Design and business work together to create social value

To be relevant in today’s economy, businesses must think about more than just their bottom line. At “Gain” you‘ll hear design, business and social innovation leaders from a variety of industries share their visionary approaches to creating social value. Presenters will demonstrate the broadening role design plays in institutional strategy, leadership, process and service, product and message, and how the creative attributes of designers provide special advantages to tackling socially relevant projects and enhancing the human experience. Build value for your brand and strengthen your business practice at “Gain.”

More information about the “Gain” conference »

Regsiter by June 6 to get the best rate!

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

FontShop is proud to bring one of Europe’s premier design events to the San Francisco Bay Area and is offering discounted pricing to AIGA Minnesota members. TYPO San Francisco takes place April 5-6 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

It’s all about Connections

San Francisco is renowned as a creative hub. The unique blend of innovative thinking, design, software and technological development in the Bay Area has changed the way the world works. Well-designed connections have improved and made our lives more fulfilling. Greater connections mean life can be more challenging, and that requires innovative design solutions. TYPO San Francisco brings together incredible speakers from American and European design communities to share and discuss what it means to connect.

See list of confirmed speakers »

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Novellus Theater
700 Howard Street
San Francisco
map »

Typo is now offering AIGA Minnesota members at 10% discount on registration.
Hurry: Prices increase March 1.

Note: This program is not produced by AIGA Minnesota; we post it here as a courtesy to our membership, which we believe will interested in the program’s content. TYPO has generously agreed to provide discounted pricing to members of AIGA Minnesota.

Developed by the Yale School of Management and AIGA, “Business Perspectives for Creative Leaders” uses case studies, lectures, guest speakers and study groups to give creative leaders a more complete understanding of business and design through the eyes of business executives (i.e., clients), giving participants a truly unique curriculum, tailored to their needs.

The program is taught by a team of Yale School of Management faculty who are regarded as among the world’s most experienced business scholars and teachers. Participants stay in a local hotel and eat together on campus, offering both privacy and ready access to colleagues, as Yale’s guiding principle is that executives learn best from one another in an atmosphere that stimulates teamwork and collaboration.

More information about the program »

Enrollment is limited. Apply by March 31 for priority consideration and the best rate.

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

Photo courtesy of Heather Strelecki.

Rachel Christenson, Secretary of the AIGA Minnesota board of directors, is now accepting nominations for the organization’s next President and Vice President, who will take office on July 1, 2012. Members interested in submitting nominations should review the duties, eligibility requirements, and terms of the positions:

• Job Description: President » [PDF download]
• Job Description: Vice President » [PDF download]

There are two ways to be nominated for either of these positions:

1. Peer: Any current AIGA Minnesota member who feels a particular individual will enhance the quality of executive leadership of the board may nominate that person.
2. Self: Any current AIGA Minnesota member willing to participate and to fulfill the obligations of the open executive positions may self-nominate.

To submit a nomination for President or Vice President, send the following information to the chapter’s Secretary via email at secretary@aigaminnesota.org:

• Your first and last name
• The nominee’s first and last name
• The nominee’s contact information
• A brief letter describing how the nominee fulfills the position’s purpose, required experience, and skills (bullet points are acceptable)

Nominations for these positions are due by Friday, March 9, 2012, by 5:00pm.

Nominees must be AIGA members and meet eligibility requirements published in their respective position’s job descriptions. Nonmembers are ineligible to submit nominations.

Hello World is a lecture series designed to reach all areas of the UX community. Content strategists, user experience architects, designers and front end developers will come together to discuss collaboration, inspiration and specific challenges within each discipline.

While each Hello World lecture will focus on one part of the process of a UX project, our kick-off event will provide an overview of all aspects. We’ll hear from leaders in the industry, followed by a round table discussion.

Speakers

Chuck Hermes – Chief Experience Officer at Clockwork Active Media Systems
Mahtab Rezai – Chief Experience Officer at EatonGolden
Michael Kraabel – Creative Director at OLSON
Bryce Howitson – Sr. Design Strategist at Catalyst Studios

Register Now »

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

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

As a child, Khoi Vinh emigrated to the United States from Vietnam. He studied illustration and practiced graphic design for print be-fore moving to New York City in 1998, where he began his career in web and interactive design. From 2006–2010, he gained acclaimed as design director of nytimes.com, working with colleagues to trans-form the early web version of the newspaper into the robust, multifaceted digital platform that we know and use today.

