Monthly news and updates for AIGA members
June/July 2002
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Contents
News and information
Register yourself and a client
for the "Gain" conference
Chapter leadership developing new vision for AIGA
Protecting your intellectual property rights
New health insurance options for AIGA members
Seeking books by and about members for AIGA library
Design alert: Americans wary of corporate information
Deborah Sussman reflects on AIGA
Top line results of 2002 member survey
www.aiga.org
New topics available on AIGA Design Forum
New calendar launched-the best way to keep informed!
Fifth issue of Loop now online
Tools to manage your relationship with AIGA
Coming soon
"Grow: AIGA Professional Development Seminar Series"
Interaction Only Conference, November 1-3
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News and information
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Register yourself and a client for the "Gain" conference
For the first time, AIGA offers a deep discount to
encourage you to bring one or more clients to the biennial business
and design conference. Register yourself on the web (for $550)
and pay only $250 for each client you register.
The best time to get a jump on your competition is when the economy is growing slowly and confidence is uncertain. The theme of "Gain" will be "Beyond branding," the question on everyone's minds as we anticipate the building of momentum within the economy.
At "Gain," designers, strategists and clients will explore what new dimensions will be required of brand design assignments in the immediate future, based on what has been learned by the most effective practitioners and clients over the past several years. The timing could not be more perfect--it should come just as companies are beginning to plan for renewed consumer demand. Are you ready?
Gain: AIGA National Business and Design Conference 2002, October 25-27, 2002, Minneapolis
To register yourself (for $550) and your client (for $250), visit the "Gain" conference site today!
Chapter leadership developing new
vision for AIGA
The annual AIGA Leadership Retreat was held in Seattle,
June 27-29. This meeting of representatives of the boards of
each of our chapters and communities focused on "Enhancing
the AIGA Experience;" traditionally it helps chapters strengthen
their ability to serve members.
AIGA national president Clement Mok introduced a vision for the future that responds to both the challenges of the profession and the need to communicate the value of design to business more effectively. The way to gain a more respected role in the client relationship will be to reposition AIGA and its messages toward promoting the value of designing, as a problem solving process, rather than designers or design artifacts. If we can articulate a process that is valuable to solving difficult problems, and requires a designer, it will allow us all to promote a message to business without worrying about the type of designer we are or the nature of the artifacts we produce.
As the ideas are refined with chapter leaders, we will share them with members and begin to propose activities for AIGA that can advance this vision. This direction responds directly to what we have heard in our recent member survey (see story below) and what we see around us, with the increasing crossing over of designers from one discipline to another.
Protecting your intellectual property
rights
Expanding on the level of support for designers' practices,
AIGA has retained special counsel to assist members with initial
advice on copyright or intellectual property issues. Beginning
July 1, Frank J. Martinez will serve as our special counsel on
copyright and fair use issues. Frank has considerable experience
in copyright, trademark and patent law; he was responsible for
typeface design issues at the U.S. Patent Office; has worked
with design firms and typeface designers; and teaches in the
graduate program at SVA in New York.
Frank will be available to you--as a benefit of membership--for an initial assessment of your legal rights and options. He has a reputation for reasonableness, integrity and clear legal business advice. After his initial suggestions, you may decide to retain an attorney to pursue your options.
Contact Frank by sending e-mail to copyright@aiga.org.
New health insurance options for
AIGA members
AIGA recognizes that many members are interested in
obtaining health insurance as a benefit of affiliating with their
professional association.
Because insurance regulations vary from state to state, it is difficult to find a broker that operates in every state. Furthermore, even though AIGA is the largest graphic design organization, our 16,000 members do not give us enough leverage to negotiate discounts because the number of interested members in any single state is not sufficiently large for preferential rates. We can't guarantee the cheapest rates; we simply provide a place for you to go to try to find a plan that meets your needs.
As of July 2002, we are pleased to announce that we have entered into an agreement with an online broker for group and individual health insurance, with offerings in most states.
While this option does not offer discounts based on AIGA membership, it does offer a way for members to compare and contrast carriers that offer insurance in their state and to find the best rates to meet their circumstances. This is an online offering, but at any point in the process, members can call an 800 number to help determine their best options. Click here for more information.
At the same time, AIGA will continue its long-time relationship with TEIGIT, a New York-based nonprofit broker. AIGA members in downstate New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Chicago, Atlanta and southern Florida may contact TEIGIT for applicable rates. Call 800 342 9287 (in New York, 212 758 5675).
Seeking books by and about members
for AIGA library
AIGA's library is an eclectic collection of books
on design printed since the 1920s. We have neither a budget nor
a systematic program to add to it each year. In order to give
it focus and meaning, we would like to develop it as a library
that represents our members.
