National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ)

The core purpose of NCIDQ is to protect the health, life safety and welfare of the public by establishing standards of competence in the practice of interior design.

The National Council for Interior Design Qualification serves to identify to the public those interior designers who have met the minimum standards for professional practice by passing the NCIDQ Examination.

NCIDQ continually updates the examination to reflect expanding professional knowledge and design development techniques. NCIDQ seeks the acceptance of its examination as a universal standard by which to measure the competency of interior designers to practice as professionals.

NCIDQ Certificate Holders

While NCIDQ does not offer membership to individuals, professional interior designers can become Certificate holders by completing the examination process. Individuals who meet NCIDQ's eligibility requirements and pass all required sections of the NCIDQ Examination are each assigned a unique NCIDQ Certificate number. Certificate holders who pay an annual Certificate Renewal fee receive exclusive Active Certificate holder benefits and discounts.

Acceptance

Successful completion of the NCIDQ Examination is a prerequisite for professional registration in those American states and Canadian provinces that have enacted licensing or certification statutes to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public. The NCIDQ Examination must also be passed by every interior designer applying for professional membership.

Administration

Beyond the Council's responsibilities for conducting and jurying the examination in locations throughout North America, it is charged with defining, researching and updating bodies of knowledge, conducting field surveys, analyzing candidate performance, evaluating subject areas and item validity, developing and pretesting questions and problems, improving scoring, implementing grading and jurying procedures, reviewing education and practice requirements, and identifying public health, safety and welfare issues.

NCIDQ Definition of Interior Design

Interior design is a multi-faceted profession in which creative and technical solutions are applied within a structure to achieve a built interior environment. These solutions are functional, enhance the quality of life and culture of the occupants, and are aesthetically attractive. Designs are created in response to and coordinated with the building shell, and acknowledge the physical location and social context of the project. Designs must adhere to code and regulatory requirements, and encourage the principles of environmental sustainability. The interior design process follows a systematic and coordinated methodology, including research, analysis and integration of knowledge into the creative process, whereby the needs and resources of the client are satisfied to produce an interior space that fulfills the project goals.

Interior design includes a scope of services performed by a professional design practitioner, qualified by means of education, experience, and examination, to protect and enhance the life, health, safety and welfare of the public.

These services may include any or all of the following tasks:

• Research and analysis of the client's goals and requirements; and development of documents, drawings and diagrams that outline those needs;
• Formulation of preliminary space plans and two and three dimensional design concept studies and sketches that integrate the client's program needs and are based on knowledge of the principles of interior design and theories of human behavior;
• Confirmation that preliminary space plans and design concepts are safe, functional, aesthetically appropriate, and meet all public health, safety and welfare requirements, including code, accessibility, environmental, and sustainability guidelines;
• Selection of colors, materials and finishes to appropriately convey the design concept, and to meet socio-psychological , functional, maintenance, life-cycle performance, environmental, and safety requirements;
• Selection and specification of furniture, fixtures, equipment and millwork, including layout drawings and detailed product description; and provision of contract documentation to facilitate pricing, procurement and installation of furniture;
• Provision of project management services, including preparation of project budgets and schedules;
• Preparation of construction documents, consisting of plans, elevations, details and specifications, to illustrate non-structural and/or non-seismic partition layouts; power and communications locations; reflected ceiling plans and lighting designs; materials and finishes; and furniture layouts;
• Preparation of construction documents to adhere to regional building and fire codes, municipal codes, and any other jurisdictional statutes, regulations and guidelines applicable to the interior space;
• Coordination and collaboration with other allied design professionals who may be retained to provide consulting services, including but not limited to architects; structural, mechanical and electrical engineers, and various specialty consultants;
• Confirmation that construction documents for non-structural and/or non-seismic construction are signed and sealed by the responsible interior designer, as applicable to jurisdictional requirements for filing with code enforcement officials;
• Administration of contract documents, bids and negotiations as the client's agent;
• Observation and reporting on the implementation of projects while in progress and upon completion, as a representative of and on behalf of the client; and conducting post-occupancy evaluation reports.

© 2004 National Council for Interior Design Qualification, Inc.