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.

Style or No Style?

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

This was the topic of our Converse event this past Thursday at Teavolve. It was a rousing topic, and the group brought up some great points.

  • Some designers seem to have less of a style, but rather a methodology.
  • Some felt they were hired/not hired because of their style or lack of style.
  • Illustrators and photographers have a style, but this aids in predictability for that art form.
  • Some see style as just a sales tool.
  • Maybe the time for a designer having a style is over and the real art is in the process, methodology and the designer’s approach.

Thanks to those who made it out, and look out for our next Converse event on social design in January!

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.

Show Baltimore why you love design!

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

We know you love design, so now is your chance to show what you love about it to Baltimore! Check out D Center’s request for entries. They are looking for submissions for their upcoming exhibition, Network (Temporary Permanent Collection). They want a representation of what design means to you. This could be a project you worked on, an advertisement of your organization, a doodle on a napkin, a letter of support, or any kind of visual media or contribution that indicates your relationship to design.

To enter your submission, RSVP by 10/26, and include a brief description of the work (no more than 150 words) and deliver your work or arrange for it to be picked up before November 2.

D Center is located at 218 Saratoga Street storefront gallery, D Center @ MAP.

To RSVP or ask questions, contact marian.glebes@gmail.com or mkamoss@gmail.com.

You don’t know Jack: A conversation with Jack Anderson

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

In a world where we are constantly bombarded with information, taking a look at everything from afar – it is often good to get up out of your comfortable setting and listen to others speak to their experiences and have an in-person conversation.  Last week, I had the privilege of attending ADG’s event: Branding With Jack Anderson, which was both motivational and inspiring.

Jack Anderson of Hornall Anderson is one who is inspired by the people at his office and strives to help create new environments giving people the ultimate human experience. He describes himself as a student, a designer, and a strategist – commenting on the fact that designers are not just part of the service department anymore, but that we are vital in the collaboration process. We all can be creative no matter who we are in an organization, and when you foster an environment with no fear and give employees the permission to fail – your people grow.

The Hornall Anderson Experience Lab (HAX) is brilliant. It is a space created for the fostering of creative ideas with multiple technologies and the space to test them. Yes, not every company can have one of these, but we can take the concept and foster creativity by listening to the main ideas Jack commented on in his talk:

• Anyone can be creative. The next best idea for your company can come from the receptionist. Hornall Anderson’s receptionist came up with the idea of a culture wall, a wall of photos of all the employees showing different expressions. Maybe someone has an idea for ping-pong tournaments or company retreats, etc. Letting people be able to express their ideas in an open environment with no fear keeps the moral positive.

• Don’t love your ideas to death. As creative beings, we sometimes try too hard to keep an idea and love it so much it fails. Push for quick no’s and prototyping. Let ideas come and let them go – understanding that not all of your loved ideas are going to be the ones that make it.

• Create your own story. You make your own success. Don’t let others write it for you. If there is something you want to do, go for it. Pave your own way, but understand that it will not always be easy.

• Give the permission to fail. Make mistakes and make them on purpose, giving yourself or the staff the ability to think quickly and effectively. Giving people the permission to fail allows a weight of fear to be lifted and helps open the doors to more creative collaboration and a better flow of ideas. It allows people to take risks they may have been scared to take before.

• Open environments. Get people off their butts and into meetings and out in the open. Take field trips, build space to allow for creative collaboration, and allocate a budget for ideas.

• Even ground. Even though Jack is the CEO of Hornall and Anderson, when in a room his voice does not carry anymore weight than any other person in the department. Allow for good ideas and creativity to come from anywhere.

• Recommended Reading: Good to Great By Jim Collins. This book changes how we think about success, talking about a Hedgehog concept and helps the reader learn how a good company can become a great company.

Thank you to ADG and Jack Anderson for an inspiring and motivational event, where we have grown our knowledge in understanding of creativity, branding, and appreciation for those that inspire us to do more. Here’s to all of our ongoing education that feeds our sense of curiosity.

Ideas for Action

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

AIGA Baltimore recently held a collaborative workshop called Ideas for Action at the St. Francis Neighborhood Center. This was an opportunity for a diverse group of medical researchers, community outreach workers and leaders, as well as designers and undergraduate and graduate design students to work together to address social concerns in the Baltimore community.

Bernard Canniffe, Professor and Chair of Design at the Minneapolis College of Art, guided the group of 13 through a series of activities, exercises, field trips and brainstorming sessions. Canniffe feels these workshops are a way to use design to engage locally and through ripple effect, generate an impact nationally. The diverse backgrounds from each of the participants allowed topics to be viewed from multiple perspectives. At times, this proved to be challenging, but in the end the group created a strong network to initiate community projects in the future.

This event is hopefully just the beginning for this group. AIGA Baltimore looks forward to seeing what projects might evolve and hopes to be an active partner with the community to make Baltimore a better place for all.

From left to right: Bernard Canniffe, Javier Rios, Ande Campbell, Michelle Stidham, Laura Evans, Michael Trush, Noel Cunningham, Aura Seltzer, Yvonne Hardy-Phillips, Barbara Bates-Hopkins, Nick Hum, Pat Tracey, Nick Sprouls and Brian Ghiloni (not pictured: Malcolm Rio and Alissa Jones)

Doyald Young, Master Typographer

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

Read about this legend who passed recently. Former president, Joe Wagner notes, “I had the honor as President of AIGA Baltimore of spending 2 evenings with Doyald Young. A soft spoken gentleman with a natural talent as a Master Typographer. His real gift was his genuine love of people and  typography as an art. I have always valued the signed book he gave me, “The Art of the Letter”. Over the past 8 years we stayed in touch through letters, cards and email. A true gentleman, I will miss you my friend.”

Read more at http://www.neenahpaperblog.com/2011/03/the-letterman-doyald-young-1926-2011/