This is not just another survey. It’s our future!

Calling all creators, designers, illustrators, photographers, design enthusiasts, copywriters, videographers, business owners. Should we go on?
. . .
We invite you to share your ideas and visions for what our local AIGA Triad chapter should stand for. How can our chapter best represent you? What experiences can we provide that inspire and build awareness about the power of design? Your input is key to developing direction that will define our chapter’s future.
. . .
Upon completion, take pride knowing you’ve done your part to advocate and evangelize design.
Also, you’ll be entered to win a $25 Apple Gift Card

Take the survey!

PRESSING ON: The Letterpress Film

Tuesday, August 29th | 7:30pm

A/perture cinema / 311 W 4th St, Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Art Chantry is a graphic designer provocateur from Tacoma, Washington that utilizes analog techniques while celebrating the arcane and obscure. His work can be seen on record covers (over 300 design credits to his name), t-shirts, posters, products, and the walls of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Chantry’s pieces are in the permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art, Seattle Art Museum, the Smithsonian, and the Louvre.

His writings and musings on art, pop and design culture can be found nearly every day on Facebook (follow him: facebook.com/art.chantry), and a collection of his prose was published by Feral House Books in 2015 entitled Art Chantry Speaks: A Heretic’s History of 20th Century Graphic Design.

Design Artist Lecture: Art Chantry
March Friday 17th  /  11am – 12:30 pm  /  Ballroom at Plato S. Wilson School of commerce, High Point University

This event is FREE, but there is limited seating. Please RSVP

Wednesday, July 20th
6:00pm – Socializing
7:00pm – Presentation
Revolution Mill
1200 Revolution Mill Dr.
Greensboro, NC

Join us Wednesday evening July 20th for the first of our Entrepreneurship In Design series events!

Our first speakers are local design luminaries, Phillip Oakley, owner of Common Giant and Todd Kinley, owner of Crobar. Long-time fixtures in the Triad design community, Phillip and Todd’s companies have consistently been ranked among the top design firms in our area, and both have a long history of helping young designers get their starts; be it through mentorship, internships or junior design positions with their firms. We’re excited to hear their advice on venturing out on your own, building a business in today’s economic climate, and how to guide yourself and your employees toward life balance and success.

Our event will begin at 5:30pm in the same space in which GTCC will be holding their annual portfolio day event. We invite you to come out early (the portfolio day event is free and open to the public from 8am-6pm!) and mingle with other local creatives, view student portfolios, give them some feedback, enjoy light refreshments, then hear from our esteemed guest speakers, starting at 6!

We are very excited to be partnering with Revolution Mill for these two events, and hope you’ll take a few minutes to walk around the incredibly beautiful Revolution Mill complex and see all the exciting living/working/entertainment facilities coming together in this unique historical landmark.

Stay tuned for future installments of our Entrepreneurship in Design Series.

This is a free event, but we ask that you please RSVP through Eventbrite so we can plan accordingly!

Wednesday, July 20th
9:00am – 6:00pm
Revolution Mill
1200 Revolution Mill Dr.
Greensboro, NC

The GTCC Advertising & Graphic Design department will be holding their annual Portfolio Day event, showing off the work of their 2016 graduates on Wednesday, July 20th, 9am-6pm, hosted by Revolution Mill in Greensboro. This is a yearly opportunity to see the work of several dozen graduating design students as they begin their professional careers. If you’re looking to hire, seeking an intern, or just simply want to see what the students are up to, we invite you to this free event! Help us support the newest additions to our field, and give back to the design community!

As part of this event, we will be providing an informal Portfolio Review for these students during which you, our local design professionals, will have the opportunity to sit down with a student and look through their work with them, giving them feedback, critique and advice. These are low-pressure friendly discussions providing the students with much-needed feedback from multiple professionals to help them as they shape their portfolios and figure out their future plans!

We’re asking YOU, our members, if you’d be willing to participate in this process! We hope you’ll attend their portfolio day event, even if you’re unable to sit down for reviews, but if you are able, we’d love it if you’d talk with the students, be it just one review, or a dozen! 

When you arrive at the Portfolio Day event, you’ll be checked in at a front table and at this point, you can let the attendant know that you’re willing to help with the reviews, in which case they’ll thank you profusely, then instruct you where to go and then send the next student to you. It’s that simple! No stress! We’re thankful for however much time you’re able to commit! 

The event runs 9am-6pm, so arrive at your convenience, check out the work, then do some reviewing! 

