Conversations around Social Impact Design

You are creative. You are also passionate about the Twin Cities’ vibrant arts community and strong culture of civic engagement. How do you bring this all together? Join Design for Good, an AIGA Minnesota initiative!

At this Twin Cities meet-up, local creative-types will be collaborating around ways to harness our love of design for the community. Use design thinking as a catalyst for social impact.  This is an informal network for those passionate about using design to collaborate in new ways – to design for good!

This event’s topic will center on the following: “How has design made a difference in the world? How can we design for social impact?”

Bring a friend and share ideas surrounding projects you’re currently working on, or would like to start, that make a difference in the world.

Gold Medal Park (top of the hill)
2nd St S and 10th Ave S

For questions, please contact Sally Hermanto & Sandra Wolfe Wood at designforgood@aigaminnesota.org

Hosted by Stephen Smith in the UBS Forum at Minnesota Public Radio, the June installment of the MPR Bright Ideas series features Doug Powell, a designer, strategist, entrepreneur and the creative visionary for Schwartz Powell, where he leads successful projects for a wide range of clients and collaborative partners in health and nutrition. Doug also serves as the national president of AIGA and is a former president of AIGA Minnesota.

Free, advance registration required »

UBS Forum at Minnesota Public Radio
480 Cedar St.
St. Paul, MN, 55101 map »

Note: This program is not produced by AIGA Minnesota; we post it here as a courtesy to our membership, which we believe will be interested in the program’s content.

Hello World: UX is a detailed look at the process, documentation and tools involved within the User Experience field.

Each Hello World lecture will focus on one part of the process of a UX project, we’ll hear from leaders in the industry, followed by a round table discussion.

Speakers

Fred Beecher – Lead User Experience Consultant at Evantage Consulting
Zach Naylor – Senior User Experience Designer at The Nerdery
Ryan Loomis – User Experience Architect at Clockwork Active Media Systems
Nicole Netland – User Experience Strategist at Best Buy

Student Members of AIGA | $5
Associate and Professional Members of AIGA | $10
All Nonmembers | $15.00

Register Now »

Registration closes June 3 at midnight CST (or when tickets are sold out, whichever comes first)

The Nerdery
9555 James Ave S #245
Bloomington, MN 55431  map»

If you need special assistance to participate in this event, please contact Jenny Schmitz-Hinshaw via email at affinity@aigaminnesota.org. For reasonable assistance accommodations to be provided for this particular event, you must contact Jenny Schmitz-Hinshaw at least 5 business days in advance of the event. If we do not receive timely notification of your reasonable request as just described, we may not be able to make the necessary arrangements by the time of the event.

One of the world’s most prominent calligraphers, Donald Jackson held a lifelong ambition to handwrite the Bible using the techniques and tools of medieval scribes. The Abbey and University of Saint John’s in Collegeville, MN recently worked with Jackson and a select group of artists and calligraphers to create a biblical masterpiece for our times, the Saint John’s Bible.

Currently, McIntosh Embossing is foil stamping and embossing the illuminations that appear throughout the text of a fine art reproduction of Jackson’s original Bible. Some pages are foil stamped with up to four foil colors, with slight embossing throughout to help change the foil reflection. Almost all foil applications are textured or manipulated, to capture the visual variety of hand-applied gold leaf. When completed in 2013, the Heritage Edition will be composed of seven volumes, will measure approximately 22” x 29”, and will weigh over 100 lbs.

Join the Veterans Designers Committee at McIntosh Embossing for a hands-on demonstration by Dave McIntosh as he shares stories of some of the intensive foil and embossing work his firm has been crafting for several years on the Heritage Edition of Jackson’s Saint John’s Bible.

That’s not all: After Dave’s presentation, join us at The Cardinal for Vino With Veterans to socialize with friends and other designers.

