Baltimore Creative Community Events: October 2019

Posted on by Frances Miller

October is here. Temperatures are dropping (only to 85 degrees, apparently), pumpkin spice flavors are prevailing, and most importantly, DESIGN WEEK IS ALMOST HERE!

When you think of October, you likely think of Halloween and sweater weather. Ask an AIGA Baltimore board member what we think of when October arrives? Design Week! The annual celebration occurs during the third week of October, and 2019 marks the 8th Baltimore Design Week.

This year, we’re reaching out to the community to broaden Baltimore Design Week into Baltimore Design Month. There are a plethora of amazing events in our area for creatives and creative professionals, so we’re shining a light on these events by groups like the Society for History and Graphics (SHAG), AMA, PCB, Monument Women’s Creative Alliance (MWCA), AIA, and more.

EVENTS LIST

 

Jump to:
WEEK 1WEEK 2WEEK 3WEEK 4WEEK 5

10/1

Design Cuts Live: Free Online Design Conference (October 1-15)
Design Cuts is celebrating their 6th birthday! Get in the spirit with two solid weeks of festivities: free sessions from top industry speakers, 800+ products at 92%-99% off, competitions, freebies & fun!
Hosted by: Design Cuts
Check it out

10/3

aaf baltimore hulu networking happy hour
Hulu Networking Happy Hour
Join the American Advertising Federation (AAF) at Producers for an evening of Networking and fun brought to you by our friends at Hulu! Complimentary beverages and snacks will be served, and two lucky attendees will go home with a Roku.

Hosted by: AAF Baltimore
RSVP Here

Fells Point Art Tours
Take a guided tour through historic Fells Point, enjoying light fare while meeting artists and gallery owners. We’ll visit a variety of local art venues including photography, paintings, sculpture, pottery, gift items, and more!
Hosted by: Luann Carra Gallery
RSVP on Facebook

10/5

Doors Open Baltimore (October 5-6)
Doors Open Baltimore is a free citywide event that invites the public to explore buildings and sites in Baltimore.
Highlights Include: Tours of the Hoen Lithograph Building, SNF Parkway, AVAM, and Sewlab USA
Learn More

Baltimore Innovation Week (October 5-11)
Baltimore Innovation Week is a unique opportunity to showcase the city’s creative minds and forward thinking organizations who are part of the thriving innovation and entrepreneurship community. The week aims to highlight positive messaging within Baltimore’s growing reputation as a hub for innovation across the United States.
View Baltimore Innovation Week Events

 

Edgar Allen Poe Festival and Awards
Poe Baltimore invites you to darken Poe’s chamber door at the second annual International Edgar Allan Poe Festival and Awards, October 5 & 6, 2019. This free, two-day outdoor event will feature Poe-themed performances, art, vendors and food, celebrating Poe’s life, works and his influence in the arts.
Tickets are required for tours of the Edgar Allen Poe house.
Register Here

 

10/6

Doors Open Baltimore: Hoen Lithograph Building Tour
During the tour, guests will learn about the history of Hoen Lithograph and its importance in the printing industry in Baltimore, as well as the overall vision for the existing buildings, future tenants, and surrounding community.
Right This Way

Baltimore Innovation Week (cont)
Edgar Allen Poe Festival and Awards (cont)

 

10/7

Design Thinking for Schools: Students, Teachers, & Community Collaboration
When people talk about Baltimore City Public Schools, we often hear about the problems. In this workshop, high schoolers, teachers, and community members will come together to view problems in BCPSS as opportunities to make our schools better.
Hosted by: Baltimore Innovation Week
Get Tickets

 

10/8

Have A Nice Day Project - pigtown
Have a Nice Day Project – Pigtown
While enjoying good food, drinks, and conversation, we’ll be tasked with filling those sleeves with positive message, quotes, jokes, fun pictures and more. We’re donating them to locally owned Cafe Jovial (Pigtown). They will use those sleeves until they are gone, distributing them with coffee orders to their patrons throughout the week. How awesome will it be for someone to go to their favorite coffee shop, place their usual order, look down and see a fun message from you?

