AIFD recently unveiled plans to introduce a new floral professional design designation, Certified Floral Designer® (CFD).

AIFD has been "discussing this for a couple of years now," says Thomas Shaner, CAE, AIFD's executive director. The new designation is geared toward designers who may not yet have the "artistry" that's required to achieve AIFD membership and accreditation, but nonetheless possess strong fundamental design skills that should be recognized.  

Both AIFD and CFD require a mastery of the fundamentals of design, Shaner says, but AIFD is more rigorous: AIFD candidates must complete five designs for evaluation by seven judges, and they must receive an average score of 4 or better, with the high and low scores being eliminated. CFD candidates create three designs and must earn a 3.2 or higher from the three judges. 

"We want to make CFD as accessible as possible, so that any florist who would like to be nationally recognized, but perhaps does not want dedicate the time and energy to AIFD and its mission, can do so," Shaner says. Those who become CFD do not have to become members of AIFD, but will be encouraged to achieve AIFD accreditation.

Shaner says one of the purposes of the new designation is to get florists recognition "more [in] the public than in the industry." AIFD will contact various media outlets to promote the new designation, as well as provide inductees with tools to increase consumer awareness of the recognition within their own communities. This campaign also will help to elevate and distinguish AIFD members, as they automatically receive CFD certification.

Unlike the AIFD accreditation, the evaluation sessions for CFD will not be held at the annual Symposium but at a yet-to-be determined event, says Shaner, who cites regional AIFD chapters and state conventions as two possibilities. He says he hopes the CFD requirement for continuing education every three years will create an increase in the demand for design education — something Shaner says has decreased — that state associations and other organizations may fill.

Currently, AIFD is beta-testing the program "to make sure the scoring system works," and plans to begin offering it this spring.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

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