Don’t forget, we also have the first of our Designer as Entrepreneur series speaker events taking place that same evening in the same space as Portfolio Day. Stick around, have some refreshments and hear from local design luminaries as we explore the behind-the-scenes process of building a successful design business and the pitfalls to be avoided! Not to mention taking a tour of the incredible Revolution Mill complex!

This is a free event, but we ask that you please RSVP through Eventbrite so we can plan accordingly!

Thursday, May 26, 2016
6:30pm – 9:00pm
Fifth Letter
803 Trade Street
Winston-Salem, NC

FREE Event
Here is the perfect opportunity to spend some time with the creative community of the Triad. Come out and share some refreshments, talk about your next big idea, learn about someone else’s next big idea, meet new people or laugh with old friends. We want to hang out, talk about the daily grind, and maybe spend a little bit of time talking about AIGA and how our chapter is going places.

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the curtains at AIGA Triad? Do you think you have what it takes to bring about positive change for the design community? Now is your chance! Join us on May 26th to find out more about AIGA Board opportunities and what we’ve been up to this year as we present our State of the Chapter. Refreshments will be provided.

While tickets are free, registration is still required, please RSVP.

Bonus! All attendees will be entered into a drawing for a one-year subscription to Skillshare. Four subscriptions will be awarded, don’t miss your chance!

Many thanks to our sponsor:

• Nobel used in the Lexus literature and marketing material
• Interstate used for Southwest Airlines signage, Lamborghini, Trinity College London, Ernst and Young, Invesco Perpetual, UK Rail Company c2c, the 2006 Army Strong campaign, the 2010 video game Golden Eye 007 and Global Television Network
• Benton Sans designed for Martha Stewart Living (initially titled MSL Gothic), used for the Marvel Comics logo font and the primary font for myspace redesign in 2013
• Archer designed for Martha Stewart Living, used in the branding for Wells Fargo, The Grand Budapest Hotel Film and the current font used for titles and body text by the Design Observer website
• Whitney for the Whitney Museum, used for Hilton Hotels, and since 2005, the Visa logo is based on a modified version of Whitney. From 2005-2014, Whitney was also Visa’s corporate font for internal and merchant communications, along with some advertising. Also used by Kodak, the American Nerd book cover by Benjamin Nugent, Delta Air Lines (used in logo and all branding) and Sam’s Club which has used Whitney for advertising, promotions and in-store signage since their rebranding.
• Gotham, commissioned by GQ Magazine, used in Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, used on the  cornerstone for the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site, Starbucks’ 2008 campaign, Saturday Night Live and the Tribeca Film Festival

Light refreshments provided. Screen printed posters for the event will be available for purchase.

PURCHASE TICKETS

Special thanks to our sponsors International Paper, French Paper Company, and:

15 outstanding senior graphic designers and illustrators from Winthrop University’s Department of Design have refined their skills and developed their styles, finally reaching the pinnacle of their college careers. Ready to break into the professional world, they are excited to let their talents shine and share their work. 

Their speaker, Nicholas Kole, a mustachioed master of illustration from Rhode Island, has done exceptional work for Disney Publishing, Hasbro, and the Flight Comic Anthology. Come join them, see their work, have a good time, and enjoy what they have prepared!

Thursday, August 20, 2015, 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Black Horse Studio
310 East Third Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Members $10, Potential Members $12

Helvetica, a documentary film by Gary Hustwit, is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which is celebrating its 50th birthday this year) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives.

Join us for a fun movie night! Popcorn and drinks will be provided.
RSVP here for your tickets.

Thursday, May 21, 2015
6pm-9pm 
VanderVeen Photography Studio
341 S Elm Street, #A
Greensboro, NC 27401

$10 for Potential Members
$5  for Members

We know that with the right people and a solid process, design can quite literally change the world. So why, then, are designers so often portrayed as the fussy, artsy types who just want to make things pretty? It’s time to elevate design to a level equal to that of an engineer or a CEO, because real design—smart design—isn’t just some subjective pretty-making exercise. The real potential of designers lies within our ability to think big, consider whole systems, strengthen cultures, and lead teams toward crafting a better world. Times are changing, we need to embrace that change, seize the opportunity, and start designing like we give a damn. 

Join us for a talk by Gage Mitchell exploring the design for good and sustainability movement, how to use the Living Principles as a framework, and ultimately, how to gain the respect you deserve by designing smarter solutions.

