Monthly news and updates for AIGA
members
September/October 2003
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Contents
News and information
“The Power of Design” conference is just a few
weeks away
Business program reveals challenges in designer-client
presentations
In the AIGA gallery
www.aiga.org
Add your case studies to designing.aiga.org
Changes in the works for AIGA website
Advocacy
Design for Democracy serves as resource for states
Coming soon
Save the dates! Next “Gain” and National Design
Conferences
Formal notice of national board meeting
Resources
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News and information
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“The Power of Design” conference
is just a few weeks away
“The Power of Design” conference is three short weeks away
and bound to be one of the most important opportunities to adapt to a
new business and social environment for design. The program deals with
the power of Design in addressing the truly important issues of our day.
Nearly 2,000 designers have registered already, and we expect the conference to sell out. If you haven’t registered yet, make sure you reserve your seat. Check that your passport is current. Book your hotel. Check out the online culture guide to make plans to explore Vancouver before and after the conference. And make sure you register by the end of the day this Friday, October 3, to be included in the attendee directory.
Visit powerofdesign.aiga.org for all the details and to register. See you in Vancouver!
Business
program reveals challenges in designer-client presentations
A fascinating observation emerged from the AIGA Harvard Business School
“Business Perspectives for Design Leaders” program held in
August, as the result of a comparison of the communication and perception
attributes of designers versus general managers. The Myers Briggs test
scores for AIGA participants were compared to 500 business executives
that have gone through the Harvard Business School Program in recent years.
Forty-six of the 47 designers in the program scored the same in one attribute (N) while 60 percent of general managers displayed the opposite character (S) on the scale measuring “How do you prefer to acquire new information?”
What does this mean? In making decisions, many clients have a natural preference for receiving a straightforward recommendation, with an explanation in writing, so that they can read it, think about it over night, and then decide. Many designers’ inherent preference is to communicate verbally by explaining all the options in detail and then describing why the preference option is strongest. This can result in a fundamental incompatibility, not because either is wrong or disrespectful of the other, but simply because of different preferences. Each side tends to judge the other’s preference instead of knowing full well in advance that the other has a different style that is right for that person!
If you are interested in attending the AIGA HBS program next August, visit www.aiga.org/businessperspectives for the general course description. The course will be limited to 60 professionals who will need to submit an application for acceptance into the program.
In the AIGA gallery
AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers exhibition. Designed by Todd Simmons
of State, New York, this year’s exhibition displays the winners
of AIGA’s longest-running competition in a most unusual setting.
Make sure you stop by the National Design Center before October 31 to
see the show. NOTE: the gallery will be closed October 21–28.
365: AIGA Annual Design Exhibition 24. Celebrating all 113 selections from this year’s competition, the exhibition opens on November 20, 2003 (opening reception for members only on November 19) and will continue through February 20, 2004. Exhibition design: Carbone Smolan Agency, New York; presenting sponsor: Aquent.
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www.aiga.org
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Add your case studies to designing.aiga.org
Over the years, the design profession has assured a visual archive of
design through its competitions. Now the profession needs to instigate,
develop, build and maintain a body of knowledge about the process of designing—the
best practices of the profession—if it is to grow consistently in
impact as a profession. The case studies archive at designing.aiga.org
is an explicit effort to legitimize, give weight to and make visible the
value of the process of designing.
AIGA’s case study initiative is an investment in strengthening the human capital of the profession. To do this successfully, we need to provide the necessary incentives—peer and public recognition—to encourage a behavioral and cultural change within our profession. If we do this correctly, we will have a working knowledge database that will enable practitioners to learn, share, teach and advance the values of design.
AIGA has created a relatively easy means for members to document examples of successful design at designing.aiga.org. Add your examples and become part of the cumulative progression of the discipline. Sample the case studies to help in making a compelling case for investing in design.
Changes in the works for AIGA website
Before the year is out, members will see significant changes at www.aiga.org.
The site itself will receive a face-lift, involving a clearer, more accessible
navigational scheme. Design Forum
will be re-launched in an easier-to-use format, in which a visit to the
main page will display much more information about what you can find in
this section of the site and discussions will be much easier to read and
participate in.
When AIGA Design Jobs is re-launched in December, AIGA members will enjoy a 75 percent discount on jobs posted through the end of January 2004. Only AIGA members will have access to the full job listings posted on Design Jobs, and AIGA members will be also able to post portfolios containing samples of work, a personal statement, résumé and contact details. E-mail notifications will be sent to members when a position is posted that matches their criteria. As the economy continues to change, Design Jobs should prove useful to members seeking jobs and designers.
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Advocacy
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Design for Democracy serves as resource
for states
Design for Democracy, AIGA’s initiative to improve the design of
election experiences and other critical citizen experiences, has become
a resource for state concerns. Since presenting the results of the initiative’s
work in Oregon and Cook County, Illinois and to state election officials
from across the nation last June, AIGA has received queries from the states
of Texas, South Carolina and Michigan, as well as the Federal Election
Commission. In each of these cases, AIGA has provided the state with access
to the materials from previous projects and attempted to develop local
teams of designers who can work with state officials in revising election
materials.
In January, AIGA plans to publish a book of templates for local officials that will help them craft local solutions based on fundamental information design principles.
This effort is part of AIGA’s strategic interest in communicating how design can be important to critical functions of every citizen.
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Coming soon
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Save the dates! Next “Gain” and National Design Conferences
“Gain: AIGA Business and Design Conference” will be
held September 30–October 2, 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 next 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.
The next National Design Conference will be held September 15–17, 2005 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Formal notice of national board meeting
The next national board meeting will be held at the Pan Pacific
Hotel in Vancouver, B.C., on October 26, 2003.
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Resources
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Want to renew? www.aiga.org/renew
Want to register for “The Power of Design: AIGA National Design Conference”? http://powerofdesign.aiga.org
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.
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About Communiqué
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