Hosted by: Have a Nice Day Project
RSVP on Facebook

biofabrication-baltimore innovation week

Biofabrication: Building with Life at the Intersection of Art, Science, and Technology
Join artist Ryan Hoover for an artist talk and backstage tour of the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Bio Fab Lab – where student artists and researchers are building in collaboration with life, blurring the boundaries of art, science and technology to innovate futures that employ biocement sculptures to restore oyster populations and grow hair follicle germ cells to create synthetic animal-free wools.

Hosted by: Baltimore Innovation Week, MICA, and Baltimore Creatives Acceleration Network (BCAN)
Get a Ticket

 

10/9

An Introduction to React Native
React Native is a modern open-source framework for native app development developed and maintained by the team at Facebook. React Native is a cross-platform development tool, but unlike previous options, React Native uses native platform-specific interface components, making it both easy to program and highly performant.

Hosted by: Baltimore Innovation Week
Read More

 

10/10

pumpkin succulent workshop maryland
Pumpkin & Succulent Workshop
Get into the fall spirit by coming to decorate one of our Heirloom Pumpkin Succulent arrangements with custom calligraphy.

Hosted by: Eventi Floral & Events
Register on Eventbrite

Baltimore Innovation Week (cont)

 

10/11

design & dine with debbie millman 2019 design week
Design & Dine with Debbie Millman
Join us for a casual discussion led by the wonderful Debbie Millman, in which we’ll explore how we portray our lives on social media. 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 author, educator, curator and host of the podcast Design Matters.

Hosted by: AIGA Baltimore
Get Your Ticket Now

Data & Technology in Social Innovation
It is generally accepted that data and technology serve as critical tools for innovation. However, we experience shortcomings in how we make these tools accessible to change agents and residents. In this session, we will explore platforms that are working to make data and technology more accessible and relevant.

Hosted by: Baltimore Innovation Week
Read On

 

10/12

Makers of Maryland Fall Meet Up
One of the best days of the year is almost here! The Makers Fall Meet Up will be filled with music, fun, food, drink, and hanging out with your fellow Makers! You will have your choice of ticket but everyone will be receiving a Swag Bag filled with goodies donated from your fellow Makers, a new Makers tee, & automatic entrance into winning one of the amazing giveaways we will have! Come enjoy a fun day with the Makers!

Hosted by: Makers of Maryland
Read More about the Makers Meet Up

10/16

Climbing the Corporate Ladder

Climbing the Corporate Ladder: Extraordinary Stories of Paving Your Own Way
There has been a strong push to highlight gender inequality within tech, yet the question still remains: Why are there so few women in tech and in executive leadership roles? According to a recent Thomson Reuters study, 30% of 450 technology executives stated that their groups had no women in leadership positions. Only 25% of the IT jobs in the US were filled by women and 56% of women leave IT in the peak of their career. We all know the path to success is not a straight line. Baltimore Women in Tech has put together a stellar panel of noteworthy professionals to discuss this and their own journey of rising in tech. This event is open to all genders.

Hosted by: Baltimore Women in Tech
Get Your Ticket Here

 

10/17

“Legacy of Innovation” The Glasgow School: 1900-1910
Join SHAG at the Walters Art Gallery for a talk on design history, on Thursday October 17th. This event is free and open to the public.
Hosted by: Society for History and Graphics
Registration link to follow

mwca yoga wellness event
Restore Your Core
Monument Women’s Creative Alliance is a women’s group working to inspire, educate, connect, and unite Baltimore’s creative community. This class, Restore Your Core, is a proven + comprehensive core and pelvic floor strengthening method that targets your whole body in order to regain function. It helps you learn to move better, exercise better, uncover movement compensation patterns, and create new patterns of strength, mobility, length and support.

Hosted by: Monument Women’s Creative Alliance
Learn More about MWCA

 

10/19

Intro to Screenprinting
This one-day, hands-on workshop covers all the basics of screenprinting. Attendees will learn first hand how to properly coat, expose, print from, and clean a silkscreen. Differences in inks, printing substrates, screen mesh, and filmwork will all be discussed, and various multi-color registration techniques will be covered. This class will provide you the skills to return and rent time to print your own work during our regular studio hours. If you have any questions, please contact us at print@baltimoreprintstudios.com

Hosted by: Baltimore Print Studios
Tickets Available Now!

