ASID To Hold 4th Annual Design Summit In Chicago

Furniture World Magazine

The American Society of Interior Designers - Illinois Chapter (ASID-IL) announced the date for its fourth annual Design Summit 2008: A Sustainable Outlook, a one-day conference and exposition at The Merchandise Mart Design Center in Chicago. Following another successful event last year, the ASID-IL Chapter's Design Summit will be held Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008, from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on the 8th floor of The Merchandise Mart. "Design Summit is a local forum for knowledge-sharing among industry peers, practical learning for students of interior design and a great place to showcase great commercial and residential interior products and services from Illinois-based Industry Partners -- all in a fun atmosphere," said James Landa, 2007-08 ASID-IL chapter president. "Designers can fulfill CEU-needed credits, too, while staying current on trends and important movements, such as Green Design." Open to all designers, students and vendors in the interior design industry, Design Summit 2008: A Sustainable Outlook features inspirational speakers, career-building, networking, educational sessions to enhance specialized skills, and interaction with design industry resource professionals. This year's focus is sustainable design. CEU SESSIONS Design Summit presents a total of six professional educational sessions, all CEU-accredited. Topics include: -Introduction to Green Design (Who, What, Where, When and How) -Materials and Sources for Green Design Residential vs. Green Design Commercial -Legislation and Professional Practice: NCIDQ, Title Act, Practice Act and Recent Events Impacting the Profession -Business: Marketing/Advertising -Finding your first job in Interior Design: A Panel Discussion for Students In addition to the seminars, two keynote sessions will be offered, including a panel discussion with local experts on Green Design. One keynote session will be presented in the morning beginning at 8 a.m., with one during lunch hour beginning at 12:30 p.m. All seminar and keynote titles and presenters will be announced shortly and posted online at www.asidillinois.com. EXPO: DEMONSTRATIONS: Vendors will showcase their latest products and a number of them will host demonstrations in their booths throughout the day. The 2008 Design Summit showcases design industry product and service resources, which seasoned designers and emerging talent will not want to miss. For a complete listing of Design Summit vendors, please visit www.asidillinois.com the first week of February. Registration begins at 8 a.m. with the Expo floor and Summit running from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The Design Summit cost is $50 for ASID and IIDA design members (includes seminars, lunch, Expo); $75 for non-members; and $25 students with identification (includes seminars, lunch, Expo). There is no charge to visit the Expo only. For more information about the ASID-IL Chapter Design Summit 2008: A Sustainable Outlook, please visit www.asidillinois.com, or call the ASID Illinois Chapter headquarters at 312-467-5080. ABOUT THE "FIND A DESIGNER" SERVICE: The Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers offers a free, convenient, user-friendly online service that consumers and business professionals can use to search for interior designers throughout the state. Find A Designer, available at www.FindADesignerIL.com, allows site visitors to preview profiles of ASID-IL designers before contacting them for a project interview. The online service includes easy-to-navigate Web pages, more than 75 designer profile pages, and the ability to search by location and designer specialty. Consumers have the ability to review as many designer profiles as they'd like and find out more about each designer, as well as view samples of their work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at their convenience. ABOUT ASID: The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is the oldest and largest professional organization for interior designers in the world. It is a community of people-designers, industry representatives, educators and students committed to interior design. Through education, knowledge-sharing, advocacy, community-building and outreach, the Society strives to advance the interior design profession and, in the process, to demonstrate and celebrate the power of design to positively change people's lives. Its more than 36,000 members engage in a variety of professional programs and activities through a network of 49 chapters throughout the United States and Canada. ASID interior designers specialize in a wide range of areas. In the commercial sector, its members provide design and consulting services to the office, health care, institutional, hospitality and retail environments. In the residential field, its members provide services ranging from space planning to home office design to customizing a home to meet specific client needs. The American Society of Interior Designers - Illinois Chapter (ASID-IL) is a non-profit professional association representing the interests of more than 1,600 Illinois interior designers, students and design industry partner members. Its vision is to be the voice of design in Illinois and to provide information through quality, timely communications, to educate its members and clients, and to expand and to support market expansion. The Chapter is lead by a volunteer board that includes the Chapter's president, president-elect, 5 directors and a student representative.