We welcome contributions of books by you, as a member, or about you. This should not include your own promotional materials that have not been published or general compendiums that make reference to your work. It should only include published works. We hope, however, that the library will become a clear statement about design as it is practiced in the U.S. today (and well into the future).
Contact Ellie Hutton (ellie_hutton@aiga.org) or send contributions to Member Library, AIGA, 164 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Design alert: Americans wary of corporate
information
The resilient public mood following September 11 has
been dissipated by eroding faith in business and governmental
institutions, leaving Americans wary of corporate information
involving their investments.
A WSJ/NBC poll reported in the Wall Street Journal on June 13 reveals that 57 percent of Americans say they don't trust corporate executives or brokerage firms to give them honest information. "The public has come to a single point of view" across a broad array of American institutions, says pollster Peter Hart, "You haven't leveled with us, and you aren't dealing fairly with us."
This becomes an important argument on the value of good information design. The public is not looking for persuasive sales arguments that might be provided by advertising firms; they are looking for clear, responsible and accurate information from business institutions. Making the complex clear is the distinct competitive advantage of graphic designers.
Deborah Sussman reflects on AIGA
This spring, the AIGA Los Angeles chapter recognized
Deborah Sussman as an AIGA Fellow. Sussman is one of the towering
figures in raising the quality, reach and popular understanding
of design. The award ceremony provided Deborah with an opportunity
to reminisce and comment on AIGA, her experience with AIGA and
the profession.
Her remarks, addressing the evolution of AIGA, are included in full on the AIGA website.
"When I was very young, there was a small place, a rather colorless, almost domestic set of rooms, on an undistinguished stretch of Third Avenue in Manhattan, called AIGA.
It was upstairs, and had a quiet little sign at the door. There were books and publications that you could quench your design thirst with. There was a caring director, maybe a couple of helpers, and a certain warmth and intimacy that graphic designers felt attracted to."
Read the rest of Deborah's remarks
Top line results of 2002 member survey
The 2002 member survey was conducted in the spring
2002 and drew 3,213 responses. While we use the detailed information
to refine our service offerings, a few highlights are useful
here.
Member loyalty: 77 percent of the respondents placed themselves at 7 or higher in a ten-point range on the certainty of renewing.
Characterization of AIGA. Members strongly affirmed AIGA. The following shows the percentage of respondents who agreed with the following statements:
| AIGA keeps me aware of important issues | 81% | ||
| AIGA is keeping pace with changes in the profession | 76 | ||
| AIGA increases respect for design | 76 | ||
| AIGA increases understanding of design | 75 | ||
| AIGA represents my point of view on most of its positions and activities | 72 | ||
| AIGA boards represent my interests effectively | 68 | ||
| AIGA membership is a good value for the price | 63 |
Most significant issues for designers to address
There is a clear consensus that designers--and by extension,
AIGA--should focus on educating business about the value of design.
The following shows the proportion of members who identified
each issue as one of the top three to be addressed:
| Educate business about the value of design | 74% | ||
| Educate the public about the value of design | 44 | ||
| Advocate professional ethics and standards | 37 | ||
| Publicize examples of effective design | 28 | ||
| Advocate educational standards for design programs | 28 | ||
| Support members in the management of their practice | 24 | ||
| Education government about the value of design | 21 |
Use of the website. Although the website is given high marks in the values of membership, it is still underutilized by our members. Only one in four visit it once a week or more frequently; 75 percent visit it once a month or more frequently. Ninety-three percent of the membership does use the website to obtain information of various types (most frequently about events, even before our new dynamic calendar) and three-quarters use it for transactions.
Many members cite their interest in receiving information as a compelling advantage of membership; members receive the fullest value for their membership by taking advantage of the website, as some services are delivered only electronically, including Communiqué. It continues to be a challenge to educate members that they cannot gain access to the amazing amount of information that is available to them simply by waiting by their mailbox.