 

10/20

Beginner’s Lettering Workshop 
Join Ashley Tiburzi of The Artsy Apple (@artsyapple) for her first ever in-person beginner lettering workshop!
Learn More

 

Baltimore Design Week: OCT 21-27

 

Environmental Graphics Painting Workshop

Have you ever wanted to play around with neon glow-in-the-dark paint or graffiti markers? Are you tired of hiding behind a computer screen day in and day out? Yearning to get a little messy? Join AIGA Baltimore and Jubilee Arts for a workshop in which we’ll create props and graphics to display at Saturday’s Fashion Show!
Save Your Seat

10/22

Stress Addiction talk 10/22 with taylor cashdan

“I work best under pressure.” “No worries—I’ll get it to you ASAP.” “It’s fine, I can handle it.” Sound familiar? It did for designer Taylor Cashdan as well, until he woke up one morning with the intent for a normal day. And instead, found himself in the cardiac wing of his local hospital for a short stay that included a lot of “we’re not sure why this is happening.”

Join AIGA Baltimore and Raleigh, NC. native Taylor Cashdan on Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at Co-Balt Workspace to discuss the dangers of ignoring stress, the toxicity of the ‘hustle mentality’ and burnout culture, and their overall contributions to living ‘the creative life.’
Get Your Ticket

10/23

SHAG AIGA Baltimore Application House
Come join The Society for History and Graphics (SHAG), AIGA, and Morgan State University’s School of Architecture and Planning for a talk and workshop about how we might make space in the future. Application House is a speculative design project for a future house and neighborhood, after a brief talk about that project, you’ll have the chance to participate in a collaborative workshop in which we’ll draw a whole city.
Save Your Seat

10/24

Creative Communities event
Creativity. Collaboration. Community. Join us on October 24th at Pixilated to learn how to find your community AND make the most of it, with Illiah Manger of C&V and Rachel Davis of Your True Tribes. Register now for this free Design Week event – tickets are going fast!
Learn More

10/25

design week studio tours
Join us for an exciting day of tours through four of Baltimore’s innovative design and advertising agencies: Gilah Press, idfive, Jellyfish, and Mission Media!
RSVP Here

10/26

AIGA Baltimore fashion show design week 2019
This Design Week, we’re taking the conversation out of the screen, off of the paper, and onto the outfit. Join the Baltimore creative community on October 26th at Baltimore Artists Union as we experience a conceal and reveal fashion show, featuring a panel of five local design talents!
Join Us

10/27

Problem Framing - Design Thinking Workshop
There are so many versions of design thinking processes out there, from IDEO to Google Design Sprints. However, many don’t dig deep enough into what Rachel Davis calls step 0: Problem Framing. Problem Framing is about asking ourselves, “What Else?”

Join us at iNovex’s brand new offices in Columbia for this workshop as a part of Baltimore Design Week 2019. Lunch will be provided, courtesy of our hosts at iNovex Information Systems.
Get Your Ticket

10/29

Tobias Frere-Jones
Tobias Frere-Jones is one of the world’s leading typeface designers, creating some of the most widely used typefaces, including Interstate, Whitney, Surveyor, Tungsten, and Retina. His typeface Gotham was used in the election campaigns of Barack Obama.

Hosted by: MICA and AIGA Baltimore
Registration link to follow

10/31

impact hub success coaching
Success Coaching Skill Share
Do you find yourself juggling too many things and feel like you are not making progress? Do you ever feel stuck? Do you feel like work is always on your mind even when you are with family and friends? Would you like to spend more time working “on” rather than “in” your business? Then check out this free Skill Share event at Impact Hub Baltimore!

Hosted by: Impact Hub Baltimore
RSVP on Eventbrite

Got an event you think belongs on this list?

We’d love to hear about it! Email us at promotions@baltimore.aiga.org with your event information.

Q&A with Crayligraphy Founder, Colin Tierney

Posted on by Frances Miller

Hand lettering and calligraphy are having a major boom today, as seen from logos to magazine covers, and from mass-produced home goods to painstakingly-handwritten wedding invitations.

