AIGA Communique - February 2004

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	Monthly news and updates for AIGA members February 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------- Contents News and information Celebrating AIGA’s 90th anniversary The value of design: explaining clearly “What every business needs…” National board nominations closed; balloting to be announced next month AIGA Competitions deadline: March 5 Enroll in AIGA Harvard Business School Program In the AIGA gallery www.aiga.org Enhanced member benefit: new directory of Design Jobs Advocacy Design for Democracy: Get Out the Vote campaign Coming soon Save the dates! Next “Gain” and National Design Conferences Formal notice of AIGA board meeting Resources --------------------------------------------------------------- News and information --------------------------------------------------------------- Celebrating AIGA’s 90th anniversary AIGA was founded in 1914 by a small group of New York printers and book designers. Ninety years later, AIGA’s members across the country are expanding the concepts of graphic design into disciplines not conceived of in the early twentieth century. In the past two years, AIGA’s national and chapter board members have adopted a challenging set of initiatives that we are all pursuing together to help AIGA, as an institution, serve the longer term interests of the profession. While this will guide us for the next several years, we want to use this year, the 90th, to begin to think about what kind of organization AIGA should be at its centennial in 2014. This quest involves asking and listening to all members about what role they want a professional organization to play in helping each of them achieve their professional goals over the next decade. Watch for details on participating on www.aiga.org. The value of design: explaining clearly “What every business needs…” As part of our effort to help the profession explain the value and role of designers and designing, AIGA published last year’s “Why design?” (better known, typically, by its size and color as “the little red book”), which focused on developing a common vocabulary for designers to use with clients. Following on its heels is a new publication for designers to share with clients that will tell them the same story, “What every business needs. And how.” Each professional member will receive three copies of the publication this month, so that you are able to share them with your clients (students will receive one copy to keep them in the loop until their client lists begin to grow). A limited number of additional copies are available by sending an e-mail request including your membership number, shipping address and the number of booklets requested to puborders@aiga.org. For ease of use, both “Why design?” and “What every business needs” are available in PDF form on the AIGA website. Any member may download them and use them in their current or modified form to integrate into proposals, with proper credit given to AIGA. National board nominations closed; balloting to be announced next month The national board nominating committee, chaired by Bill Grant of Grant Design Collaborative in Atlanta, received a number of strong nominations by the January 15 deadline, and is now reviewing the nominees to develop a slate to present to the membership. The committee consists of members who are not on the board to make sure member interests predominate in developing the board composition. This represents the way that the organization remains accountable to members as a whole. Committee members include Maria Grillo, The Grillo Group, Chicago; Ann Harakawa, Two Twelve Associates, New York; Cheryl Heller, Heller Communications, Inc., New York; Tamera Lawrence, O2 Design, Washington, D.C.; and Tan Le, POP, Seattle. The committee will prepare a slate of five names to be approved by the professional membership via web balloting in March and early April.Considerations will include geographic region, background and training, areas of expertise, etc. The committee is charged with developing a slate that complements rather than duplicates the attributes of existing board members. A link to the ballot will be included in next month’s Communiqué. AIGA Competitions deadline: March 5 The call for entries for this year’s “365:AIGA Annual Design Competitions” was mailed in late January and should be reaching members now. The deadline for entries is March 5, 2004. AIGA is very pleased to announce that the following have graciously agreed to serve as jurors for the competitions: “365 Design Competitions” Erik Adigard, M.A.D., Los Angeles (promotion and advertising; experience design) Ken Carbone, CSA, New York (branding and identity; environmental design) Pam DeCesare, Kraft (packaging) Bob Dinetz, Cahan & Associates, San Francisco (information design; corporate communications) Susanna Dulkinys, United Designers, San Francisco (typography; editorial) Rafael Esquer, @radical media, New York (promotion and advertising; experience design) Steven Frykholm, Herman Miller, Zeeland, MI (branding and identity; corporate communications) Bill Grant, Grant Design Collaborative, Atlanta (packaging; environmental design) Steve