IALD and banning the incandescent light bulb

I’ve gotten a few questions from people asking who the IALD are and what they do? The IALD is the International Association of Lighting Designers. I won’t seek to define them word for word because they do that themselves on their website IALD.org

What’s important to know about them is that they are an organizing body that is working closely with the DOE to be involved in the debate over future energy code. An example of this is in the banning of the incandescent light bulb, which the IALD conditionally opposed.

I personally have mixed feelings about the IALD. On the one hand they do a tremendous amount of good for the profession and have sought to define in a very positive way what a lighting designer is and what they can do for a project. By the same token, it is important to understand that Lighting Designers do not necessarily all fall into simple rubrics as set by professional organizations.

For the record I am not a member of the IALD.