And the student presenters for Ink/Pixels are…

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

Speak your mind!

Thanks to all of the students that submitted talks to be considered for Ink/Pixels. Here is the list of the students that will be presenting!

Colleen Roxas from the Maryland Institute College of Art will present “Embody,” a presentation on typography explored as unique, abstract form.

Colin Dunn, also a student from the Maryland Institute College of Art, will discuss exobrain and a web-based tool in development in his talk “Outsourcing Our Brains to the Internet.”

Malcolm Rio of Towson University will present “A Postcapitalist Design,” a condensed version of a presentation he completed for Left Forum Conference.

Jasper Crocker from the Maryland Institute College of Art will discuss typographic legibility in his presentation “Breaking Univers.”

And lastly, Erin Good from Millersville University will present “Do What You Love,” a presentation on her relationship with graphic design.

And if you haven’t registered, do it now so you get into the session you want! We hope to see you all in a couple of weeks!

Revinylize in Baltimore!

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

On March 10th, we had a great time at Revinylize. This event was co-sponsored by AIGA Baltimore and the Irvine Nature Center.

Every year, over 600,000 tons of billboard material is created in the US, and all eventually ends up in the landfills. To help repurpose this waste, AIGA Salt Lake City chapter created the Revinylize Project. By reclaiming local billboard material, the once giant images, are transformed into smaller works of art in the form of unique vinyl messenger bags. Participants that attended made their very own no-sew bag just with some simple cutting and weaving of the straps.

Here are some photos from the fun day!

Converse: DIY

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

The other night an intimate group met for our Converse night. The topic was DIY. For those of you that couldn’t make it out or decided to spend the evening outside, here is a recap of what we talked about!

  • Non-graphic design DIY seems to be a great outlet for inspiration for designers.
  • DIY seems to be something popular with people in their 20s and 30s, but that after some financial stability has formed, people seem more likely to be willing to hire a professional to do the task.
  • For people that are trying to do graphic design type DIY, they are more likely the clients that wouldn’t want to seek a professional designer anyhow because they are wanting to conserve costs.
  • It is still bothersome for designers though when designers witness poor Photoshop work or bad kerning, but perhaps we just need to know when to keep things things to ourselves and let the person be proud of what they accomplished on their own.

Converse is our roundtable event regularly occurring on the third Thursday of odd numbered months. Each event focuses on a different topic for discussion. Email converse@baltimore.aiga.org if you have any questions or if you would like to suggest a topic for a future Converse night.

Ink/Pixels registration is open!

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

Ink/Pixels registration is open and spots are filling up fast!

What is it?
A design conference for students

What can you do at it?

  • Have your portfolio reviewed
  • Listen to professional designers share their wisdom
  • Hear from your peers talk about design (there is still time for you to be a speaker!)
  • See Todd Harvey of Mission give a good talk

Where is it?
MICA Brown Center, Baltimore, MD

How much is it?
$10 for AIGA members
$25 for non-members

How can I go to the conference for free?
We have 10 spots open for volunteers, so if I you don’t mind working for an hour before and an hour afterward, email our volunteer chair, Meghan Marx

Visit here for all of the details and to register
http://www.etouches.com/inkpixels2012

See Paula Scher for FREE!

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

Paula Scher photo

Society of Design (SOD) has offered AIGA Baltimore Members a great opportunity to listen to Paula Scher for free on March 29, 2012. This offer is only available for the first 20 members that register.

Visit SOD’s site for more information on the event and to register.

IMPORTANT: To register for free, choose the “Member” option on the registration page for the event and include a note in the Comments field that you are an AIGA Baltimore member.

Complimentary registrations should be completed by March 22.

Event Details
Society of Design presents Paula Scher
Thursday, March 29, 2012
6:00 p.m. Registration; 7:00 p.m. Presentation
Whitaker Center, 222 Market St, Harrisburg, PA

And the winning poster design is…

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

Ink/Pixels winning poster design

This design is by Emilee Hunt, a senior from Millersville University. This poster will be printed and distributed to the local universities in the Baltimore area. Thank you Emilee for your hard work!

When asked about the design, Emilee had this to say:

This design expresses the relationship that ink and pixels has in design. I used a process of printing and scanning techniques to distort a print of my original graphic. This way it passed through a series of steps from print, to screen, and back to print. We live in an exciting time when ink and pixels can have a beautiful co-dependence.

After Emilee finishes her degree, she plans to move to the Baltimore area and pursue a career in Graphic Design and Illustration.

Speak Your Mind!

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

Speak your mind!

AIGA Baltimore will be holding Ink / Pixels 2012, a design conference for students on April 21. Since this is a conference for students only, we thought you might be excited to speak your mind. We are looking for students to submit proposals for PechaKucha talks to be given at the conference. Deadline for proposal submissions is March 12th March 21.

What is Pecha Kucha?
If you had six minutes and 20 images, what would you say? PechaKucha is a simple presentation format where you show 20 images for 20 seconds each. The images forward automatically and you talk along to the images.