Importance of AIGA programs. The following reflect the percentage of respondents who rated each of the following activities as important benefits of membership (listing only those that had a consensus of two-thirds of the membership):
| AIGA's public relations activities that promote the value of design | 86% | ||
| AIGA's support of activities to develop standards | 81 | ||
| Local AIGA speaker presentations, one day seminars, workshops | 81 | ||
| AIGA mailings about upcoming events | 78 | ||
| AIGA website | 76 | ||
| AIGA Design Business and Ethics series | 74 | ||
| AIGA|Aquent Survey of Design Salaries | 73 | ||
| 365: AIGA Year in Design | 72 | ||
| Opportunity to network with colleagues through chapter activities | 71 | ||
| Opportunity to participate in a community of practitioners | 71 | ||
| AIGA's legislative, regulatory and public policy efforts | 67 |
In looking at the responses in a slightly different perspective, if you consider broad categories of benefits, the number of members who ranked these categories as important were:
| Information and communication | 91% |
| Advocacy and raising public awareness | 91 |
| Professional growth | 88 |
| Conferences and events | 87 |
| Community | 81 |
| Publications | 79 |
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New topics available on AIGA Design Forum
Moderator Sam Shelton gets in your business with his
new topic devoted to running a small design firm. Whether you
are trying to expand your practice or just starting out, the
professional
practices topic will provide you with valuable resources
from leading experts including David Baker, Colin Forbes and
Shel Perkins. Have a specific question? Post it to the discussion
board and take advantage of the collective experience of the
AIGA community. You can also weigh in on grub or ethics when
you take the
spec work challenge.
The information design topic, moderated by Terry Irwin, defines the art and science of making the complex clear. Articles by Erik Spiekermann and Nigel Holmes discuss the ins and outs of successful communication in diverse formats while Irwin herself maps the controversy that surrounds this area of practice. Don't wait for a divine sign, check out this amazing resource today.
Don't forget that Christoph Niemann's illustration topic continues to draw valuable insights from top editors.
New calendar launched-the best way
to keep informed!
In late June, a new version of the AIGA
online calendar was launched, designed by Decker Design of
New York. The new interface should make it easier for people
to see at a glance the wide variety of events and programs AIGA
is offering across the country in a given date range. Visitors
can select a date range, a chapter and now can search on event
names, which wasn't possible in the previous incarnation of the
calendar. For the first time, we are able to show the full AIGA
experience.
Fifth issue of Loop now online
What does it take to design successful curricula for
interaction and experience design? The newest issue of Loop takes
an extensive view of curriculum profiles.
Brenda Laurel describes the redesign of Art Center's Media Design Graduate Program with the goal of preparing graduate students to become masters at deploying appropriate types of media in a transmedia world. Tracing its roots from Laszlo Maholy-Nagy, IIT's Institute of Design now has a threefold mission: building design knowledge, extending, sharing and transferring methods and preparing new professionals to meet the opportunities of a rapidly changing world.
Read these profiles and others at loop.aiga.org
Tools to manage your relationship
with AIGA
Did you know you can use your AIGA login ID and password
to:
· Update your contact information (www.aiga.org/profile)
· Request a new membership card [new!]
· Change your login ID and password
· Customize your profile for listing in the online Designer
Directory
· Register for conferences and events
· Contribute to Design Forum
· Review e-newsletter archives (Communiqué,
AIGA Design:Business)
· Renew your membership
· Post your resume on Design Jobs
· Review full results of 2002 salary survey
Don't know your login information? Use the "send me my
login information" link to receive your login ID and password
by e-mail.
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Coming soon
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Grow: AIGA Professional Practice Seminar Series
AIGA, in partnership with chapters across the U.S.,
will host a series of "Grow" seminars with David C.
Baker from ReCourses, Inc. Each half-day session--specifically
tailored for design managers, studio principals, senior designers,
art directors and business development people--will be four hours
long and will feature topics to help grow your design business
responsibly.
Topics include: Taking Care of Clients; Positioning and Marketing Your Services; Being a Good Manager; and Monitoring and Benchmarking Your Practice. Attendance is limited to just 40 attendees per session.
September 2728, 2002 - Los Angeles
December 67, 2002 - New York
For more information and to register, visit www.aiga.org/grow
Interaction Only Conference, November
1-3, 2002
AIGA Miami and AIGA Experience Design present the
Interaction Only [IO] Conference, November 1-3, 2002. The conference
will focus on the opportunities, issues and techniques facing
designers from diverse backgrounds who identity with the goals
of AIGA Experience Design-to build an interdisciplinary community
of professionals who design for a world in which experiences
are increasingly digital and connected.
The IO Conference offers a range of experiences for professionals looking to expand their skills into new areas, be inspired by some of the possibilities opening up today and meet fellow designers interested in shaping the future of design. While the conference is informed by internet and new media design, it also offers perspective from a variety of established disciplines that apply to all designers practicing today.
Collaboratively programmed by the national AIGA Experience Design steering committee and AIGA Miami, this two-day conference includes vision and methodology speakers and tools clinics--plus a special day of participatory technique workshops.
Visit www.ioconference.com
for more information
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Graphic Arts
164 Fifth Avenue New York NY 10010 | 212 807 1990
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