Certified Floral Designer
With the ultimate goal being to obtain the coveted stature as an Accredited member of the American Institute of Floral Designers, aspiring floral designers must first earn the Certified Floral Designer (CFD®) designation. Click the chart on the right to view a step-by-step diagram of the steps to CFD and AIFD.
To enroll as a Candidate in AIFD's Certified Floral Designer (CFD) program, a designer must first successfully complete one of five education-based pathways aimed at assuring the designer has a fundamental grasp of the elements and principles of the art of floral design, as well as design techniques and concepts. Click here to explore the Educational Pathways.
Once a floral designer has successfully completed the required education pathway, he or she should then submit an application to enroll to be a CFD Candidate. The Candidate enrollment fee is $150. With the payment of this fee, the Candidate will receive a copy of The AIFD Guide to Floral Design: Terms, Techniques, and Traditions (1st edition).
All Candidates will be sent an Application to Participate in at least three months in advance of an upcoming Professional Floral Design Evaluation (PFDE). This Application to Participate needs to be returned with a deposit toward the PFDE. The Candidate will then be instructed to complete Part One of the PFDE: an online test based on these objectives that can be found in the AIFD Guide to Floral Design: Terms, Techniques, and Traditions (1st edition). Candidates must receive a mark of 80% or better on this initial online PFDE test in order to be eligible to participate in an upcoming PFDE hands-on design session. The Candidate will have two attempts to reach this required score without additional fees being required. If he or she does not achieve the 80% mark in her or her first two attempts, he or she will be required to pay $50 for each additional time the test is taken.
After successfully completing the education pathway, making a Candidate application and scoring 80% or better on the online test, the Candidate is fully eligible to participate in the PFDE design session.
Professional Floral Design Evaluation (PFDE)
During the design evaluation phase of the PFDE sessions, participants are required to demonstrate their design artistry, based on these hands-on objectives, by creating five (5) designs in specific categories which will be announced to them during an initial briefing and process orientation, which takes place immediately prior to the actual designing.
To participate in a PFDE, the Candidate will need to submit an Application to Participate (minimum two months in advance of desired PFDE) and a $500 non-refundable deposit which will be used by AIFD to purchase all flowers and materials that the Candidate will need in the PFDE. The total PFDE fee will vary from year to year based on the general cost of a National Symposium, but is currently $1,700, which includes a full registration to the National Symposium, which shall immediately follow the PFDE in which the Candidate is participating or $1,450, which does not include a National Symposium registration. This cost includes either Candidate or CFD status for the following year after the PFDE you participate in, depending on your results.
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PFDE Schedule of Activities
While the day of the week may vary depending on the starting day of any given National Symposium, the following schedule will be observed during a PFDE. If the AIFD Symposium opens on a Sunday, for instance, this schedule would apply to the Thursday - Friday immediately preceding. (If Symposium started on a Friday, the following example would change to Tuesday and Wednesday.)
| Thursday | Noon | Candidate Sign-in (MUST REGISTER WITH VALID GOVERNMENT ISSUED I.D.) |
| 2 p.m. | Candidates' Reception with the AIFD Board & Membership Committee |
|
| 2:30 p.m. | Professional Floral Design Evaluation Orientation (Invitation Only) Candidates meet to be briefed on the specific design categories to be evaluated this year. |
|
| 4 - 8 p.m. | Candidate Design session | |
| Friday | 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. |
CFD Evaluations by CFD Evaluators** |
| 2 p.m. | Complimentary Education Program Exclusively for Candidates (that are registered for symposium) | |
| 7 - 9 p.m. | Reception and Viewing of Candidates Work | |
| 9 - 10 p.m. | Candidates to take or move flowers |
** Designs available for viewing at opening reception for Symposium
Regulations
As noted above, a four-hour time period is allowed for the completion of the five design categories. The only people allowed in the design work room during this four-hour period are the CFD applicants and the AIFD Evaluation Committee monitors. To assure a non-bias evaluation of Candidate work, the monitors may not also serve as evaluators. No one may assist applicants during the four-hour design session, and no one will be allowed to observe. To assist international candidates, AIFD will, if requested and if candidates provide his or her own interpreter, make special arrangements for language interpreters during the initial briefing and orientation session. AIFD will not be responsible for providing interpreters.
Design Categories
PFDE participants will design in five categories. Specific categories will vary from year-to-year, but general categories will remain the same. AIFD's Evaluation Chairperson will announce the selected categories during the initial briefing session. There will be one design in each of the following:
| General Category | Specific Category Examples |
|---|---|
| Sympathy Design | Casket spray, standing easel, basket |
| Arrangement | Centerpiece, hospital, holiday |
| Wedding | Bridal/attendant bouquet, flowers to wear |
| Flowers to Wear | Corsage, hair piece |
| Duplicate | Recreate a sample design |
Flowers/Materials
All flowers, foliage, containers and supplies needed to complete the required designs will be provided by AIFD. Each participant will receive an identical supply of flowers, foliage, containers and supplies.
