2023 AIGA Design Conference Add-Ons
Get ready for tours and workshops at the 2023 AIGA Design Conference! Awaken your creativity and be inspired by the sights of New York City. Registration coming soon! Get your ticket to be the first to be notified once add-ons launch.
Print Your Own Letterpress: Wood Type Poster Edition
Cost: $195
In this in-person workshop you will be assisted in producing a wood type poster edition using our 1960s Vandercook presses and our giant collection of antique wood type fonts. Instructors will advise in composition, kerning, and press operation. Choose from a variety of our block-printed color gradient backgrounds and flats and run up to 20 sheets. Each person will leave with a stack of finished and wrapped 12x18 inch prints. For the sake of time, it is recommended that your composed text not exceed a dozen of so words. No previous letterpress printing experience is necessary. Group size will be limited to 12.
Intro to Riso Printing with Secret Riso Club
Cost: $180
In this workshop, participants will learn about the risograph printing process from Secret Riso Club, a design and printing studio based in Brooklyn. Participants will learn the basics of how to prepare files and separate color layers to prepare for printing. They will then work collaboratively in groups to create their own 2 color design and print it on a risograph machine. Participants will leave the workshop with 5 copies of their poster.
3D Printing Workshop
Cost: $230
Explore technology and art at Skill Mill NYC, a makerspace in Manhattan that offers 3D printing and laser cutting services. You will design your own project digitally and have it transformed into a physical object using the equipment available. This will be an opportunity to explore these technologies if you are not familiar with them, or a chance to test some new ideas. Skill Mill NYC will have some project prompts available and will provide all the technical assistance. You can bring your own computer or use one of Skill Mill NYC's. This is a creative interactive experience. Fee covers supplies, instructor fees, and use of equipment. Sessions last approximately 2.5 hours.
Photo-Emulsion Screen Printing
Cost: $100
In this group class, students will be taken through the basics of screen-printing on both fabric and paper. You'll learn to coat and expose a screen using photo-emulsion and an exposure unit, how to print with water based inks, the basic principles of color registration and make beautiful prints.
The Why’s and How’s of Indie Publications
Presented by Hemlock
Cost: $15
For those who foray into the world of publications, creating a print magazine is a labor of love. The planning, the print knowledge, selling, and promotional aspects are key pillars. But so much more goes into creating a magazine. This panel discussion, presented by Hemlock, will feature three industry experts from renowned indie publications who will give their own unique insights into the making of a publication. Discussion will be scoped in terms of three segments of starting a publication: 1. Concept and pre-production; 2. Production and Print; and 3. Distribution and Promotion. This talk will be for designers who have considered dipping their toes into the world of publishing and wonder how or if they should start. It is also for indie publication readers who want a behind the scenes look at the passion the drives their favorite publication.
Finding Your Dream Job: Tactics and Strategies for Professional Fulfillment
Presented by Cella
Cost: $15
While it may take some serious soul searching and assessment of your strengths (and weaknesses) as well as intense research, finding the job that aligns with your career goals and professional passions is achievable. Cella is in the business of putting passion to work and we have effective actionable practices that can support creative professionals find their dream job. Whether it’s how to best brand yourself, design your resume, assemble your portfolio or how to do the detective work to suss out prospective employers, we’ll be sharing insights to help you along the way. It may require some serious legwork but the good news is you’ll be able to draw from your creative skills to land the gig that you deserve.
Studio Tour: Mythology
Mythology
324 Lafayette St 2nd floor
Cost: $20
Join us for an exclusive studio tour at Mythology, where you will experience our unique approach to design. Experience how we blend various creative disciplines to foster collaboration and innovation that is as functional as it is aesthetic, and gain insights into how an integrated approach to design can turn a space into more than just a studio, but an incubator for amazing ideas.
Attendee Takeaways:
- Unique Blend of Creative Disciplines: Discover how Mythology brings together diverse creative disciplines under one roof, creating a unique environment that encourages the cross-pollination of ideas and fuels innovation.
- Open and Collaborative Atmosphere: Experience the vibrant and collaborative atmosphere of our studio, where ideas flow freely and creativity thrives. Our open and inclusive space promotes communication, teamwork, and idea-sharing, fostering a culture of collaboration that is designed to generate creativity.
