Code of Ethics (1976)

Code of Ethics

Members of the American Society of Interior Designers are required to conduct their professional practice in a manner that will command the respect and confidence of clients, suppliers, fellow professional designers and the general public. The professional conduct of every member of the Society shall be governed by the following code:

1. He shall conform to existing laws and regulations governing business procedures and the practice of interior design in any state or community in which he practices, as well as to this code.

2. He may offer his design services to a client as a consultant, specifier, or supplier on the basis of a fee, salary or commission, provided that the professional service shall be performed with competence in a manner that is in the best interest of the client without sacrificing the professional integrity of the designer.

3. He will, where feasible, before entering into a contract with a client, clearly determine and define with the client the scope and nature of the project involved, the services to be performed and the method of compensation for those services. He will perform such services as defined in accordance with the highest standards of the profession.

4. He shall not divulge privileged information without the consent of the client.

5. He shall consider his financial responsibility an obligation to his profession.

6. He shall consider it a part of his professional responsibility to take an active interest in community projects designed to improve the quality of man's environment, conducting such activities in a manner that will enhance the dignity of the profession and the Society.

7. He shall at no time injure the reputation or business relations of another professional designer.

8. He shall not knowingly approach a client who has a contract with another interior designer nor will he in any way interfere with the performance of such a contract by another designer, nor will he enter into an agreement with such a client until that client represents that he has severed such relationship.

9. He shall not permit any representative of his business organization to present himself to the general public as a professional interior designer unless such representative is qualified by education and/or experience.

10. He shall not imply, through advertising or other means that his staff or the employees of his firm are members of the Society unless such be the fact, since the right to use the Society's appellation is granted to the individual only.

11. He shall encourage and contribute to the sharing of ideas and information between the interior designer and allied professions, and in any association with these professions be governed by the same high standards of professional practice which apply to his relations with his fellow designers.

12. He shall consider it his professional responsibility to encourage students interested in the study of interior design and to offer assistance whenever possible to those who enter the profession.

Any deviation from this code, or from subsequent revisions by the Board of Directors of the American Society of Interior Designers, or any action detrimental to the Society and the profession as a whole shall be deemed unprofessional conduct subject to discipline by the Society's Board of Directors.

11 5c-3/76