Candidates will be allowed to bring only the following tools into the design room:
- Extension Cord (must be at least 15' long)
- Floral Knife
- Glue Pan and Appropriate Glue
- Pruners
- Ribbon Shears
- Wire Cutter
There shall be no sharing or bartering of product/materials allowed.
Design Evaluation
Seven members of the AIFD National Evaluation Committee will evaluate each PFDE session participant's work. The high and low scores of the evaluators will be dropped before a final score is rendered on any design.
Designs shall be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Category Interpretation
- Scale (Proportion)
- Balance (Physical and Visual)
- Line (Movement and Rhythm)
- Color (Balance, Harmony and Rhythm)
- Creativity
- Unity (Harmony & Texture)
- Focal Emphasis
- Depth
- Mechanics (Professional Application)
Please click here to download a sample of the score sheet used during the PFDE.
Scoring
Each of the above Design Evaluation criteria will be scored using the following point scale:
| 5 | Excellent | Exceptional use of design principles and elements with strong creative emphasis |
| 4 | Above Average | Good consistent application of design principles and elements with a creative flair |
| 3 | Average | Good design work, applying use of the principles and elements of design, but not demonstrating any special flair or creative emphasis |
| 2 | Below Average | Weak in the application of design principles and elements and creativity, would not qualify as a good basic design |
| 1 | Not Acceptable | Design work lacking the application of the principles and elements of design and shows no creativity |
Achieving Success
Becoming a Certified Floral Designer (CFD)
To be successfully evaluated as a Certified Floral Designer and earn the coveted "CFD" as an addendum to his or her name, a PFDE participant must have received a cumulative evaluation mark of 16 points with no one design scoring less than 2.75.
Becoming an AIFD Member
Before an individual can aspire to join AIFD as a leader in the floral industry and dedicate him or herself to working toward the AIFD mission of advancing the art of professional floral design through education, he or she must first have achieved the Certified Floral Designer designation and, in doing so, must also demonstrate advanced floral artistry by achieving a design evaluation mark of 20 or better with no one design scoring below 3.75.
Should a Professional Floral Design Evaluation (PFDE) Candidate demonstrate his or her superior design excellence with an evaluation score of 20 or better, his or her name will be presented to the AIFD Membership Committee. The Committee will contact the Candidate to inquire if he or she does wish to advance him or herself and become an AIFD member. If so, they will be asked to provide three letters of reference from the floral industry (at least two of which shall be from AIFD members) and complete a short biographic form.
Should a candidate submit the letters of endorsement and biographic form and be accepted into AIFD, he or she will be formally inducted during grand ceremonies at the next AIFD National Symposium. In addition to an induction fee, the new inductee will also need to pay annual membership fees for the upcoming year which are presently $275 (only $225 if paid by May 15 each year).
Should a PFDE candidate's evaluation results be good enough for him or her to have earned a CFD, but not sufficient enough to be invited to join AIFD, AIFD will continue to encourage the designer to advance his or her artistry through additional education and participate in a PFDE. AIFD will further grant any CFD designer in good standing a one time $250 discount off his or her participation in a future PFDE where the goal is AIFD membership.
Additional Information
- For evaluation purposes, a participating designer will be assigned a number at check-in and a corresponding number will be placed on his or her design/display table.
- Upon completion of their designs, participants will clean the design table and place their finished creations on top of the table for evaluation, so size of arrangements is important.
- A Candidate may gain both a CFD designation and an invitation to join AIFD from the same PFDE session, if proper scores are attained.
Notification of PFDE Results
Those participating in a PFDE in conjunction with a Symposium will receive their results approximately one month following the PFDE.
Cancellations
A PFDE session floral designer who submitted an Application to participate may cancel his or her Application to Participate, but he or she will forfeit the $500 deposit. A death in the Candidate's immediate family (proof required) or a medical emergency (doctor's letter required) will be considered in making the above decision, but because of the need to purchase flowers and supplies in advance, even in the event of such an emergency, the $500 deposit will be forfeited.
Maintaining Your Accreditation
- To maintain the status of a CFD, individuals must meet certain continuing education requirements every three years. The Continuing Education requirements can be easily accumulated by attending a Symposium or by attending a plethora of other floral industry design education programs. Continuing Education units can also be earned through demonstrated leadership and participation in floral industry organizations including AIFD. CFDs may only have five leadership/service CEUs.
- Every three years for 21 years, he or she must earn 25 Continuing Education units and must submit proof of the same. There is no re-accreditation fee for CFDs or AIFD members. Click here to learn more about how to earn your 25 Continuing Education units.
