Design Credentials Explained

“What are all those abbreviations after peoples names!?"
That question kept occurring to me as I tried to sort out the different people I was meeting in the HealthCare Design field. Lots of people have suffixes after their names indicating their credentials. Some people have multiple credentials. One person I came across had six separate credentials listed after their name! I felt like I needed a secret decoder ring to understand it all.

What did those letters stand for and how important are they?

It was hard to find answers, so I decided to sit down one evening and go through my list of names with Google.  I was able to find what most of the organizations were, but I have not yet figured out which ones are important and which are fluff. Here are my initial findings. If you know of any that should be added or have opinions on the relative value of different organizations, feel free to leave a comment.

AAHID
www.aahid.org
American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers
Board Certified Healthcare Interior Design certificates are distinguished and qualified by education, examination, work experience to practice healthcare interior design, distinguished from other architects, designers, decorators, and interior designers.

ASID
www.asid.org
American Society of Interior Designers
ASID represents the interests of more than 30,000 members including interior design practitioners, students, industry and retail partners.
FASID
Fellow American Society of Interior Designers

IIDA
www.iida.org
International Interior Design Association
International Interior Design Association IIDA, a professional networking and educational association of 11,000 with more than 30 Chapters around the world
FIIDA
Fellow International Interior Design Association

BIDA
www.bida.org
British Interior Design Association
The British Interior Design Association was formed in 2002 through the amalgamation of the highly respected Interior Decorators & Designers Association and the globally recognized International Interior Design Association. This newly emerged organization continues to promote high standards throughout the profession, encouraging and fostering proven design ability.

NCIDQ
www.ncidq.org
National Council of Interior Design Qualifications
NCIDQ, founded in 1974, serves to identify to the public those interior designers who have met the minimum standards for professional practice.

AIA
www.aia.org
The American Institute of Architects
81,000 members
FAIA
www.aia.org/fellows
Fellow of The American Institute of Architects
AIA fellowship recognizes architects who have made significant contributions to the profession and society. Although now somewhat enlarged, the circle of architects sporting an FAIA suffix remains an exclusive one. Fewer than 2,600 AIA members hold the title out of nearly 81,000 members in total.

LEED AP
www.usgbc.org
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED APs) have demonstrated a thorough understanding of green building practices and principles and familiarity with LEED requirements, resources, and processes.

ASHE
www.ashe.org
American Society for Healthcare Engineering of the American Hospital Association

CSI
www.csinet.org
Construction Specifications Institute
CSI is a national association dedicated to creating standards and formats to improve construction documents and project delivery. The organization is unique in the industry in that its members are a cross section of specifiers, architects, engineers, contractors and building materials suppliers. The organization has 146 chapters and more than 15,000 members.

ACHA
www.healtharchitects.org
American College of Healthcare Architects
Provides Board Certification for Architects who practice as healthcare specialists. Our membership includes healthcare architects throughout the United States and Canada with specialized skills and proven expertise.
FACHA
ACHA Fellows
A Board Certified ACHA Member who has practiced within the specialty in an exemplary fashion for ten years

CID
http://www.cidinternational.org/

Certified Interior Decorators International
Dedicated to individuals who have the talent and seek educational training and the required testing to become recognized as "Certified" professionals in the interior decorating industry.

NCARB
www.ncarb.org
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards
NCARB members are the architectural registration boards of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and three U.S. territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands). Each registration board has state-appointed public and professional members as well as an administrator.

RAIC
www.raic.org
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
A voluntary national association representing more than 3,200 architects, and faculty and graduates of accredited Canadian Schools of Architecture
MRAIC (Member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada)
FRAIC (Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada)

RIBA

www.riba.org
Royal Institute of British Architects.
30,000-strong membership in the UK and abroad

RA
Registered Architects

PE
Professional Engineer is the term for registered or licensed engineers in some countries, including the United States, and Canada

ASLA
www.asla.org
American Society of Landscape Architects
The national professional association representing landscape architects. More than 16,200 members.

Global Architectural Organizations:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_professional_architecture_organizations

I should end by letting you now that not all Designers think Credentialing is the Cat's Meow. One designer (who will remain unnamed) sent me a link to a humorous article on the proliferation of credentialing:  Click here to see the article.

Comments

[Ruth Hines]

Thank you so much I am a design student who has to know this information for my exam; this was such a huge help to find.
Thank you!!!!