Register Now »

Registration closes Friday, June 8 at 5:00pm (or when tickets are sold out, whichever comes first)

June 12, 2012

Presentation — 6:00 to 8:00 pm
McIntosh Embossing, Inc.
2701 East 33rd Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406  map »

Vino with Veterans  — 8:00 to 10:00 pm
The Cardinal Restaurant & Bar
2920 East 38th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406  map »

For questions, contact veterandesigners@aigaminnesota.org

If you need special assistance to participate in this event, please contact Jenny Schmitz-Hinshaw via email at affinity@aigaminnesota.org. For reasonable assistance accommodations to be provided for this particular event, you must contact Jenny Schmitz-Hinshaw at least 5 business days in advance of the event. If we do not receive timely notification of your reasonable request as just described, we may not be able to make the necessary arrangements by the time of the event.

We were fortunate to have five respected leaders from the Twin Cities design community judge applicants’ work and over $5,000 in scholarship contributions. Special thanks to our judges and sponsors for their support:

• Dante Carlos, Senior Designer at Walker Art Center
• Craig Franke, Principal and Creative Director of Franke+Fiorella
• Tim Larsen, President of Larsen Design
• Rett Martin, Director of UX & Creative at Clockwork Active Media Systems
• Brent Stickels, Co-Founder and Principal of YYES (Design Camp Scholarship judge)

2012 AIGA Minnesota, Clockwork, Franke+Fiorella, and Larsen Scholarships

This year, the judges struggled to choose only the best four portfolios for the AIGA Minnesota, Clockwork, Franke+Fiorella, and Larsen awards. Six books were in strong contention to the very end.

• Cory Etzkorn, of the University of Minnesota, was awarded the $1,500 AIGA Minnesota Scholarship. View Cory’s portfolio site and download his awarded book.
• Cody Melhorn, of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, was awarded the $1,000 Clockwork Scholarship. View Cody’s portfolio site and download his awarded book.
• Kellie Schneider, of the College of Visual Arts, was awarded the $1,000 Franke+Fiorella Scholarship. View Kellie’s portfolio site.
• Megan Reiner, of Iowa State, was awarded the $1,000 Larsen Scholarship. View Megan’s portfolio site and download her awarded book.

Judging the AIGA Minnesota, Clockwork, Franke+Fiorella, and Larsen scholarships. L-R Craig Franke, Dante Carlos, Rett Martin, Tim Larsen	Kellie Schneider's scholarship-winning portfolio	Cody Melhorn's scholarship-winning portfolio
Cory Etzkorn's scholarship-winning portfolio	Megan Reiner's scholarship-winning portfolio	AIGA Minnesota Board with scholarship awardees. L-R Jennifer Price, Megan Rainer, Kellie Schneider, Cody Melhorn, Cory Etzkorn, Seth Johnson, Samantha Mancl and Thomas Wilz
Photos by Phong Tran

2012 Design Camp Scholarship

Design Camp Scholarship awardees receive complimentary student admission to the 2012 AIGA Minnesota Design Camp conference, plus $600 to cover travel, lodging, and incidentals.

The Design Camp judge’s statement and response to the work:
Illustration was an interesting throughline of note in almost all the entries, some well handled and commercially viable, others clever but more appropriate, perhaps, relegated to conceptual sketches and not finished art. (While illustration is a valuable skill set, I’m viewing this as an overall design exercise, of which illustration is a component–not an endpoint).

A disappointing throughline was that every single poster submitted had a typo or grammatical error. Clients expect perfection–they’re paying us for it. Learn to deliver it. Learn to write well and you’ll go far. If you simply can’t write, find a great collaborator who can.

Last, congratulations to UW Stout for dominating the entries. I admire students who take advantage of every opportunity availed them.

But on to the selections.

Thomas Wilz’s poster shows an understanding of scale and typography, and while the Design Camp judge wished it had been pushed farther conceptually, the subtle analog and restrained color palette–reminiscent of an autumn in Nisswa–are both appropriate to the subject and visually appealing. His technique is well applied. Note to Thomas: resist the urge to use exclamation points in your copy. View Thomas’ portfolio site and download his awarded poster.

