AIGA Welcomes New Chair of National Board of Directors

Manuhuia Barcham, Managing Director, Archetekt, to lead AIGA Board 

New York, NY—AIGA, the professional association for design, announced the appointment of Manuhuia Barcham, Principal, Archetekt, as Chair of AIGA’s National Board of Directors. The appointment is effective July 1, 2022. Barcham will take over for Ashleigh Axios, immediate past president of AIGA’s National Board, CXO and Partner at Coforma. 

“AIGA is always looking to the future, to renew and extend our expertise to advance the design profession and Manuhuia brings that fresh perspective to our community,” said Bennie F. Johnson, executive director of AIGA. “With the ability to connect people and ideas, he understands the ways in which design can create impact and sustainable paths forward. We are excited to have Manuhuia take the lead and with his skills, acumen, and passion for AIGA as a contemporary professional organization, we look forward to exploring new directions for our members and community.”
 
Manuhuia Barcham is Principal of Archetekt, a Strategic Design and Futuring firm based in Seattle, Washington. He also maintains a faculty position in Interaction Design at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. He was formerly a faculty member at the College of Business at Massey University, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific School of Economics and Management at Australian National University, Australia. His academic and practical expertise lie in strategic and organizational design, foresight and futuring, UX & Interaction Design, and service design. He holds a PhD from Australian National University. Read Manuhuia’s bio. 
 
“I’m excited to take on this new role at AIGA,” said Manuhuia Barcham, AIGA’s new Board Chair. “While I may have arrived at design through a nontraditional path, it is a practice close to my heart and I’m excited to share my skills. I have a desire to design and create experiences and spaces that will expand creativity and bring people and organizations together. I look forward to working with members of AIGA and the design community and examining new opportunities and directions for the future of design and AIGA.”

Barcham continued, “I want to thank our outgoing Chair, Ashleigh Axios, for working to advance AIGA’s mission and her dedication to the association and the design profession. Thank you, Ashleigh, for your service to AIGA and the design profession.”

For additional information and interview requests, please contact Amy Gwiazdowski.