The State of the Interior Design Program in the Philippines

Rationale:

CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) 28 series of

2008 entitled Revised Policies and Standards for Bachelor of Science in Interior Design governs all the major policies and standards on the undergraduate Interior Design program in the

Philippines.

The CMO states that the program is designed to meet the following goals:

Contribute to the enhancement and safeguarding of

life, health, and property and the promotion and

enrichment of the quality of life

Prepare its graduates for rigorous standards of

professionalism

Promote a solid foundation in technical, theoretical,

analytical, and ethical aspects of the discipline

Prepare ID graduates for professional practice,

research, and scholarship in the discipline so that graduates can make a contribution both in the realm

of societal needs and needs in the ID profession.

The CMO states that the program is designed to meet the following goals:

Program

The Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design (BA ID) is

a four-year degree program which should satisfy at minimum total of 167 academic units and

consist of three major course categories, namely:

1. General education courses

2. Professional courses; and

3. Elective courses

Careers for ID graduates

Graduates of ID programs are expected to be

able to perform any of the following roles:

1) Residential Interior Design

2) Commercial / Contract Interior Design

3) ID Instructors, Teachers, and Faculty members

4) Professional Renderer

5) Model-makers

6) CADD Computer Specialist

7) Specification Writer

8) Photojournalism ID Feature Writers

9) Residential Retail Furniture Designer

10) Furniture Designer

11) Department Store Designer

12) Retail Specialty Designer (for lamps,

accessories, etc.)

13) Office Furnishings Designer

Careers for ID graduates

14) Product and Manufacturing Designer

15) Design Merchandiser

16) Window Display Artist

17) Textile Designer

18) Floral Designers, among others

Careers for ID graduates

Competency standards

Graduates of ID programs should be able to

demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes

necessary to:

1) Identify, research, and

2) Creatively solve problems of the interior

environment bearing in mind their responsibility

to enhance and

3) Protect the welfare, safety, and health of the

users of the space

The Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC) Website

The Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC)

website defined the practice of Interior Design as

defined in the Philippine Interior Design Act of

1998 (also known as Republic Act 8534) as:

The practice of interior design is the act of

planning, designing, specifying, supervising and

giving general administration and

Responsible direction to the functional, orderly

and aesthetic arrangement and

Development of interiors of buildings and

residences that shall contribute to the enhancement and safeguard of life, health

And property and the promotion and enrichment

of the quality of life.

It shall embrace the following activities relative

thereto.

The Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC) Website

The PRC website also report on the competencies required of ID graduates, namely:

Consultation

Schematic designs

Preparation of preliminary technical studies

Preparation of documents

Interior construction and project management

The practice of interior design also include teaching of interior design subjects and computer-aided design.

The PRC website regularly reports on the results

of the Licensure examinations

Reported years were 2008, 2009, and 2010.

Issues and Opportunities

These issues range in complexity, level, and magnitude.

Some of the most obvious ones are the following:

A. Institutional level

The need for more data, including statistics, research and development (R & D) along the areas of interior design.

This includes updated and archival data and statistics in the PRC, CHED, and other ID-related institutions and organizations like the Philippine Institute of Interior Design (PIID) in which was established in1964.

Issues and Opportunities

PIID is a non-stock, non-profit organization composed of licensed and registered interior designers from all over the country.

It is also a counterpart organization of the United Architects of the Philippines.

B. National level Unlicensed ID practitioners-

Though interior design is a relatively old discipline having started as early as the 1950's and though laws like RA 8534 were enacted to professionalize the ID as a discipline, there are still many pseudo ID practitioners who provide their services to hapless clients.

Issues and Opportunities

Unlicensed ID practitioners-

In the September 16, 2007 Manila Times article quotes

veteran Belen Morey on the rampant cases of misrepresentation and fraud by both pseudo and supposedly legitimate ID practitioners.

a) Related to the aim of the program to promote and protect the welfare, well-being, health,

safety, and quality of life, interior designers are

expected to know which materials are poisonous,

cancer-causing and biodegradable.

Issues and Opportunities

b) A comprehensive and cohesive design that best reflect the clients personality, needs, and wants;

c) Ethical behavior

for example, an interior designer should pass on the

savings (in the form of discounts from suppliers) to his/her clients.

He /she also duty-bound to disclose every expense involved in the project since the bulk of her income should come from professional fees and not from jacked-up prices of materials used in the project.

Issues and Opportunities

d) A working knowledge of architecture, structural engineering, mathematics, psychology, art history, and even chemistry.

e) Ignorance of the nature of I.D. This may mean that there is a need to come up with a

massive information campaign to educate potential ID clients and the general public.

2010 report pointed out that major issues limiting the Creative Industries, of which ID is a part.

Thus, the emphasis for more information and marketing-related campaigns for the Creative Industries.

Issues and Opportunities

f) Globalization

As the world has become a much smaller, more integrated and interconnected place due to technology, this trend has also affected interior design in the Philippines.

g) Specialization of fields

Interior design is an allied profession of architecture but with the advent of specialization, leaders from both architecture and interior design eventually saw the need to have separate boards.

Borrowing heavily on the inputs of the

Arangkada report, the following are

recommendations for Interior Design:

1. Pass Senate Bill (SB) 2131 (14th Congress) to establish the Creative Industries Development Council.

Ideally, the private sector will drive the council.

The academe can help support such a bill.

2. The private sector should organize a Creative Industries Initiative and

eventually, an association/organization similar to BPAP to discuss key strategies to improve the

Creative Industries sector and not wait for government to be the prime mover.

All subsectors, including ID and architecture should be included.

3. Regarding human resources, improve design curriculum and training facilities to foster talent development and entrepreneurial skills.

Organize internship programs and be open to foreign ideas and travel to understand markets abroad.

4. Expand the Philippine design talent pool by making better opportunities available to Philippine designer abroad.

Make Filipinos aware of their design capabilities through

awards, exhibits, and lectures.

5. Be more alert and do more to protect Philippine intellectual property.

6. Recreate a Design Center of the Philippines where international designers lecture and advanced training for local designers is provided.

The center will promote interchange of American, Asian, and

European design ideas, while informing potential investors of opportunities in the country.

One of the organizations that can spearhead this is PIID.

7. Conduct foreign market studies to determine where the local Filipino input in design/ and or materials has unique competitive value.

END