Gage Mitchell is President of AIGA Seattle, Editorial Director for the Living Principles, and Partner and Creative Director of Modern Species, a sustainable brand design studio striving to make the world a more functional, sustainable, beautiful place. Gage’s goal for design is to prove its value by building a smarter future—one in which people, businesses, cultures, and the environment can all thrive, intertwined, as one healthy and happy system. He’s lived and worked in Colorado, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and now Washington. When not designing, Gage is probably geeking out about business ideas, unique food, and craft beer.

RSVP for your tickets now!

Our guest this round was Todd Parham, a seasoned Creative/Art Director, Designer, and Copywriter who’s worked with brands like Lenovo, John Deere, Samsung, and Sony. Recently, Todd lent his talents to Little Brother Brewing Co. itself, crafting their latest can label designs. Todd shared insights into his process, his work, and how to keep creativity fresh across industries. We had a wonderful turn out and the conversations as well as the “crafts” both drinkable and a feast for the eyes were fantastic.

Check out more of Todd’s work and his studio Armed & Dangerous Creative at https://www.aandd.agency

We’re bringing the creative community back together—join AIGA Triad for the return of Arts and Crafts: Where local design meets local drafts, our casual happy hour series connecting local creatives over good conversation and even better beer.

When: Wednesday, July 16
5:30 PM
Where: Little Brother Brewing
348 S Elm St, Greensboro, NC

Our guest this round is Todd Parham, a seasoned Creative/Art Director, Designer, and Copywriter who’s worked with brands like Lenovo, John Deere, Samsung, and Sony. Recently, Todd lent his talents to Little Brother Brewing Co. itself, crafting their latest can label designs. He’ll be sharing insights into his process, his work, and how to keep creativity fresh across industries.

Whether you’re a designer, student, creative pro, or just design-curious, come hang out. This is your chance to connect with peers, swap ideas, and get inspired in a relaxed, welcoming space.

Register for this free event at the following link and let us know you are coming:
https://shorturl.at/yrbKn

We’d love to see you there.

Joining us to discuss their work in the development of the typeface Polymode Sans Brian Johnson and Jesse Ragan, partners from two design studios, Polymode and XYZ Type discussed their collaboration to bring notions of expansive personal identity into typographic form. 

A true design project, we were carried along the journey of discovery, development, and application of their new typeface and presented with thoughts on how a typeface can communicate in new ways with new perspectives.

It was a lovely evening discussing desgin followed up with a great opportunity for social networking that followed.

Learn more about our presenters:

Polymode Studios: https://www.polymode.studio

XYZ Type: https://xyztype.com

What is Real: Expressing Diverse Viewpoints through Typography

Join us for a presentation from Brian Johnson and Jesse Ragan. Partners from two design studios, Polymode and XYZ Type, as they discuss their collaboration to bring notions of expansive personal identity into typographic form. 

The unexpected road to their typeface Polymode Sans began by viewing a historical type revival through a queer lens, and led them to harness variable font technology as a form of cultural code-switching.

Working on an abstract theoretical foundation, they created an entirely pragmatic tool: a typeface with both the versatile utility of a sans serif and the vigor of a decorative display face. This talk will follow their process through from initial idea to chameleonic applications, posing questions about collaboration, dialogue with history, and how designers express personal identity.

Register Now!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-is-real-expressing-diverse-viewpoints-through-typography-tickets-661435831377

Our event will begin at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 12 at Transform GSO located at 111 Bain Street, Greensboro, NC. 

Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks will be available. The presentation starts at 5:45 pm. 

Following the presentation please join us at South End Brewing next door for a social around 7pm. 

Our Presenters

Brian Johnson

Brian Johnson is a partner of Polymode (www.polymode.studio) where he focuses on creative direction, design production, writing, and teaching. Born into a family of printers, Johnson is deeply invested in the production of good design without the expense of sacrificing our humanity or environment. He is a member of the Monacan Nation and holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. He has guest lectured at the School of Visual Arts, Washington University, University of California Santa Barbara, and the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University. His recent clients have been Glenn Kaino Studio, the Getty Museum, Studio Museum Harlem, Pulitzer Art Foundation, Phaidon Press, The New Museum, and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum where his writing appears in Willi Smith: Street Couture. His most recent publication: Queering the Grid: Reading Codes in Dan Friedman’s Teachings (with Silas Munro) has led him to his current design writing research on Friedman’s 1994, Radical Manifesto, which will be approaching its thirty year anniversary.