Named one of the 50 most influential designers by Fast Company, Vinh shares his thoughts about media, technology, and design on his blog at subtraction.com and at conferences worldwide. Since leaving the New York Times Company in 2010, Vinh cofounded Lascaux Co., which recently launched Mixel for iPad, the world’s first social collage app that allows users to make, share, and remix their creations.

Register Now »

Series tickets $70 (AIGA/Walker members $50)
Individual tickets $20 (AIGA/Walker members $15)/students $10

Walker Art Center
Walker Cinema
map »

Co-presented by the Walker Art Center and AIGA Minnesota, 2012 is the 26th anniversary of the Insights Lecture Series bringing the world’s leading graphic designers to the Twin Cities to share their work, process, and experience. Past lectures are all archived at channel.walkerart.org.

2012 lectures, each Tuesday in March, feature Aaron Draplin, Khoi Vinh, Michael Lejeune, and David Pearson. Full details on the Events page.

Although he makes his home in Portland, Oregon, Aaron Draplin is more a product of being born, raised, and educated in the Midwest. A native of Detroit, he studied graphic design at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design before heading out west to work as art director of Snowboarder magazine.

He founded Draplin Design Company (DDC) in 2004, producing a wide range of award-winning projects and developing products for businesses such as Coal Headwear; board designs for Ride, Forum, and Gnu; conceiving Field Notes journals with Coudal Partners in Chicago; and the array of merchandise for the DDC brand enterprise.

Draplin’s iconic forms and bold designs are steeped in a no-nonsense Midwestern vernacular and work ethic. They project an authenticity and attitude that seems inseparable from his self-deprecating personality and his client’s passions, reflected in the DDC motto “work hard and do good work for good people.”

Register Now »

Series tickets $70 (AIGA/Walker members $50)
Individual tickets $20 (AIGA/Walker members $15)/students $10

Walker Art Center
Walker Cinema
map »

Co-presented by the Walker Art Center and AIGA Minnesota, 2012 is the 26th anniversary of the Insights Lecture Series bringing the world’s leading graphic designers to the Twin Cities to share their work, process, and experience. Past lectures are all archived at channel.walkerart.org.

2012 lectures, each Tuesday in March, feature Aaron Draplin, Khoi Vinh, Michael Lejeune, and David Pearson. Full details on the Events page.

To our members,

On a sunny Saturday, January 21, the AIGA Minnesota board of directors spent the day developing, agreeing upon, and ultimately adopting the official strategic, tactical, and financial plans that will guide the operation, planning, and vision of the chapter for the duration of 2012 and beyond.

Driven principally by responses from the recent AIGA Minnesota annual survey, the strategic goals came down to the slight revision of a set of eight concise statements initially developed by the board in 2011. From there, chapter leaders developed nearly 50 unique and actionable tactical plans to improve chapter programming and operations over the course of the next year. We finished our annual planning retreat by establishing financial priorities and allocating funds for programming, chapter, and leadership development.

Members will begin to see these efforts manifest in the member experience as early as this spring, when key programs like Portfolio 1-on-1, Design Show, and the Insights Lecture Series are already being planned and improved. And members will continue to see our chapter’s investment in new programming for new audiences, such as programming for in-house designers, UX designers, and solopreneurs.

One central question was held in front of all chapter leaders when making preparations for 2012: What can we do to improve the AIGA experience and increase the value for our members? We challenged each other to look at age-old problems in new ways and to leave the idea of “we’ve always done it this way” at the door.

We’re proud of the work we do on your behalf, and we’re sure you’ll swiftly begin to see the effort we’ve put in—making AIGA Minnesota work harder and be more relevant than ever to your career, your community, and your profession.

The big-picture strategic goals for AIGA Minnesota in 2012 are to:

Embrace new and external audiences for our communication channels.

With a newly re-designed Distiller email blast that reaches 3400 member and nonmember subscribers and a Twitter following of more than 3200, we want to build on our successes by broadening our communications to include other audiences and channels beyond the expected to ensure our members and other audiences know, well in advance, what AIGA Minnesota is up to.

Enrich and prove the value of AIGA to our members, as well as future members and other external audiences.

A goal that achieved significant success last year, it’s one that we continue to work on. Your AIGA membership is an investment in your career and your profession, and it’s our responsibility to provide you with opportunities to take advantage of the value it offers, as well as to be certain everybody who comes in contact with AIGA Minnesota realizes the importance and the value of being a member.

Redefine with whom AIGA Minnesota serves, partners, and collaborates.

