Design Impacts Lives - More Than a Tagline
Few phrases truly encapsulate our work as interior designers as well as “Design Impacts Lives.” These words are so much more than an ASID marketing effort to spread our brand – the impact of design on our world and on the people in the spaces we design is a proven fact based in research and comprehensive studies.
A shining example of how we tell our impact stories is the Impact of Design Series, a special section of ASID.org dedicated to highlighting projects that use evidence-based design to improve the quality of the human experience. The current featured project is the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Perkins Eastman created a sustainable, high-performance, urban learning environment for its students and surrounding community that has exceeded expectations in performance and impact.
Designers are empowered by knowledge, and ASID continues to advance its commitment to research. If you haven’t already done so, I encourage all members to read the 2018 ASID Interior Design Outlook and State of the Industry report. This robust publication examines the state of the economy and its effect on the interior design and construction communities, industry performance, and recent technological advancements. I often reference the document. One of my favorite statistics is that interior designers specify $77.95 Billion worth of products annually (p.39). This is incredible and clearly demonstrates the sheer magnitude of our collective buying power.
The abundance of ASID research would not be possible without contributions from the ASID Foundation’s (ASIDF) support of innovative research and education that articulates knowledge and collective intelligences through programs like the Transform Grants, which opened for proposals this week. The Foundation has provided more than $1 Million to the design community through scholarships, grants, and other programs.
As ASID members, regardless of firm size, we all have comprehensive and timely research at our fingertips if we only take the time to use this invaluable resource. If you’re not taking advantage of this member benefit, you are missing out on an opportunity to expand your knowledge base.