Guarnaccia, The New York Times, New York (illustration) Chris Hacker, Aveda, New York (packaging) Ann Harakawa, Two Twelve Associates, New York (environmental design) Sylvia Harris, New York (information design) Cheryl Heller, Heller Communications, New York (corporate communications) Brian Noyes, Smithsonian Magazine, Washington, D.C. (typography; editorial) Emily Oberman, Number 17, New York (branding and identity; promotion and advertising) Woody Pirtle, Pentagram, New York (illustration) Bonnie Scranton, Newsweek, New York (information design) Leanne Shapton, New York (illustration) Robert Valentine, The Valentine Group, New York (typography; editorial) “50 Books/50 Covers” Cheryl Towler Weese (chair), studio blue, Chicago Ann Bobco, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York Archie Ferguson, Alfred A. Knopf, New York Julia Hasting, Phaidon Press, New York Lars Müller, Lars Müller Publishers, Switzerland Jack Woody, Twin Palm Publishers, Santa Fe The call for entries has been posted on the AIGA website at www.aiga.org/upcomingcompetitions. Enroll in AIGA Harvard Business School Program AIGA and Harvard Business School are launching the second annual Advanced Leadership Program on “Business Perspectives for Design Leaders,” a one-week program to provide experienced designers with a chance to master the perspective of their clients toward business. It is available to only sixty candidates who will live (and work) in the executive housing at Harvard Business School and be taught by the school’s best faculty. Selection is competitive, based on the qualifications and experience of candidates. The program will be offered from August 15–20, 2004, at Harvard. The course will provide you with a higher level, more comprehensive perspective on business, seeing the marketplace, its opportunities and challenges as the nation’s CEOs see them. The intent is to help experienced designers occupy comfortably the role many of you have expressed an interest in attaining—the role of strategic advisor to your clients on communication strategy, brand positioning and product or service development. It will also, undoubtedly, give you new insight into your own practice, although its purpose is not to provide personal management techniques for you to use in your studio. Attendees will leave with new perspectives on business and new confidence in communicating with clients on their terms. Each of last year’s participants valued the program beyond their expectations; see what they have to say here. The program will run from Sunday afternoon, August 15 through Friday afternoon, August 20. Since the strength of the experience depends upon what the participants bring to the rigorous case method teaching techniques, selection will be competitive (although the application is relatively simple). You should expect to be very busy for the entire period, engaged in evening presentations and team preparation of cases. The fee includes tuition, room and board. This will be an exciting opportunity for a significant mid-career enhancement in your skills, perspective and effectiveness. The timing is perfect for offering new services to clients as the economy rebounds. We hope you will consider it today. Visit www.aiga.org/businessperspectives for more information and an application form. In the AIGA gallery 365: AIGA Annual Design Exhibition 24. Celebrating all 113 selections from this year’s competition, the exhibition opened on November 20, 2003 and will continue through February 27, 2004. Exhibition design: Carbone Smolan Agency, New York; presenting sponsor: Aquent. CSA provided the following statement about the exhibition: “CSA embraced the challenges inherent in the AIGA’s long, narrow space, and chose to work with the qualities of the space rather than against them. We emphasized the long floor plate by creating a series of freestanding pedestal displays, which grew taller and smaller as they receded, creating an exaggerated perspective. Aligning these elements along the far wall allowed us to free up space alongside and in between the displays for circulation. Intimate shadow boxes were integrated into the back wall to create a focal point and show off small pieces in the exhibit to their best advantage. These, coupled with interactive displays, helped pull traffic to the back of the gallery and avoid bottlenecks up front. Organizationally, we departed from the previous years’ categorical approach and mixed up categories as an editorial comment on the fact that lines between design disciplines are continually blurring. Displaying all of the entries together created visual juxtapositions among pieces, prompting viewers to find connections between unrelated works. A warm shade of red enveloped the entire exhibition—the walls, fixtures, and custom graphic flooring. The result was a cohesive transformation of the physical space, and a strong identity for the show. The red was also applied as an overarching graphic element to accompanying print communications and in an electronic teaser promotion. Leaving the tops and backs of all displays white provided a neutral background and gave the content on display strong emphasis. Large format graphics knocked out in white and an information icon