The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) has inaugurated the IIDA Index, a new analytical tool for measuring the economic health for the commercial design industry. Developed in collaboration with Designer Pages, IIDA Index will allow design and architecture firms to assess competition, identify trends in the market, and analyze new business opportunities based on project scale, geography, and market sector.
“We’re pleased to provide the architecture and design communities the unique opportunity to leverage the Index to draw comparisons, make informed business decisions, and ultimately shape the future of our industry,” says IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO Cheryl S. Durst. “In addition to providing valuable insight to industry firms, the results serve to underscore the strength and dynamism of the commercial interior design industry more broadly.”
The data presented in IIDA Index juxtaposes project starts from 2017 with those from 2016 based on participating firms across 74 diverse offices and nearly 11,000 U.S.-based projects. With a neutral indicator of 50, the diffusion index indicates expansion with a reading of more than 50 and contraction if a score sinks below 50. The maiden Index reports that the commercial interior design industry experienced moderate to steady to growth in 2017 compared to 2016 with a score of 59.