Chapter 1 The Value of Interior Design 17 Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. design is highly regarded when fi rms that employ many designers, such as Gensler, are contracted to complete projects in other countries. On behalf of their clients, interior designers specify interior materials, products, and furnishings from around the world. The ASID State of the Industry Report indicated that interior designers specify over $46 billion in products every year. Their infl uence and impact in other parts of the world is often clearly signifi cant. For example, interior designers can diminish the demand for tropical woods and instead increase the use of rapidly renewable materials. Interior designers have direct infl uence on the planet by what products they use in interior spaces—a direct global value. As part of the built-environment team, interior designers work closely with the construction industry. In the world, construction constitutes over 10 percent of the global Gross World Product (GWP)—the sum value of all fi nal products and services produced worldwide in a given year. As indicated in a recent IFI President’s Update, China alone, where many buildings and cities are under construction, is responsible for one-sixth of all construction activity due to its population growth. Entire cities in China are planned and built rather than evolving over time from small towns to large metropolitan areas. How Chinese design begins to accommodate all aspects of life for the Chinese people has, and will continue to have, global impact on design. As an example, the focus of China’s government and national policy on design rather than manufacturing can be clearly seen in their product tags that read designed in China rather than made in China. The International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) is the global voice and authority for professional Interior Architects/Designers. In 110 countries, IFI represents 270,000 designers, educators, and industry stakeholders in the international design community. IFI holds an annual congress—a formal meeting of delegates—in various countries to discuss global objectives and initiatives for interior design. In the fall of 2011, the IFI held a congress in Taiwan, Taipei. At this congress, they made public the IFI Interiors Declaration after holding worldwide focus groups about the global value of interior design. (A focus group is a small group of people who study a response to something, such as a product, to determine the response of a larger population.) This document defi nes the value, relevance, responsibility, culture, knowledge, business, and identity of interior architecture/interior design. The global economic value of interior design was enhanced through such marketability and visibility. Quotes from this document are threaded throughout this book to raise your awareness of agreed-on global philosophies related to interior design. Cultural and Societal Value Interior spaces are vessels, or containers, for materials and artifacts that communicate items of cultural value in an unspoken language within physical environments. What does this mean? In essence, it means that the objects and belongings you surround yourself with refl ect who you are and who you want to become. They refl ect the culture and society in which you live, learn, play, and dream. The rooms you design never cease to send messages. Perhaps Shashi Caan, previous IFI president said it best, “Our interiors are the repositories of our memories and the containers of our dreams, aspirations, wants, and needs. They are the refl ections of us, our society, our culture, and our time.” See Figure 1-8. Photographer: Rhonda Grimberg/Interior Designer: Andrea Schumacher Interiors Figure 1-8 Affi rming cultural and social value is one way the interior designer helps clients. What features in this image affi rm cultural and social value?