AIGA Communique - August 2006

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	Monthly news and updates for AIGA members September 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------- Contents News and information Last chance to register for Gain: Business Conference, October 26–28 Isaac Mizrahi to introduce honoree at Design Legends Gala Winterhouse Awards for Design Writing & Criticism AIGA at Icograda Design Week in South Africa Listen to Aspen Design Summit podcasts Alan Fletcher, designer whose work enlivened Britain, dies Tom Suzuki, designer who transformed textbooks, dies Submit your life-changing designs to INDEX (five $125,000 prizes) In the AIGA Gallery: 50 Books/50 Covers of 2005 Thanks to recent contributors to AIGA Advocacy Coming soon: polling place photo project www.aiga.org Voice: AIGA Journal of Design Opportunities for inspiration and professional development About, With & For, Chicago, October 6–7, 2006 CVA Leaders of Design series features Michael Vanderbyl DesignEd Asia 2006. November 27–28, 2006 AIGA regional education conferences Innovation, Sustainability and Leadership in Design, January 2007 Aspen Design Summit, June 3–6, 2007, Aspen Next: AIGA Design Conference, October 9–11, 2007, Denver Resources --------------------------------------------------------------- News and information --------------------------------------------------------------- Last chance to register for Gain: Business Conference, October 26–28 “Gain: AIGA Business and Design Conference” is less than one month away. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from the world’s leading business and design experts as they share their innovative approaches to generating greater return on investment, fostering emotional connections and providing positive brand experiences for customers. “Design means business” means finding real-world solutions for everyday tasks like research, development and organization. Tom Kelley, general manager, IDEO, and author, The Ten Faces of Innovation, will moderate “Gain.” Hotel accommodations in New York are in extremely high demand during October, so make your reservations now. Arrive early for pre-conferencing workshops and design studio tours. Space is limited and you must register in advance. Visit gainconference.aiga.org for more information and to reserve your seat. Isaac Mizrahi to introduce honoree at Design Legends Gala On October 25, the third annual Design Legends Gala will be held in New York City. Isaac Mizrahi, who came to market with a best-selling women’s line for Target in 2003, will introduce 2006 Corporate Leadership Award honoree Target Corporation. MTV Networks, a Viacom company, is the other recipient of the 2006 Corporate Leadership Award. The evening will also celebrate the 2006 Medalists (Michael Bierut, Rick Valicenti and Lorraine Wild); the 2006 Fellows; and the recipients of the 2006 Winterhouse AIGA Design Writing and Criticism Awards. This is the second year that chapter Fellows will be included in the evening’s celebrations. Their commitment and service to the community have been recognized on a local level, and the Gala recognizes them nationally. The fellows are Pat and Greg Samata (Chicago); Sam Shelton (DC); Cheryl Beckett and Chris Hill (Houston); Mary Fisher (Jacksonville); Moria Cullen (Kansas City); Sean Adams, Noreen Morioka and Doyald Young (Los Angeles); John Bielenberg (Maine); Annette Piskel (Miami); Tom Varisco, (New Orleans); Michael Osborne (San Francisco). The Gala is a special black-tie event to honor the accomplishments of our 2006 award recipients, and offers an opportunity for designers to contribute to the ongoing celebration of design excellence. Funds raised at this year’s Gala will benefit the Worldstudio AIGA Scholarship program, AIGA’s Diversity Archive and AIGA’s endowment to secure the future of the organization. Tickets are available online. Tickets Patron $750 Friend $350 Tables Leadership $10,000 Benefactor $5,000 aiga.org/designlegendsgala Winterhouse Awards for Design Writing & Criticism The Winterhouse Institute and AIGA named Thomas de Monchaux and Katherine Feo the recipients of the first Winterhouse Awards for Design Writing & Criticism. The awards, a joint venture between the Winterhouse Institute and AIGA, seek to increase the appreciation of design throughout the design community and for the greater public, by recognizing excellent writing about design, and by discovering new voices in design criticism and commentary. The Writing Award, which was open to writers, critics, scholars, historians, journalists and designers in the amount of $5,000, was awarded to Thomas de Monchaux for his three submissions: “Constructing the Melnikov House,” “Solving for X: Dek: Calculating Idealism Among Young Architects” and “Here Come The Jets!: Notes on a Stadium.” Thomas is a writer and designer who has written for Architectural Record, I.D. Magazine, and The New York Times. He lives and works in New York and currently assists the firm LOT-EK at Columbia University’s “Housing Architecture Studio.” The Education Award, which was open to undergraduate or graduate students whose use of writing, in the interest of making visual work, scholarship or cultural observation, demonstrates extraordinary originality and promise, was awarded to Katherine Feo, in the amount of $1,000, for her submission: “In Defense of Stupidity.” She works as a research assistant at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and is a visiting lecturer in the department of illustration at the University of Westminster. Three distinguished writers judged this year’s entries, each of whom is renowned for exceptional writing about design and visual culture: Kurt Anderson, Julie Lasky and Meghan O’Rourke. “We were delighted with the enthusiasm we witnessed