Jesse Ragan

Jesse Ragan designs a broad range of typefaces for XYZ Type, which he and Ben Kiel launched in 2017. Beyond making fonts from scratch, Jesse also specializes in customizing lettering for logotypes and helping clients understand how letterforms tick. Whether refining a global brand identity or making a custom typeface for a cultural institution, he solves the puzzle of every assignment with systematic thinking and strategic historical references. Originally from North Carolina, Jesse studied graphic design at Rhode Island School of Design. After interning at Font Bureau, he began his career at Hoefler & Frere-Jones before going out on his own for a decade. He cofounded Type@Cooper, has served on AIGA NY’s board of directors, and has taught at Cooper Union and Pratt Institute.

Join us for a conversation with Debbie Millman, Rick Griffith and Ann Willoughby about how to get involved in the greater design community.

Many of design’s most respected icons started as local AIGA chapter leaders. 

If you’re looking for ways to advance in your career or you just want to get more involved and contribute to your local community, come eavesdrop on Ann Willoughby, Rick Griffith, Debbie Millman talk about their career long commitments to AIGA and how it  helped them develop personally and professionally. 

Before the panel, we’ll introduce you to some of the current chapter leaders and after the panel, you’ll have the chance to spend 45 minutes in breakout rooms with the ones currently responsible for recruiting new leaders in the local community closest to you. 

Schedule:

7:30 – 8:00 pm EDT – Welcome & local leader stories

8:00-8:45 pm EDT – Iconic leader panel

8:45-9:15pm EDT – Breakout rooms with chapter leaders

Register now and reserve your spot.

About the Panelists

ANN WILLOUGHBY

Ann Willoughby is a leading voice in graphic design in the U.S. She has taught, written and lectured about the importance of women as design leaders in both business and as a social force. Ann began her design career in 1968 during the second wave of feminism and her life and early design practice were fueled by the social, political and design movements that transformed America during the last decades of the 20th century. She founded Willoughby Design in 1978, creating a thriving design firm while also addressing gender and family issues in the workplace.

Since its founding, Willoughby has become nationally known both for its award winning design and for the stimulating and creative environment. The firm has worked with local, national and international clients including the Kauffman Foundation, Omidyar Group, United Nations, Hallmark Cards, Panera Bread, RideKC, Hershey’s and Weight Watchers.

In 2014, Ann was awarded the prestigious AIGA Medal, one of the first women in the midwest to receive this honor, awarded to individuals in recognition of their exceptional achievements in the field of design and visual communication. Read More

DEBBIE MILLMAN 

Named “one of the most creative people in business” by Fast Company, and “one of the most influential designers working today” by Graphic Design USA, Debbie Millman is also an illustrator, author, educator, curator, and host of the podcast Design Matters. 

Design Matters is one of the first and longest running podcasts in the world. As host and founder, Millman has interviewed nearly 500 of the most creative people in the world over the past 18 years. Design Matters won a 2011 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, in 2015 Apple designated it one of the best overall podcasts on iTunes, and in 2021 designated it one of their “All Time Favorite Podcasts.” In addition, the show has been nominated for eight Webby Awards, and has been listed on over 100 “Best Podcasts” lists, including one of the best podcasts in the world by Business Insider and Vanity Fair.

Debbie is the author of seven books, including three collections of interviews that have extended the ethos and editorial vision of Design Matters to the printed page: How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer and Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits. Both books have been published in over 10 languages. Her most recent book, Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World’s Most Creative People, was published by Harper Collins in 2022. She is also the co-owner and Editorial Director of PrintMag.com. Read More

RICK GRIFFITH

Rick Griffith is a graphic designer and master letterpress printer. His work is an erudite exploration of language, history, politics, science, music, and ethics—typographically-focused and relevant. He is known as a passionate advocate for design.

Rick was born and raised in Southeast London and immigrated to the U.S. in the late ‘80s. It was his early jobs at Washington D.C. record stores that turned him on to graphic design. It was a (short) freelance career on Madison Avenue which funded his first practice, RGD (Rick Griffith Design), and it is his love of design (and his partner Debra Johnson) which sustains the design practice MATTER, which, over the last two decades, has grown into an ambidextrous design consultancy, print shop, workshop, and retail bookstore.

As Design Director at MATTER, Rick works across all media for business, culture, and civic engagement with his partner and staff. MATTER’s broad range of clients includes restaurants, beverage manufacturers and distributors, politicians, universities, architects, engineers, arts venues, mimes, scientists, government agencies, and entrepreneurs.