Here are some examples to see PechaKucha style in action:

Suggested Topics
These are just suggested topics to get you started. We are open to any topics that involve the subject of design.

  • Design and Social Media
  • Social Design
  • Design and Business

How to Submit
All submissions are due by 11:59pm, March 12th March 21.
Entries received after the deadline will not be considered.

Email the following information to pechakucha@baltimore.aiga.org:

  1. Speakers’ first and last names
  2. School(s) you attend
  3. Email address we should use to contact you if your talk is selected
  4. Title of your proposed talk
  5. Description of your talk in 300 words or less.

Selected proposals will be announced after March 19 March 23 on our blog.

Eligibility
You must be a student and planning to attend the conference. You do not need to be an AIGA member to present. Teams of speakers may submit one proposal if you plan to present together as a group.

Award
We will select up to 5 presentations. It is assumed if you are submitting a proposal, that you will be the speaker(s). Selected speakers will receive a $5 reimbursement when they arrive at the conference.

Questions?
Please email alissa@baltimore.aiga.org if you have any questions.

Show off your skills!

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

Call for entries! (for students only)

AIGA Baltimore is requesting design submissions for a poster to promote Ink / Pixels 2012, a design conference for students. Deadline is February 20th.

Required Content
Ink / Pixels 2012
AIGA Baltimore’s design conference for students

Have your portfolio reviewed
Listen to awesome professionals
And get a chance to speak your mind, PechaKucha style

Saturday, April 21

AIGA student members $10
Non-members $25

Visit baltimore.aiga.org/events for more information and to register!

Please also include the AIGA Baltimore logo (download logo here) somewhere on the design. You can change the color and size of the logo. You cannot crop, skew or distort it. The logo must be at least 3.5 inches wide.

Technical Specifications

  • Size: 12 x 18 inches, portrait orientation
  • Bleed: 0.125 inches
  • Color: 4-color maximum
  • One-sided printing
  • If using raster graphics, the resolution must be 300 dpi.
  • Please keep all fonts editable (meaning do not outline or rasterize).
  • All imagery must be of your own creation. Do not use any images downloaded from the Internet or other resources.

Note about Fonts
Please use only OpenType fonts or fonts that are Mac compatible and make sure to include them with your design file. We may need to update the text on the poster design because we are still finalizing some details about the conference at the time of this competition.

What to Submit
Submit your original InDesign, Photoshop or Illustrator file. Please include all links and fonts needed for the design to display and print properly. Submissions missing files will not be considered.

How to Submit
All submissions are due by 11:59pm, February 20th.
Entries received after the deadline will not be considered.

  1. Zip your files into one single zip file.
  2. Post the zip file to https://wetransfer.com (It’s free!).
  3. Enter studentposter@baltimore.aiga.org as the friend’s email address.
  4. Enter your email address.
  5. In the message box, include your name, email address, phone number and school you attend.
  6. Click on Transfer.

The winner of the competition will be announced after February 27 on our blog.

Eligibility
You must be an AIGA student member to submit.

Award
The winning design will be distributed to schools in the Baltimore area. The designer will receive one free entrance to the conference, 10 copies of the printed poster and a $50 iTunes gift card.

Questions?
Please email alissa@baltimore.aiga.org if you have any questions.

Converse: Social Design

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

the big crowd at our Converse night

Last week, we had our regular Converse event, and the topic was “social design.” A group of 25 charged and passionate people arrived ready to tackle the subject. Here are some of snippets from the evening.

  • What is Social Design? Does it need to be defined?
  • It’s with the idea the end result will bring proactive change.
  • It’s tackling social issues with design methodologies.
  • There is often a “giving back” aspect to the project.
  • Having graphic designers involved early in these projects allows the creative thinking skill set to be utilized in the solution, rather than just at the end to “make things pretty.”
  • Projects seem to be more successful when they are tackled by groups of people from a broad range of disciplines. The collaboration aspect is key. The designer role is just one part of a larger group.
  • Keep things as simple as possible and have the audience and users in mind to ensure the project can have longevity.
  • Make sure you are welcome in the community. Partner with them and ask the community what they want and need. Often, they have the best ideas.
  • Have an exit plan, so that when the group leaves, the solution can keep running successfully without you.

What topics might be good to tackle for Baltimore?

  • Bike lanes
  • Education
  • Increase manufacturing
  • Transportation
  • Trash
  • Pride for the city
  • Crime
  • Unemployment
  • Improve the city’s brand
  • Increase city population
  • Food deserts, nutrition education
  • Diabetes
  • Communication without violence
  • Homelessness
  • Improve education, health and recreate for teens
  • Instill confidence and values in children

Thanks to those who made it out, and look out for our next Converse event in March!

Converse is our roundtable event regularly occurring on the third Thursday of odd numbered months. Each event focuses on a different topic for discussion. Email converse@baltimore.aiga.org if you have any questions or if you would like to suggest a topic for a future Converse night.