in this, our first year,” notes Winterhouse partner Jessica Helfand, who chaired this year’s judging. Submissions for the 2007 Awards will be accepted starting in March 2007. www.aiga.org/2006_recipients. AIGA at Icograda Design Week in South Africa AIGA executive director Richard Grefé is a board member of the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda) and participated in a board meeting in Pretoria in mid-September that focused on the goals, objectives and activities of Icograda. The board also continued negotiations with the comparable industrial design organization concerning the creation of a single International Design Alliance that would provide one voice for the design profession. Grefé also presented AIGA’s view of the dynamics of the design economy and the changes this has caused in AIGA’s direction and focus to students, designers and faculty at the University of Johannesburg as part of a program organized by Think, the South African communications design association. He spent two days developing guidelines for digital design archives at an Icograda colloquium at the University of Pretoria involving archivists from around the world. The AIGA Design Archives represents perhaps the most advanced model in terms of usability and accessibility and may well influence the development of design archives elsewhere in the world. From the colloquium, it is anticipated that there will be guidance documents generated that will help designers and institutions archive materials, protect them and catalog them. AIGA's involvement in these international forums is critical: AIGA can create global channels and relationships for U.S. designers, and participation in these forums allows the organization to share its own experience and resources with designers elsewhere. AIGA can also encourage the adoption of its professional standards, which govern the profession in the United States. Emerging economies offer extraordinary opportunities for design, while providing U.S. designers the opportunity to demonstrate creative and professional leadership. AIGA pursues activities that ease the transition to a global economy, helping designers to function as innovative leaders in the international community. Listen to Aspen Design Summit podcasts New Podcast interviews have been posted on the Aspen Design Summit website. Listen in as Chee Pearlman, New York-based journalist, conference director and curator investigates the Aspen Design Summit and a multitude of design topics with Summit presenters and stakeholders. So far we have heard from: Summit moderator John Thackara Summit stakeholders Karen Hibma Cronan and Michael Cronan AIGA executive director Ric Grefé AIGA program director Dorothy Dunn Social entrepreneurship presenters Paul Polak and Jim Patell Education innovation presenters Elliot Washor and Frank Wilson Darwinian expert Niles Eldredge aspendesignsummit.org/ads_podcaspen.com Alan Fletcher, designer whose work enlivened Britain, dies Alan Fletcher, who helped revive postwar British design and typography through his vibrant corporate identity work and book designs and who was a co-founder of Pentagram, London’s first major international design consultancy, died September 21, 2006, at his daughter’s home in East Sussex, England. He was 74. Read The New York Times obituary www.nytimes.com/2006/09/26/arts/design/26fletcher.html Tom Suzuki, designer who transformed textbooks, dies Tom Suzuki, an art director and graphic designer who in the 1970s transformed academic textbooks by introducing vibrant color and pictorial variety to a genre long strait-jacketed by outdated formats, died on September 3 in Fairfax, Va. He was 76. Read The New York Tiimes obituary select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0710FF3E550C718DDDA00894DE404482 Submit your life-changing designs to INDEX (five $125,000 prizes) AIGA will partner with INDEX in promoting U.S. entries to an international competition for design projects that significantly improve life for a large number of people. One prize of 100,000 euros will be given in each of five categories. AIGA will recommend one U.S. entry for each category: body, home, work, play and community. The AIGA nominations will then be judged against entries from other countries around the world. In addition, entries can be submitted directly to INDEX, although their probability of success is stronger with national organization endorsement. The U.S. entries will be judged by the AIGA board using the following criteria: Social, ecological, cultural and economic impact Accessibility Affordability Flexibility and simplicity User-friendliness Optimism Level of innovation Future potential Appropriate aesthetics The design must have improved the lives of a vast number of people, before it qualifies. The Index Award nominations continue until November 18, 2006. Entries may be sent, digitally, to AIGA at index@aiga.org. For more information on the competition, visit www.index2007.dk In the AIGA Gallery: 50 Books/50 Covers 2005 Now through November 30 Since 1923, the ”AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers” competition has recognized excellence in book design and production. The entries included books and book covers designed between January 1 and December 31, 2005. Categories range from trade, reference and juvenile books to university and museum publications and include limited edition and special-format books. Designers’ statement. “The driving concept behind this year’s 50 Books/50 Covers exhibition design is to highlight the jury’s choices by setting them in a sea of grey—undifferentiated—books. While the grey books serve as a reference to the many submissions that ultimately did not find entry into the show, they work as a statement about how difficult it is to make great design in a