Advocacy Year in Review 2020
IIDA Advocacy shares what has changed, and what has stayed the same in key elections throughout the U.S. where politicians that support our industry were up for reelection. 2020 has been a busy year for the advocacy work that IIDA participates in, and 2021 will be no exception. Across the country, representatives, governors, and senators that have supported interior design bills in their states were up for reelection–we’ve compiled the results of key races on the IIDA.org website.
Many laws contain a clause that calls for regular review or termination after a certain period of time–learn what this means as you advocate for your profession. Advocating for your profession doesn’t stop when a bill, law, or regulation is passed. In fact, many laws and regulatory bodies are reviewed and assessed on a regular basis to meet the changing needs of practitioners and the communities that they serve. State agencies, boards, or legislation may contain a clause that provides an automatic review or repeal once a certain date is reached, called a sunset law, resulting in a sunset review. Read more at IIDA.org.
Bill Grant, mayor of Canton, Georgia, and president and chief creative officer of the award-winning Grant Design Collaborative, shares insight into how the skills that designers possess can drive advocacy.
Bill Grant, the 2020 IIDA Advocacy Symposium keynote speaker, has a career that is a testament of his commitment to exemplary design, as well as his dedication to service, both in the design and public sector. He is the founder, president, and chief creative officer of the award-winning Grant Design Collaborative, as well as halfway through the first of his four-year term of Canton, Georgia.
Grant is a leader and influential designer whose firm’s cross-discipline work includes communication design, brand strategy, advertising, product development, branded interiors, and experience design; and he has recently been named One of the 50 Most Influential Designers Working Today by Graphic Design Magazine.
His work earned him the honor of being named AIGA Fellow in 2005 and AIGA National President from 2005-2007, and his expertise saw him assist in curriculum development for the Harvard Business School’s program “Business Perspectives for Design Leaders.” Bill is also an advocate for public service—he was elected to Canton City Council in 2013 and 2017, served as Mayor Pro Tempore from 2014-2019, and was elected to a four-year term as the City of Canton Mayor from 2020-2024.