum competency for the profession, interior design laws legally recognize interior design as a profession and often define its scope of practice.
Professional registration or licensure laws do not say who provides "good design" or "bad design;" this is a decision that can only be made by a client. Instead, professional regulations set a minimum level of competencies required to safely practice a profession.
Why does it matter to me?
Professional Standards - There is no denying that we are in the middle of a design explosion fueled by the popular media. One result of this increased focus on interior design is a proliferation of "interior design" seminars and certificates and an influx of untrained "interior designers" in the market place. In states without interior design laws, there are no professional qualifications for an individual to become an interior designer or to practice interior design. Although you may follow the professional path and achieve formal interior design education, experience and passage of the NCIDQ exam, it does not preclude an individual with none of those qualifications from doing the same work that you do. In such cases, the public health, safety and welfare is in jeopardy, as an unqualified individual may make decisions that puts lives at risk.
Right to Practice/Loss of work - Even if you have formal interior design education, experience and have passed the NCIDQ exam, it does not guarantee that your state will recognize you as a professional. Only through state registration and licensure does a state recognize a profession. If you live in a state without an interior design title act or practice act, interior design is not a legally recognized profession in your state and you may, therefore, be precluded from practicing to your fullest capabilities or bidding on certain state projects.
Additionally, with professional recognition comes a legal definition of interior design and its scope of services. Without a legally defined scope of practice, interior designers run the risk of losing their ability to provide certain services through the regulation of other design professions. This means loss of work for interior designers.
What can you do?
Involvement in the legislative process is a vital part of your roll as a student and as a professional. Take advantage of the many resources available to you through ASID to protect your profession and promote its benefits to the public. For more information on legislative issues or to find out how to get involved, e-mail the ASID Government and Public Affairs Department at gpa@asid.org or visit the www.asid.org/legislation.
Tips # 10: Have you Shared the Love?
Hopefully, by following all these tips, you are now an active member of ASID and have been taking full advantage of your membership. With our membership growing every moment, we invite you to promote ASID within your network. If you know someone that could benefit from membership in ASID, we encourage you to Share the Love and receive a $50 voucher for your membership dues! Complete the form here, to send them an e-mail with links to our website, where they can get all the details of membership, download an application or join online.