Our members have once again supported IFI’s directive to represent Interiors at the highest level. Your feedback has re-iterated the need to advocate for interiors within the design and architecture communities. With a majority of member’s input and help, we were able to send a response for IFI to take a stance against an existing specialty design discipline to transform themselves into an all design representative organization, we drafted the following statement:

STATEMENT AS SENT TO THE ICOGRADA AGM
The International Federation of Interior Architects/ Designers is the voice of design for interiors and promotes the contribution of interior design in society across the globe creating a platform of advocacy and policy.

Speaking on behalf of our members (who were surveyed on this specific issue), IFI believes that it is essential that Icograda should continue to represent the Communications and Graphics discipline as IFI represents Interiors and ICSID Industrial Design. Each discipline needs independent representation at a global level. The design professions, like all professions, exist within a knowledge and service economy which is dependent on deeper knowledge bases. This requires specialization and collaboration between different design disciplines with their own specific, highly technical knowledge and areas of expertise.

There is also a need for all these international organizations to collaborate on multidisciplinary issues. No global entity that is predominantly comprised of Communication and Multimedia Designers should see them themselves as representative of all of the design disciplines and speak as one global voice. We believe there should not be a single world body of design because the future of design rests in collaboration.

This statement was carried forward by our Australian member Design Institute of Australia (DIA), and along with other objections was for the record made known to Icograda. We understand that at this time Icograda’s name change has been ratified by members at their AGM. We share this news with you for your general update and with our thanks for your participation with IFI.

The current work that it is being carried out at board level is to establish a clear vision and structure for the future. We are reaching out to you all for your opinions as this work is on behalf of you, the membership. Over the next few months we will be communicating with you directly for your individual views to help to build a mutually exciting platform for the next few decades.

We are proud to serve the global Interiors community and remain at your service to raise the bar of excellence and advancement for the Interior Architecture/Design profession.

Iris
president@ifiworld.org