Samantha Mancl’s poster demonstrates a conceptually sound idea and has some good balance and motion. Again the Design Camp judge appreciated the simple color palette, but would challenge her to push her typographic decisions farther–especially in the body copy. Her work here illustrates thinking, not just decorating, which is a skill that will prove valuable as she develops her career. View Samantha’s portfolio site and download her awarded poster.

Congratulations to all of this year’s 2012 scholarship honorees!

Congratulations to the 2012 Award Winners!

Extended gallery hours: If you missed the opening reception or would like another chance to see extraordinary ideas of the past year in person, the winning entries will be on display at Shelter Studios on Saturday, May 5 from 10:00am–2:00pm and on Monday, May 7 from 9:00am–3:00pm.

Please check back for a link to the winners’ site or follow us on Twitter for the latest updates.

Shelter Studios
2112 Broadway St NE # 150
Minneapolis, MN 55413 map »
(Parking information)

Did someone say Pizza? Beer? Sweet! The next installment of AIGA Minnesota’s Cocktails with Creatives will be on Thursday, May 3rd at the Downtown Minneapolis Pizza Lucé.

Now that Spring is here, let’s celebrate it with a slice and some brew—yes, there is more to Pizza Lucé than just pizza!

Located at the epicenter of Minneapolis’ historic Warehouse District, their flagship location began as a humble slice counter back in 1993. Since then they’ve doubled their dining room; added a full bar, full service dining and weekend brunch. They also offer a gluten free menu and free delivery.

Each month AIGA Minnesota hosts a mixer event at various bars and restaurants around the Twin Cities. This event is a great networking and social opportunity so bring your business cards and your ideas!

Pizza Lucé

119 North 4th Street
Minneapolis, MN
Map »

Design Camp Scholarship: Deadline for submissions extended until Wednesday, April 18th at 5:00pm.

Summary: Design a poster

STEP 1. Collect proof that you are currently enrolled in an undergraduate college or university. Scan or convert your document to a PDF file. Acceptable forms of proof of enrollment include: official or unofficial transcript, fee statement for the current semester/quarter, or current semester class schedule. Scans of student IDs do not qualify as proof of enrollment. Name your file FirstLastname_Proof.pdf

STEP 2. Design your poster entry with a maximum dimension of 24” x 36,” using the medium of your choice. Include 50–100 words that describe “Why I want to go to Design Camp this year.” Be creative! Entries are viewed electronically and need to be submitted as a compressed PDF or JPEG file, ≤2.0mb in size. Make clear on the PDF your full name, email address, school, and anticipated graduation date. Name your file FirstLastname_DesignCamp.pdf

STEP 3. Submit both PDF files via email to the AIGA Minnesota Director of Education at education-jp@aigaminnesota.org. Your completed proof of enrollment and entry must be received via email no later than 5:00pm on April 18, 2012. We will send you an email confirmation once we have received your application materials.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for all scholarships, you must be a current student-level member of AIGA and enrolled in an undergraduate design program in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, or Manitoba (Canada). You must also be a registered participant at the 2012 AIGA Minnesota Portfolio 1-on-1 student portfolio conference.

HOW WINNERS ARE SELECTED

Applicants for the Design Camp Scholarship will be judged on a creative entry designed to express the applicant’s desire to attend Design Camp. Applicants are encouraged to use their design skills to creatively communicate what they hope to learn at Design Camp, why they wish to attend, and how attending will further their pursuit of a career in design. Up to two recipients will be chosen for this year’s award; the awards will be presented during Portfolio 1-on-1 on Friday, April 20, 2012. The winner is expected to be present to receive the award. The judges will be evaluating eligible candidates on the following criteria:

• Conceptual Skill: Ability to develop an idea beyond the basics of the assignment
• Creative Skill: Expression of innovation and imagination
• Crafting: Attention to detail, execution, and presentation

Questions about any scholarship?

Contact Jennifer Price, AIGA Minnesota Director of Education, at education-jp@aigaminnesota.org.