system completed the look and feel of the graphics.” --------------------------------------------------------------- www.aiga.org --------------------------------------------------------------- Enhanced member benefit: new directory of Design Jobs AIGA’s new, improved Design Jobs directory became available late last month after a thorough overhaul. Design Jobs now provides members-only access to exclusive job opportunities posted on the site. And until late March, employers may post jobs for just $49, a 75 percent discount, by entering the word “TALENT” in the “Promotion code” field under the “Payment” section. Job postings are permitted by any firm. Another new development in Design Jobs is that AIGA members are now able to post portfolios containing samples of work, a personal statement, resumé and contact details. This feature is available to all members, whether or not you are searching for a new position. If you are actively looking, you will receive an e-mail notification when a position is posted that matches your search criteria. During normal business hours (9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday), dedicated telephone and e-mail customer support are available to address any questions or concerns. Visit www.aiga.org/designjobs to see these benefits for yourself! --------------------------------------------------------------- Advocacy --------------------------------------------------------------- Design for Democracy: Get Out the Vote campaign AIGA will repeat its successful “Get Out the Vote” campaign, encouraging members to demonstrate the power of design to cause positive social influences. Each of AIGA’s 47 chapters may select a designer from the community to design a poster to be printed and distributed nationally. This year’s template will be 11x17 inches, a size more easily accepted by stores, libraries and other local venues. This size also means that anyone will be able to download an image from a gallery of digital designs, print locally and post wherever he or she wants. In this way, we hope to take even greater advantage of the network of designers in AIGA as both a creative force and as influencers in their local communities. The template for the posters will be made available on the AIGA website in the April/May timeframe; any member will be able to download the template, create a design on message, then submit the design to AIGA’s “Get Out the Vote” gallery. The standard tagline for all designs will be “Design makes choices clear.” Designs must be nonpartisan and may not be offensive, but those are the only criteria against which posters will be reviewed before posting. Ownership is retained by the designer although posting the design will require providing nonexclusive rights for printing and display by anyone who chooses during 2004. See the posters from the 2000 campaign. --------------------------------------------------------------- Coming soon --------------------------------------------------------------- Save the dates! Next “Gain” and National Design Conferences “Gain: AIGA Business and Design Conference” will be held October 1–3, 2004 in New York City. Everything is happening faster. Products and services become commodities overnight. As companies curtail costs, R&D often takes the first hit. Reduced resources means greater pressure on both timelines and people. In this challenging environment, embedding design can make all the difference. At this year’s “Gain: AIGA Business and Design Conference,” we’ll explore how to embed design throughout your organization to drive innovation and market differentiation. You’ll see new tools, new ideas and new ways of looking at the problems that face us all. For designers, the business conversation will reveal the enormous new role design can and must play. For business leaders, the role of design, and even what is meant by design, will be completely recast. It’s a conversation you won’t want to miss. www.aiga.org/gain_conference_2004 The next National Design Conference will be held September 15–17, 2005 in Boston, Massachusetts. www.aiga.org/design_conference_2005 Formal notice of AIGA board meeting The next AIGA board meeting will be held April 19–20, 2004 in St. Helena, California. --------------------------------------------------------------- Resources --------------------------------------------------------------- Want to renew? www.aiga.org/renew Have you had a recent change of address? Update your profile, including e-mail preferences and affiliation with communities of interest at www.aiga.org/profile. Want to know what’s going on? Check out local and national events at www.aiga.org/calendar. -------------------------------------------------------------- About Communiqué This newsletter is e-mailed monthly to AIGA members; past issues are archived on the AIGA website. To unsubscribe, update your profile or send an e-mail to communique@aiga.org with “unsubscribe” in the subject line. To review our privacy policy, go to www.aiga.org/privacy. -------------------------------------------------------------- AIGA \| American Institute of Graphic Arts 164 Fifth Avenue New York NY 10010 \| 212 807 1990 communique@aiga.org AIGA: stimulating thinking about design www.aiga.org