Members of the Interior Designers of Alberta are required to conduct their professional practice in a manner that will command the respect of clients, suppliers of goods and services to the profession, and fellow professional interior designers, as well as the general public. It is the individual responsibility of every member of the Interior Designers of Alberta to uphold this Code of Ethics and the By-laws of the Association.
PART 2 - DEFINITIONS
The Following definitions of terminology are applicable wherever such terminology is used in the Code and interpretations.
Association: The Interior Designers of Alberta
Client: The individual or entity that retains a Member or a Firm for the performance of interior design services.
Colleague: Any other individual or firm engaged in the practice of interior design or a related design profession.
Firm: A proprietorship, partnership or corporation engaged in the practice of interior design, including partners, shareholders and employees thereof.
IDA: The Interior Designers of Alberta
Interior Design: Section, specification, space planning and/or design for interior spaces.
Interior Designer: A person qualified by education, experience and examination to enhance the function and quality of interior spaces. For the purpose of improving the quality of life, increasing productivity, and protecting health, safety and welfare of the public a registered interior designer may: analyze the client’s needs, goals and life and safety requirements; integrate findings with knowledge of interior design; formulate preliminary design concepts that are appropriate, functional and aesthetic; develop and present final design recommendations through appropriate presentation media; prepare working drawings and specifications for interior construction, materials, finishes, space planning, furnishings fixtures and equipment collaborate with professional services of other licensed practitioners in the technical areas of mechanical, electrical, and structural design as required for regulatory approval; prepare and administer bids and contract documents as the client’s agent; and review and evaluate design solutions during implementation and upon completion.
Member: A person who holds membership in the Interior Designers of Alberta.
PART 3 – RESPONSIBILITY TO THE PUBLIC
Members shall comply with all existing laws, regulations and codes governing business procedures and the practice of interior design as established by the Province of Alberta and other jurisdictions in which they practice.
Members shall not seal or sign drawings, specifications or other interior design documents except where the Member has prepared or supervised the preparation of such documents.
Members shall at all times consider the health, safety and welfare of the public in spaces they design. Members agree, whenever possible, to notify property managers, landlords, owners and/or public officials of conditions within a built environment that endanger the health, safety and/or welfare of occupants.
Members shall not engage in any form or false or misleading advertising or promotional activities and shall not imply through advertising or other means that staff members or employees of their firm are qualified interior designers unless such be the fact.
Members shall not take any action intended to unduly influence the judgement of any person(s) for the purposes of any project.
Members shall not assist or abet improper or illegal conduct of any person for the purposes of any project.
Members shall not consciously assume or accept any position in which their personal interests conflict with their professional duty.
Members shall not make misleading, deceptive or false statements or claims about professional qualification, experience or performance.
Members shall not knowingly misrepresent facts and shall not subordinate their judgement to others.
Members shall not permit their names to be used in conjunction with a design or project in which they have not been directly or indirectly involved.
Members shall not engage in any conduct involving fraud, deceit, misrepresentation or dishonesty in professional or business activity.
Members shall accept the professional obligation to further the social and aesthetic standards of the community.
PART 4 – RESPONSIBILITY TO THE CLIENT
Members shall not undertake any professional responsibility unless they are, by training and experience, competent to adequately perform the work required.
Members shall not undertake any interior design work at the invitation of a potential or existing client without payment of an appropriate fee. Members may, however, undertake work without fee or at a reduced rate for charitable or non-profit organizations.
Before accepting an assignment, Members shall define exactly and comprehensively to their Client the scope and nature of the project involved, the interior design services to be performed and the method of remuneration of those services.
Members are specifically prohibited from requesting or accepting a fee, goods and/or services from a manufacturer, agent, contractor of any other person for the specification and/or purchase of project related goods and services.
Members shall disclose, in writing, to their Employers and Clients prior to any engagement and financial interest that they may have that could affect their impartiality in specifying project related good and services.
Members shall treat all knowledge of Clients’ intentions, production methods and/or business organization as confidential and shall not, at any time, divulge such information without the written consent of the Client. It is the Members’ responsibility to ensure that all employees are similarly bound to confidentiality.
Members shall not work simultaneously on assignments which are in direct competition without informing, in writing, the Clients and or Employers concerned.
Members shall notify their Clients should they become involved in a project that is deemed unsafe or economically unfeasible or about which they have serious moral reservations.
In the case of a dispute not directly involving a Member during his engagement on a project, the Member shall maintain an independent position in total fairness to the parties in dispute.
PART 5 - RESPONSIBILITY TO OTHER INTERIOR DESIGNERS AND COLLEAGUES
Members shall not interfere with the performance of another Interior Designer’s or Colleagues’ contractual or professional relationship with a Client.
Members shall no initiate, or participate in, any discussion or activity which might result in an unjust injury to another Interior Designer or Colleague.
Members shall not attempt, directly or indirectly, to supplant another Interior Designer, and shall not compete with another Interior Designer by means of a deliberate reduction of fee or by other unfair inducement.
Members shall not knowingly accept any professional assignment upon which another Interior Designer has been acting without receiving a copy of the letter terminating the previous contract.
Members shall not accept instruction from their Clients which knowingly involve plagiarism, nor shall they consciously act in a manner involving plagiarism.
Members may, when requested and it does not present a conflict off interest, render a second opinion to a client, or serve as an expert witness in a judicial or arbitration proceeding.
Members, when asked to advise on the selection of Interior Designers or Colleagues, shall accept no payment in any form from their Colleagues being considered and/or recommended.
Members shall not endorse the application for membership in a professional organization and/or certification, registration or licensing of an individual known to be unqualified with respect to education, training, experience or character, nor shall members knowingly misrepresent the experience, professional expertise of moral character of that individual.
Members shall only take credit for work that has actually been created by that Member or the Member’s firm and under the Member’s direction
PART 6 - RESPONSIBILITY TO THE PROFESSION
Members agree to maintain standards of professional and personal conduct that will reflect in a responsible manner on IDA and the profession of interior design.