- Custom-Designed Spaces: Learn how we have designed our own studio spaces to reflect our agency's vision and aesthetic. Our attention to detail and level of taste is evident in every corner of our studio, showcasing our passion for design.
Studio Tour: SYLVAIN
SYLVAIN
176 Grand St. Fl 3
Cost: $20
As companies increasingly look for creativity further and further upstream, it’s important to center design in all creative work we do. Brands are no longer static and innovation moves at a feverish pace. There’s never been a more important moment for strategic design in which the two disciplines are one in the same. Strategy and design agencies, therefore, have never held a more influential role with their clients. Yet, they’ve been mostly immune to the negative consequences of their work. It’s time for a reckoning and a new approach to sustainability, diversity, and social responsibility. Designers and strategists must move from bystanders to our clients, and at times, enablers, to stewards of a better, more sustainable society. In this studio tour Alain Sylvain, Founder & CEO at SYLVAIN, and Michael Ian Kaye, Chief Design Officer at SYLVAIN will propose that it’s time for a new approach to strategy and design work, and open up for discussion with the audience on how it can be done.
Takeaways:
- Relevant case study examples that show their approach in action, arguing that tapping into the breadth of what strategic design is capable of vs yielding to methods of the moment leads to richer, more impactful work.
- Resources and frameworks to help strategy and design companies start to self-impose ethical standards and move towards a more accountable future.
- Advice and anecdotal business experience from SYLVAIN Founder & CEO Alain Sylvain and Chief Design Officer Michael Ian Kaye.
Studio Tour: Vault 49
Vault 49
180 Varick Street, Suite 1018
Cost: $20
John Glasgow, Co-Founder of Vault49, invites you on a tour of the agency’s New York studio. Hear Vault49’s inspiring origin story – from two street artists and screenprinters in London to a global brand experience and packaging design agency. Here are a couple of things that makes Vault49 a unique and inspiring design studio:
1. Diversity is in our DNA. We are one of few design agencies with a black Co-Founder, we have women at the head of every department, and our team is made up of a diverse mix of people from different backgrounds. John is an active voice within the design community for driving greater cultural diversity within the industry, and leads several initiatives with partners including Obama Foundation and Jay Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation, which he will share during the tour.
2. Craft and authenticity is super important to us, and it’s at the heart of everything we do for the brands we work with. Our team includes screenprinters, graffiti artists, illustrators and typographers, and we have a dedicated crafting area and screenprinting facilities in the studio – you never know, John may even give a demo.
What visitors will take away from our studio tour:
- A deeper understanding of why we champion the importance of craft in design (and why you should always get your hands dirty) _Inspiration from hearing the stories behind some of our award-winning work, such as Smirnoff X1 (Diageo’s most successful LTO), emerging cannabis brand Fuzed, and our collaborative Black Lives Matter poster project.
- New connections. We’re a friendly bunch at Vault49 and you’ll have the opportunity to meet different members of the team and get to know us a little better. Who knows what that might lead to…
Tour of the PepsiCo Creative Center
Cost: $20
Located at PepsiCo’s Creative Center in Manhattan is the company’s pioneering in-house Design and Innovation team. In this excursion, you’ll explore the space with an intimate tour of the center’s state-of-the-art facilities and an exclusive look at some of Design and Innovation’s most iconic work. You’ll also hear from PepsiCo Chief Design Officer Mauro Porcini. Attendees will walk away with a better understanding of PepsiCo Design and Innovation’s capabilities and how the team creates meaningful value for real people by bringing design excellence to PepsiCo’s global brand portfolio.
Tour of the Museum of Arts and Design: Craft Front and Center
Cost: $25
Craft was once at the margins of the art world, but no longer. Today it is front and center in art galleries, museums, and fairs, widely recognized for its expressive potential and cultural significance. Assembled from the eclectic richness of MAD’s permanent collection, Craft Front & Center brings together more than 70 iconic and lesser-known works to highlight key thematic touchpoints in craft’s history that have brought us to this moment. Challenging traditional thinking of craft as separate from fine art, the exhibition reveals the field's deep engagement in art’s major movements, such as Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and Postmodernism, while also launching its own revolutions, particularly the elevation of women and people of color as significant artists.
Only in-person at the AIGA Design Conference in NYC
Get your ticket now for first dibs on these coveted add-on experiences. Registration coming soon!