Purchase Regular tickets »
Purchase Premium tickets »
See below for details.

DuFresne. Little. Olson.

Join us to celebrate AIGA Minnesota’s 2012 Fellow Award honorees John DuFresne, Monica Little, and Heather Olson. The AIGA Fellow program recognizes designers who have made a significant contribution to raising the standards of excellence in practice and conduct within their local or regional design community as well as their local AIGA chapter.

An evening befitting of the honor.

Conferred every-other-year, the Fellow Award is the highest honor AIGA Minnesota may bestow upon its members. This event will recognize the 2012 Fellow Award honorees’ significant contributions to the community and celebrate their accomplishments. Join the Fellows, their peers, the chapter board, and AIGA Minnesota members for an evening not to be missed. Ric Grefé, AIGA Executive Director, and Doug Powell, AIGA President, will also be in attendance.

Friday evening, June 15 at Solera in downtown Minneapolis.

• 6:00–7:00 Hors d’oeuvre and cash bar
• 7:00–8:00 Presentation and awards
• 8:00–9:00 Hors d’oeuvre and cash bar

Solera Restaurant and Event Center
900 Hennepin Avenue, Second Floor
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Valet parking available  ·  map »

Regular tickets on sale now »

• AIGA members: $15
• AIGA student members: $10
• All nonmembers: $30

Premium tickets on sale now »

Premium ticketholders will be recognized for their contribution to the chapter in the event program (when purchased before the printing deadline of June 1) and on the event webpage. Premium tickets are priced the same for members and nonmembers.

Benefactor $500
5 event tickets • 5 drink tickets • reserved seating during the presentation portion of the evening

Contributor $200
2 event tickets • 2 drink tickets

Friend $100
1 event ticket • 1 drink ticket

Benefactors

• Little & Company
• Kolean Pitner — in honor of all Fellows who have given so much to AIGA Minnesota

Contributors

• Eric Madsen

Friends

• Patrick Redmond, M.A., AIGA Minnesota [MGDA] President (1979)

Interested in sponsorship opportunities?

The biennial AIGA Minnesota Fellow Award Celebration is one of the chapter’s most premiere events and attracts an audience of notable community members and decision-makers. For details, contact Joe Isaak, director of development.

If you need special assistance to participate in this event, please contact Seth Johnson via email at president@aigaminnesota.org. For reasonable assistance accommodations to be provided for this particular event, you must contact Seth Johnson at least 5 business days in advance of the program. If we do not receive timely notification of your reasonable request as just described, we may not be able to make the necessary arrangements by the time of the event.

Conversations around Social Impact Design

You are creative. You are also passionate about the Twin Cities’ vibrant arts community and strong culture of civic engagement. How do you bring this all together? Join Design for Good, an AIGA Minnesota initiative!

At this Twin Cities meet-up, local creative-types will be collaborating around ways to harness our love of design for the community. Use design thinking as a catalyst for social impact.  This is an informal network for those passionate about using design to collaborate in new ways – to design for good!

This event’s topic will center on the following: “How has design made a difference in the world? How can we design for social impact?”

Bring a friend and share ideas surrounding projects you’re currently working on, or would like to start, that make a difference in the world.

Open Book
Please note the new location.
1011 Washington Ave S.
map »

For questions, please contact Sally Hermanto & Sandra Wolfe Wood at designforgood@aigaminnesota.org

Join the reDesign Committee of AIGA Minnesota and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design for a free screening of Mad City Chickens.

Mad City Chickens is a sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical look at the people who keep urban chickens in their backyards. From chicken experts and authors to a rescued landfill hen, to an inexperienced family that decides to take the poultry plunge—and even a mad professor and giant hen taking to the streets—it’s a humorous and heartfelt trip through the world of backyard chickendom.

2501 Stevens Ave. S.,
Minneapolis, MN map »
(next door to the Minneapolis Institute of Art)

Stay after for a lively discussion about the movie and relevant sustainable topics.