publishing world dominated by fearful publishers, powerful book sellers, and design-by-committee. The echoes of these all too familiar voices are referenced as well. This exhibition presents the winners as shining moments in a murky world of too many opinions.” Kevin Brainard (Pleasure, New York) and John Fulbrook III (Scribner, New York) On the mezzanine: ”The Spirit Illuminated: An Exhibition of Qur’anic Illumination” The exhibit features collection of twelve double page Tradigital Prints based on selected openings from the finest medieval Qur’an manuscripts in Cairo’s Dar al-Kutub (National Library). This exhibition is made possible with the generous support of the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation. Thanks to recent contributors to AIGA AIGA thanks the following recent contributors to the AIGA Creative Leadership Campaign: Up to $100 Donald Ariev Larry Asher Sarah Ballard Amy Fidler Linda Hunt Linda L. Huber Dan Jumanan Claire Lukacs Patrick Redmond James C. Smith Beth Tondreau --------------------------------------------------------------- Advocacy --------------------------------------------------------------- Coming soon: polling place photo project As part of its Design for Democracy initiative, AIGA is collaborating with Design Observer and NewAssignment.net (a project of New York University’s School of Journalism) to document voter experiences at local polling places. This experiment in citizen journalism seeks to engage voters by collecting and sharing photographs of democracy in action—an open call for photographs of every polling place in America. Get your cameras ready: there will be a working site up for Election Day, November 7, 2006. More information will be posted next month on the AIGA homepage and Design Observer. --------------------------------------------------------------- www.aiga.org --------------------------------------------------------------- Voice: AIGA Journal of Design Voice has become the go-to place for lively, thoughtful articles on design. Be sure you’re up to date on this rich anthology of engaging writing. “The New Shape of Chocolate: Mobile” By Phil Patton Can designers make mobile phones tasty? Patton reviews the latest telecommunications confection. www.aiga.org/content.cfm?ContentAlias=%5Fgetfullarticle&aid=2360223 “Lights, Camera, Helvetica” By Steven Heller What does a documentary filmmaker, who happens to be a type fanatic, do for kicks? Gary Hustwit talks about how he cast Helvetica for the silver (and plasma) screen. voice.aiga.org/content.cfm?ContentAlias=%5Fgetfullarticle&aid=2351514 Please join in the discussions and submit ideas for future issues at voice.aiga.org. --------------------------------------------------------------- Opportunities for inspiration and professional development --------------------------------------------------------------- APEC 2006 Trade Event, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, October 4–8, 2006 As Vietnam stands at the threshold of World Trade Organization membership, Vietnamese brands look forward to contributing to the stream of successful brands. Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, Ministry of Trade of Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Haki Group will hold the APEC 2006 Official Trade Event in Ho Chi Minh City, October 4–8, 2006. The event consists of two programs, the International Conference, Design+Strategy and the International Exhibition on Branding. Design+Strategy, National Brand Strategies and APEC Opportunities This conference will focus on brand strategies for both nations and businesses. Keynote speakers and presenters will share case-studies and know-how covering business and brand strategy planning to creative design solutions. This event will be a valuable guide for policy-makers and businesses when it comes to achieving market success in this highly globalized world. Key topics will cover branding for inward investment, branding for export, branding for tourism promotion, national brand schemes and benefits for enterprise, brand strategy and design trends in Asia and branding for Vietnamese enterprises and products in post-WTO context. The Brand Wave This exhibition features case-studies in brand strategy, brand and corporate identity and communication design from Vietnam and around the world. The exhibition will explore the fascinating aspects of branding and consider potential pathways for local brands to enter the world economy. This exhibition will help visitors understand how creative design can help business strategy planning make a bigger impact and achieve success in the marketplace. To view the event schedule and for more information, visit www.hakigroup.com. About, With & For, Chicago, October 6–7, 2006 “About, With & For” is a collaborative forum hosted by the IIT Institute of Design to discuss emerging topics, methods and issues in user-centered design research. The core values of research and discovery methodologies have been embraced by leading companies wishing to increase brand legitimacy, capacity and impact. What challenges are on the forefront for these leading institutions? “About, With & For” introduces and challenges topics such as simplicity in design, do-it-yourself research methodologies, design in education, social responsibility, design thinking in public policy and structured decision making. Special pricing is available for AIGA members; mention AIGA when registering. For more information, visit www.id.iit.edu/events/awf/2006. IIT Institute of Design student event in New York City What does it mean to link design to business strategy? What is design’s relationship to what Peter Drucker calls “the cornerstones of any business, marketing and innovation?” After “Gain,” come find out how graduate design education can prepare you to