When looking at work by the likes of Jessica Hische, Lauren Hom, and Jon Contino (just a few of the letterers helping to spread the craft today), it can feel like there’s no way your own hand could do that. Calligraphy, in particular, is intimidating to get into. Choosing and buying tools, and getting over the hurdle of giving up when your first few tries don’t look totally Instagram-worthy.

Crayligraphy was founded in the Summer of 2015 by Colin Tierney in (guess where?) Baltimore, Maryland. Offering in-person workshops, online guides, and a community of other learners, Crayligraphy delivers helpful content for anyone interested in learning. AIGA Baltimore is excited to cohost a workshop right here in Baltimore, so join us on Saturday, May 11th, 2019! Read on to learn more about Colin’s journey in developing this group and resource.

Sign up for the Crayligraphy workshop!

So, what exactly is Crayligraphy?
Colin: It’s a concept I dubbed several years back—a neologism combining the words “crazy” and “calligraphy”—to help people learn the beautiful art of writing through the magical world of those nostalgic, childhood friendly markers. Because let’s be honest, calligraphy with markers is pretty crazy.

Essentially, Crayligraphy is a space for people to try their hand in the ancient art form in the least intimidating way as possible. No longer do you have to spend an arm and a leg on traditional supplies before determining whether or not you enjoy the process. Broad-line markers are cheap, easily accessible and most of all, fun!

Where did the name Crayligraphy come from?

Colin: Crayligraphy began as a way to experiment with calligraphy through a marker. In this particular post, a Crayola marker. Hence the original name “Crayoligraphy,” which yes, I dubbed as well, but that’s a whole other story 🤫🤐

I changed the name to “Crayligraphy” shortly after realizing I wanted to turn this idea into a learning platform. The name not only rolled off the tongue easier, but it didn’t limit people to thinking they had to use Crayola’s brand. There are so many quality broad-line markers out there–– Target’s Up&Up, Crazart, Roseart to name a few—–that it seemed silly to be exclusive to just one brand.

At the time, did you think this would grow to what it is today?

Colin: At the time, I had no idea how big this idea was going to be. I was simply responding to my audience after several years of emails and DMs, requesting that I teach hand lettering and calligraphy.

One year after coming up with the idea of Crayligraphy, I posted this same image announcing the launch. People who were interested in learning how to stylistically write with a marker, were able to sign up to our newsletter, being the first to know when my series of tutorials would begin.

After the first 24 hours, we had 2 thousand people sign up to our newsletter list 😱. Before the announcement, I didn’t know how to teach. I had to better my knowledge and skillset before proclaiming that I was proficient enough to take on that role. Basically, I had to learn to teach.

Originally, you were traveling across the country to host workshops in different cities. How did you balance this along with your family and other work?

Make no mistake: doing all of these workshops solo was no easy task.

We get hundreds of requests to visit different cities all around the world. Back when I started teaching workshops, I was a one-man show on the road. My wife Lindsey organized the events and made sure everything was scheduled and set up so that I could fly into the city on a Friday, wake up the next morning (like a lost puppy in an unfamiliar territory), teach the workshop and hop back on a plane to return home early Sunday (early as in 3 or 4 in the morning early 😩).

I had to do this at the time. I lost my job, my family didn’t have a home (it was on the market when I lost my job) and we were about to welcome a baby boy to the world. We already had 2 girls under the age of 4! Life was a bit Cray to say the least 😐 And while it wasn’t a sustainable living situation, it was necessary.

So after some time passed, I decided I couldn’t go at this alone anymore.

Hiring can sometimes be as daunting as doing all the work yourself. How have you built a team of educators?

Throughout my visits to these cities, I reached out to local artists who have shown interest in Crayligraphy while also having an understanding of the art. I asked these artists if they had any interest in co-hosting a workshop with me in their respective cities. I did this for a few reasons. One, having two instructors to teach a workshop adds so much more value for the attendees. Two, it adds some local flavor that the students can relate to.