The Minnesota chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design, is pleased to announce the selection of John DuFresne, Monica Little, and Heather Olson as recipients of the distinguished AIGA Fellow Award.

The AIGA Fellow award program recognizes designers who have made a significant contribution to raising the standard of excellence in practice and conduct within their local or regional design community as well as their local AIGA chapter. Contributions in education, writing, and leadership, as well as reputation and the practice of design, are given equal consideration. The Fellow Award is the highest honor an AIGA chapter may bestow upon one of its members.

Minnesota’s 2012 Fellows were chosen from member nominations by a subcommittee of the AIGA Minnesota chapter board, and approved by the board. They will be publicly honored at a special event in June and their names will be added to the national list of AIGA Fellows. Details regarding the event will be announced on the AIGA Minnesota website later this spring.

Previous AIGA Minnesota Fellows are Peter Seitz (2000), Tim Larsen (2007), Sue Crolick, Joe Duffy, and Eric Madsen (2010). Fellows are now honored by AIGA Minnesota every two years.

John DuFresne has championed quality graphic design education through his teaching and leadership for more than 25 years. As Professor and Chair of the Graphic Design Department for the College of Visual Arts (CVA), DuFresne has been responsible for developing CVA’s strong design curriculum and reputation. He has also taught at the University of Wisconsin–Stout. Over the years, hundreds of his students have become influential designers and AIGA members making significant contributions to the regional and national graphic design communities. In addition, DuFresne has served as AIGA Minnesota Education Director (1990–1992), AIGA Minnesota President (1992–1994), and AIGA National Board Member and Treasurer (1995–1998). He was instrumental in hiring Ric Grefé as AIGA’s executive director and helped to shape the organization’s future both organizationally and financially. DuFresne has been directly involved with the CVA Leaders of Design Series and many other AIGA Minnesota special events that have brought design legends such as Paul Rand and Steven Heller to Minnesota. John has a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from the University of Wisconsin–Superior and a master’s in advertising design from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Monica Little established Little & Company in 1979, encouraging and paving the way for women and new college graduates to become design entrepreneurs. For more than 30 years, Monica’s visionary leadership has inspired creative and powerful design solutions for clients such as Target, Microsoft, American Craft Council, Wells Fargo and Way to Grow. Little & Company’s creative work has been recognized by the New York Art Directors Club, AIGA, American Advertising Federation, Communication Arts, Print, Graphis, HOW, Step Inside Design, and I.D., among others. In 2011, Little was chosen to be one of 23 women to be honored in CVA’s Women in Minnesota design exhibit. Little also shares her business acumen and philanthropic ideals by serving on a variety of nonprofit boards including: AIGA Minnesota, Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), Minnesota Center for Book Arts, and the Girl Scout Council of Greater Minneapolis. As a tribute to her 30th year in business, Little endowed an annual design scholarship at MCAD. She holds a B.F.A. degree in visual communications from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Heather Olson has been integral to shaping and growing AIGA Minnesota off and on for 30 years. Through her extraordinary leadership, volunteerism, mentorship, facilitation, and advocacy, Olson has helped to build and strengthen the Minnesota chapter’s design community to its Top 5 status in the nation today.  After editing the chapter newsletter, leading the Luncheons Committee, and co-chairing the Minnesota Design Conference at Lutsen, Olson was elected the first female president of the Minnesota Graphic Designers Association (1983), the predecessor to AIGA Minnesota. She later served as AIGA Minnesota’s Director of Education and Associate Director of In-House Designers, and is Co-Chair of the Veteran Designers Committee and a MNtor Program Mentor. Olson has coordinated other events such as the CVA Leaders of Design Series and sits on the advisory board of Art Buddies. In addition to volunteering, Olson spent the first half of her career as a practicing graphic designer, then shifted into marketing and recruitment for The Office of Eric Madsen, Larsen Design, and now Franke+Fiorella, where she is Marketing Director. Olson received a B.A. with Honors from Iowa State University in Advertising Design and Journalism.