Design is no longer narrowly defined, and neither is AIGA. We will look outside of our expected areas of discipline to find new areas of inspiration and to broaden our horizons in everything we do, be it programming, governance, membership, communication, or sponsorship.

Demonstrate the value of design to business and community leaders.

We will produce our own programming and support national AIGA efforts to demonstrate how design improves businesses, organizations, brands, and communities. We’re taking a very strong leadership position in bringing the AIGA Design for Good initiative here to Minnesota which will empower members of the design community to become effective agents of change, to harness a collective commitment to improve social and economic conditions locally, and to enhance understanding of design thinking as a problem-solving tool.

Attract, retain, empower, and reward chapter volunteers and leaders.

AIGA Minnesota is 100% volunteer-run—the only chapter of its size to be so. Without our volunteers, we’d get nowhere. As such, we’re always seeking new volunteers and we will continue to develop ways to empower, recognize, and reward the importance of their dedication. Many of our volunteers eventually ascend to leadership positions within the organization, gaining valuable leadership skills and experience not regularly available in the course of their employment; this is yet another benefit of membership that we wish to foster and encourage.

Enable greater access by offering programs available to new communities and in new delivery formats.

From broadening our geographic reach to serving new communities to looking at new media, there are any number of ways that our programming can be made available to a wider audience and we are committed to doing so.

Provide programs, resources, and opportunities for professional, leadership, and community development.

Developing yourself professionally is a career-long pursuit—there’s a fine line between a groove and a rut, and AIGA Minnesota will be a resource to make sure your career path stays in the former. This year, our chapter will specifically make progress in building the national Design for Good initiative here in Minnesota, enabling our members to develop their skill sets in community leadership.

Maintain our leadership role within AIGA.

AIGA Minnesota continues to be the fourth-largest of 66 AIGA chapters in the country. Whether it’s superlative programming, hard-working volunteers, careful chapter management, or simply good-ol’ midwestern work ethic, AIGA Minnesota knows a thing or two that can help further the organization as a whole, and we continue to share our knowledge and expertise with other AIGA chapters who look to us for ideas, solutions, and guidance.

If you have ideas or inspirations that you’d like to share, we welcome your input. If you’d like to volunteer, we’ll welcome your support. And we’d love to see your presence at the upcoming Members’ Meeting this March. More than anything, though, we thank you for your membership, enthusiasm, and for making Minnesota one of the greatest design communities in the world.

—the AIGA Minnesota board of directors

View more photos of the 2012 AIGA Minnesota board retreat on Flickr »

Join the AIGA Minnesota reDesign commiteee and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design for a free screening of Be the Change.

This film explores the motivations for, and the challenges and rewards of, trying to live more lightly.

Produced by David Chernushenko and the Living Lightly Project.

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

The AIGA Fellow Award honors senior-level members 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 in their local AIGA chapter. The areas of education, writing, leadership, and reputation, as well as the practice of design, have equal consideration in measuring significant contribution.

The Fellow Award is the highest honor an AIGA chapter may bestow upon one of its members. This year’s recipients will be honored at a local event in the spring or summer of 2012.

Nominate a member by February 15.

Nominations will be accepted by AIGA members in good standing through February 15, 2012. To nominate an individual for the 2012 AIGA Minnesota Fellow Award, send an email to the Nominating Committee at fellows@aigaminnesota.org. Please include your name, the nominee’s name and contact information, and a brief description of how the nominee embodies the AIGA Minnesota Fellow; bullet points are acceptable. Nonmembers are ineligible to submit nominations.

A Fellow Award nominee should be:

• A practitioner and/or educator with more than 15 years of experience in the profession
• A member of AIGA Minnesota in good standing
• Making or has made a significant contribution to AIGA
• Making or has made a positive impact within the local or regional design community
• Advancing or has advanced excellence in graphic design as a discipline, profession, and cultural force

Past AIGA Minnesota Fellow honorees include:

• 2000: Peter Seitz
• 2008: Tim Larsen
• 2010: Sue Crolick, Eric Madsen, Joe Duffy

Nominees will be reviewed by the 2012 AIGA Minnesota Fellow Program Nominating Committee: Sue Crolick, Linda Henneman, Joe Isaak, Seth Johnson, Eric Madsen, Kolean Pitner, and Dan Woychick; facilitated in a non-voting role by Jim Madson. Please direct any questions to the Nominating Committee at fellows@aigaminnesota.org