An active participant in the Denver design community, Rick has served on the Board of Directors of Creative Music Works, Arthyve, and the Denver Art Museum’s Alliance for Contemporary Art. He was President of the American Institute of Graphic Arts Colorado Chapter from 1995 to 1998 and serves as an emeritus Commissioner of the Denver Commission for Cultural Affairs.

From his home in Denver or the creative atelier in Brooklyn, Rick travels the world as a visiting artist, lecturer, and educator—sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge with the next generation of designers—and contributing critical dialogue regarding graphic design as a broad discipline in the service of community and industry.

Rick’s true orientation is towards self-reliance, disruption, creative compassion, and independent thought. For most of us, life is long—for lots of reasons, we might begin to act like it. Read More

Arts & Crafts is our social series featuring local creatives and breweries to celebrate local creatives, craft beer, and bring creatives together.

Join us on Tuesday, October 18th at 5:30pm! Meet local artists, Riley Till and Rich Powell, and learn about their process while enjoying beer from Four Saints Brewing Co.

About the Artists –
Riley Till
https://www.rileytill.com/
Riley on Instagram

Etsy – https://www.etsy.com/shop/tilldeathpress

Rich Powell
Website: https://richpowell.com/
Rich on Instagram
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RichPowellArt

RSVP HERE

Sponsored by Adobe: The Perfect Match

We invite you to design a poster that will either lift the viewer’s spirits (inspirational), or bring awareness to mental health issues (educational).

All posters will be exhibited for a joyful evening at the CVA Gallery on October 24th to promote mental wellness and good feels. New, emerging, and established designers are invited to apply!

Poster submission deadline:
Monday, October 10th at 11:59pm (World mental health day)
Click here to download the Brief to get started today!

Poster exhibition:
Monday, October 24th | 6PM
Center for Visual Artists | 200 N Davie St. Greensboro
Please RSVP to attend the Exhibition for free!

________________________________________________________________________________________________

A mental wellness poster exhibition

This is a chance to be recognized in your local community, while spreading some joy through design –

• Expand your network. Get your design in front of some of the top design professionals in the area
• Posters will be Featured on the AIGA Triad NC website online gallery
• Posters will be featured on the AIGA Triad NC social media channels throughout the month

Awards

Student, Emerging, and Professional Designers entries will be judged within each category, two winners will be selected and win a one year Adobe Subscription! Sponsored by Adobe #ThePerfectMatch

Best in Show: Juried by design leaders

Designers Choice: Juried by peers (on site)

Submitting your poster

Emerging designer entry – Students, self taught, new designers, and first 5 years professionals

Established designer entry – Over 5 years of experience

1. Name your file with your last name and first name: Lastname-Firstname-Postername.pdf
2. For posters: Poster is 11×17 inches (portrait) at 300 dpi at full size. Save your files are saved as print-ready quality PDF without security restrictions.
3. For social media graphics: Files are exported as PNG or JPGs, 1080×1350 pixels at 150 ppi.

Submission form – Print ready PDF and digital ready PNG or JPG Upload here

Thank you to our sponsors

Adobe: The Perfect Match

Adobe is hosting a creative activity called The Perfect Match mood board challenge. It’s fun to get your whole team to design mood boards and submit them! Any one of your design team may be chosen to be a game show contestant on The Perfect Match and win up to $1,000.

This happens monthly. The entry activity takes less than an hour and is free to complete. The mood board theme changes monthly and the call for entries span a couple of weeks each month.

Participation is fun, easy, and all submissions get a gift worth $50! Visit theperfectmatch.co to play.

Neenah Paper

For more than 100 years, Neenah Paper has been the market leader in the creation and manufacturing of specialty papers for premium writing, text, cover, digital, packaging, and label applications.

Share your haunts of design projects past

Bring your most frightening design costume (optional) and come ready to share your design horror stories during this haunted social hour.

Thursday, October 27th | 5:30pm @ Vintage Sofa Bar in Winston Salem

RSVP to let us know you’re coming

Price your work, set up invoices, and contracts for freelance

The Mechanics of Freelance Workshop – Learn the process of being a freelance designer: How to use a contract, invoice, price your work, etc. Free templates of invoices, contracts, etc will be given out to all that attend.

With Rebecca Bagley, Professor of Communication Design, ELON

September 29th

Join us in person or via Zoom!

Taxes and your creative business

Strategies To Minimize Business Income Tax Liabilities

With Chad Collins, CPA, CEO, Chad Collins & Associates, Inc

October 6th | Join us in person or via Zoom!