RealWorld DesignWeek

RealWorld DesignWeek (RWDW), the annual nationwide student mentoring program created by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), has officially opened registration for Professional, Allied and Industry Partner members to sign up as mentors. Go here to do so.

The career development-mentoring program offers a unique and exclusive one-on-one experience that pairs ASID student members with ASID interior designers and industry members. RWDW take place across the country in all 48 Chapters November 1 – 7, 2009. Practitioners and Industry Partners, go here to read some helpful tips about the experience.

The Texas Chapter is very proud to announce that its own Deborah Lloyd Forrest, FASID is the official 2009 RWDW Spokesperson! Deborah is a principal of ForrestPerkins and her full bio is available on the RWDW website. “RealWorld DesignWeek is a great way for interior designers to give back to the profession by mentoring and molding the next generation of interior designers,” says Forrest. “Students need this now more than ever, which is why I’m asking every interior designer and ASID Industry Partner to take the time to host a student during this year’s RealWorld DesignWeek.”

Now in its second year, RealWorld DesignWeek is the first cohesive, national program aimed at educating future interior designers through in-person experience. It empowers students to succeed in the industry and build relationships with the design community, and provides them with the tools to jump-start their careers.

The inaugural RealWorld DesignWeek in 2008 received great reviews from both mentors and students alike, with more than 1500 participants.

“I looked forward to the experience from the day I registered and it was so much more than I expected,” said Jeannine Lima, Student Member ASID from the Art Institute of Atlanta.

"RealWorld DesignWeek was amazing! I hosted five students, one each day of the week, and was able to show them first hand the day-to-day operations of an interior design firm. This included attending our weekly staff meeting, a lunch CEU, a construction site, a vendor presentation and meetings with potential new clients,” said Rita Carson Guest, FASID and an ASID Past President. “They also met with my design team to review current projects, examine interior design construction documents and learn about the design process we use. Every student was sincere about their studies and found the ASID experience to be special.”

Created and run by ASID, RealWorld DesignWeek is sponsored by Sherwin Williams, Industry Partner of ASID. Full color advertisements for RWDW 2009 have already appeared and will continue to appear in ASID ICON and Metropolis magazine, RWDW's national media partner. Other national marketing efforts include e-mail campaigns, press releases, information on ASID CONNEX, as well as ASID's pages/groups on the following social networking sites: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

Be sure to go check out the new and improved RealWorld DesignWeek website: www.asid.org/rwdw. You'll find general information as well as targeted information for students, professionals, chapters and sponsors. You'll also enjoy a video montage, photo galleries and member testimonials from last year’s program. You can also click here to download Step-By-Step Registration Instructions (PDF) and click here to download the 2009 RWDW Brochure (PDF).

Registration for RWDW 2009 is open through the RWDW registration website and will occur only online in a self-service fashion. (Process improvements have been made to make it more intuitive than 2008's registration process.)  Registration for professionals opened June 1, while registration for students will open September 1. Participation in RealWorld DesignWeek is flexible, and if professionals cannot host a shadow day during RealWorld DesignWeek, they will be encouraged to host one during the window of October 1 to November 30.