What do members think about AIGA now and for the future?

AIGA recently surveyed all professional and associate-level members on the critical issues and choices that face this organization. As AIGA approaches its centennial, in 2014, we are at a critical juncture, as we must adapt to serve the changing needs of our members and the design profession.

This survey, more than any other over the past decade, was conducted to help reimagine AIGA. More than 3,400 members participated in the survey, which represents a statistically solid profile of current attitudes. Let's examine the top-line results.

Ninety-two percent of our members believe that AIGA is on the right track; only six percent disagree.

Generally, members are satisfied with AIGA's services and activities (60 percent report being satisfied or very well satisfied). Two thirds are relatively certain they will renew. Roughly 60 percent also believe AIGA represents their point of view on most activities and positions.

What do members value most about AIGA?

The following functions served by AIGA are rated highly by members overall, but are even more valued by those who rate higher in satisfaction and strongly believe that AIGA is on the right track. Newer designers also value these attributes more highly than the membership as a whole.

More than half believe AIGA membership is a good value for the price, although we still must reinforce the value proposition among members. For instance, it is probably not widely understood that, for each dollar collected in dues, AIGA raises at least two additional dollars toward pursuing members' interests. For those who seek more tangible benefits over the more philosophical ones of increasing design awareness among the business communities and general public, the return on investment may not seem as gratifying.

More than half also believe that AIGA is a leader in building bridges among different design disciplines, although we would like to have seen a higher percentage of approval. This indicates that we either need to increase our efforts in this area or make sure that members are more aware of our existing efforts to represent an interdisciplinary approach to design.

What role do members think is most important for AIGA to play?

As stated in the AIGA mission, there are three important roles that we consider when planning activities and committing resources:

• Stimulate thinking about design by focusing on design excellence and inspiration, particularly among designers
• Demonstrate the value of design by promoting the value of design with external audiences
• Empower designers at every stage of their careers by supporting design education and professional development

When members were asked to rank AIGA activities in terms of importance, the traditional role as an arbiter of design excellence—stimulating thinking about design—continues to earn support and suggests that AIGA should retain this role:

However, AIGA's decade-long effort to communicate the value of design to business, media and the public ranks as high as nearly any other activity:

Members reinforce the importance of AIGA's efforts to shift away from its traditional role of supporting members with individual benefits, toward improving public understanding of design thinking in ways that will increase designers' relevance over time. Some of these activities are rated higher than the traditional support role in terms of importance:

These results would suggest that we continue our core activities, such as competitions, archives, exhibitions and hearty discourse on excellent design, yet continue to aggressively pursue our initiatives in enhancing the relevance of design through sustainability issues, multicultural awareness and social engagement.

This is an important shift in members' interests and suggests that our members look to AIGA to increase their relevance and leadership in the broader social realm.

Take the long view to benefit the design profession

All members, and particularly those who are most satisfied with their AIGA experience, believe AIGA should focus on:

• Long term benefits (58 percent) over individual benefits (30 percent)
• Building stronger demand for design in the future (59 percent) over tangible benefits for individual members (26 percent)
• Developing both national and international design leadership (53 percent) rather than just U.S. design leadership (28 percent)
• Examples that make the case for design thinking (73 percent) rather than artifacts (12 percent) when articulating design's value to business

Stay committed to inspiration and creativity

Members want AIGA to position itself for the future of design, while continuing to provide inspiration and support for creativity in the profession:

• Focus on both issues that deal with designers' issues within the practice of design (42 percent) and designers' role in business and society (43 percent)
• Focus on both creativity and inspiration as a criterion of design excellence (41 percent) and business objectives (38 percent)

What does this mean for change in AIGA?

These survey results—which include attitudes about the value of AIGA's traditional activities and services as well as an understanding of the differing perspective of members by age and experience—will inform some fundamental changes at AIGA over the next 18 months to make sure we are building relevance, leadership and opportunity for the profession.

The tactical implications of these results will be reported after we review the findings of local chapters' focus-group discussions, which will be at a gathering of chapter leaders in June and consider—as a group—strategic options for AIGA's future. Stay tuned!