be a strategic design innovator. IIT Institute of Design, graduate information session Monday, October 30, 7:00–9:00 p.m. Conde Nast auditorium 4 Times Square New York, NY For more information, visit www.id.iit.edu CVA Leaders of Design series features Michael Vanderbyl The award-winning work of Michael Vanderbyl will be on display in the gallery at Saint Paul's College of Visual Arts, October 20–November 11, 2006. Past president of AIGA, and an AIGA medalist, Vanderbyl gained international prominence in the design field as a practitioner, educator, critic and advocate. Established in 1973, Vanderbyl Design has evolved into a multidisciplinary studio with expertise in graphics, packaging, signage, interiors, showrooms, retail spaces, furniture, textiles and fashion apparel. Michael is the current dean of design at his alma mater, California College of the Arts. www.vanderbyldesign.com See a short film about Vanderbyl produced by Aquent marcom.aquent.com/freetools/video/2/index.html Lecture: Thursday, October 19, 7:00 p.m. 3M Auditorium, Minnesota History Center, 345 Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul. Register online at www.aigaminn.org. Exhibit opening and reception: Friday, October 20, 4:00–8:00 p.m. CVA Gallery, 173 Western Ave., St. Paul. Auction of Vanderbyl furniture pieces during October 20 reception. Proceeds to benefit CVA. Exhibit continues through November 11. Both events are open to the public. The lecture has an admission fee ($15 AIGA members; $25 nonmembers; $10 students) while the exhibit opening and reception are free. DesignEd Asia 2006, November 27–28, 2006 The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design Creativity is a fundamental human ability. Growing that creative capacity requires stimulating, understanding and supporting a context for human behavior that reaches beyond the ordinary. “Creativity : Point : CounterPoint” addresses this challenge, uniting a regional and international community to share and discuss educational strategies to extend creative culture. Design faculty and practitioners will gather November 27–28, 2006, at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, to explore regional and international creative practices. Meet like-minded people, gather new ideas, and extend your regional and international design network among the “creatives” attending. Watch for further conference details at www.sd.polyu.edu.hk AIGA regional education conferences The AIGA Design Education Steering Committee is pleased to announce the following schedule of design education conferences. The conferences will cover a wide range of critical and pertinent topics, while their various locations make them accessible to a national audience. With the generous support of Adobe, four conferences will occur over the next two years. The Design Frontier: Graphic Design Education in Small Programs and Non-urban Regions December 1–3, 2006 Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, Denver, Colorado Conference chairpersons: Fred Murrell, Michael Mages, and Katherine McCoy www.designfrontier.org Schools of Thoughts III: What's so graphic about graphic design? Educating in the age of ubiquitous media Los Angeles, Spring 2007 Conference chairpersons: Denise Gonzales Crisp, Louise Sandhaus and Petrula Vrontikis. Intent/Content Nashville, TN, Summer 2007 Conference chairpersons (representing all four Tennessee AIGA chapters: Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville): Seth Johnson, Deborah Shmerler, Val Sloan, Cary Staples and Rebecca Targ Design education in the age of new media New England, Spring 2008 Conference Chairpersons: Brian Lucid and Joseph Quackenbush Innovation, Sustainability and Leadership in Design, January 2007 In January 2007, creative leaders from around the world will gather at the International Centre for Creativity Innovation and Sustainability (ICIS), just north of Copenhagen, Denmark for the Innovation, Sustainability and Leadership (ISL) Certificate Programme. Traditional design education often fails to properly address the business element inherent in the design profession. The ISL programme addresses this need and equips designers at the professional and postgraduate level with the knowledge, tools and skills necessary to successfully navigate and compete in today's fast changing markets. The program teaches advanced skills in business development and innovation, sustainability, leadership and international networking. It is comprised of three residential modules, each lasting two weeks, that span the course of a year; the time between each module provides an opportunity for reflection, evaluation, digestion and implementation. Visit iciscenter.org/isl for more information about the certificate program and a list of lecturers. AIGA members will receive a 15 percent discount on the registration fee, for a total of $12,750 for the year-long program. This fee covers the cost of lectures, tutorials, assessments, mentors, facilities, materials, food, lodging and excursions. Aspen Design Summit, June 3–6, 2007, Aspen Next: AIGA Design Conference, October 9–11, 2007, Denver --------------------------------------------------------------- Resources --------------------------------------------------------------- Want to renew? www.aiga.org/renew Have you had a recent change of address? Update your profile, including email preferences and affiliation with communities of interest. www.aiga.org/profile Want to know what’s going on? Check out local and national events. www.aiga.org/calendar -------------------------------------------------------------- About Communiqué This newsletter is emailed monthly to AIGA members; past issues are archived on the AIGA website. To unsubscribe, update your profile. 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