Most importantly though, I was able to train these local artists to teach the Crayligraphy material. We call them “Educraytors.” So, whenever a city’s interest arises, I am able to call upon an Educraytor who represents that region, to host the workshop. This allows me to focus on Crayligraphy’s bigger picture and spend those precious moments I would otherwise be missing during travel, with my family.

Does Crayligraphy define a specific style of lettering, or does each artist put their own spin on it?

Our team of educraytors is a great example of how you can produce wild results with one simple instrument. Check them out on Instagram! Veronica Ruiz of @veronicaletters is based in Denver, CO. She has a wide range of styles, but you know Vero’s work when you see it scrolling through Instagram because it always stops you in your tracks. Terence Tang of @tinlunstudio comes from Houston, TX, where we hosted a workshop last year with AIGA Houston. He has now integrated what began as a serious hobby into his professional design workflow, where magic markers are now among his go-to tools for designing logos and lifestyle goods.

I’ll be co-hosting Baltimore’s workshop with Natalie Downey of @nataliedowneydesign. She’s one of the best out there when it comes to Crayligraphy. Her fragmented style (broken strokes) is something to watch over and over again while scratching your head in awe of how she does it. We like to call Natalie The Ninja-Wizard ⚔️🧙‍♀️of the team because her strokes are so quick and unbelievably accurate.

What sorts of techniques are taught in a Crayligraphy workshop?

We’ll go through the two different methods to create your letters. We begin with the fragmented method; that’s breaking down each character into basic strokes so that we see the makeup of these letters as shapes and pieces to build upon. So, after each stroke, you lift your marker and place it down where the next stroke needs to be marked.

Some of you will be able to learn a little quicker and if that’s the case, you might be ready for the fluid method. That’s not to say we leave those who don’t learn as quickly in the dust. We just have another option to practice for the people who might have an easier time understanding the fragmented method.

The fluid method entails keeping your marker on the paper and transitioning between thick and thins based on pressure and release through the fingertips. This method allows for a more elegant or smooth aesthetic where the fragmented method is based on broken strokes that appear sharper and quicker.

Sign up for the Crayligraphy workshop!

Wanna get a design job? Think like a hiring manager.

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

If my experience at Ink and Pixels taught me anything, it is that young designers continue to face the permission paradox—you can’t get a job without experience, but need a job to gain experience. Each of the five students whose portfolios I reviewed voiced this same set of concerns: Lots of applications are sent, but little-to-no feedback or opportunity exists after hitting send. Just about all students recognized that there was a glut of applications, and thus it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. And while the concerns are valid, I’ve begun to wonder if students fully understand the business side of the equation.

Hiring is a complicated and time-consuming process. To hire a new employee the business has to shell out costs, often in the form of man-hours and marketing costs. In business settings where a Human Resource Department is involved, there is time cost associated with posting, reviewing, and interviewing potential candidates. In addition, there is the time design managers and creative directors have to set aside to review and interview candidates. For a business, this time falls into an un-billable category, and thus represents lost income. A company is willing to put up with this lost income if they can identify and hire the right candidates, who are likely to stick around for a few years.

HR and the design team members eliminate candidates quickly—they have to—and they do so without prejudice. As a young designer, it is crucial to show (or tell) potential employers exactly what benefit, what problem they can solve when they are applying and interviewing. Sure, this is a gross over-simplification, and there are no absolute ways to achieve that goal. But as young designers often throw a lot of different types of work out to be reviewed (and I definitely believe this is a good thing), they should tailor their work to the needs of the potential employers. If the job is print heavy, show some print work first. If the job leans more towards a digital space, show some digital work first.

The importance of events like Ink and Pixels shouldn’t be overlooked. While not every reviewer or panelist will have jobs to hand out, talking to pro’s in this setting is a very structured form of networking. One-on-one time with a handful of design professionals can only help young designers understand the difference and challenges in each unique design environment. Talking to the attendees at Ink and Pixels was the highlight of my weekend (I mean, I live in a house with two toddlers), and I commend AIGA Baltimore for once again putting on this event.

About the Author:

RobMaguire_HeadshotRob Maguire has over 15 years’ experience providing graphic design and marketing services to businesses of all sizes. After changing gigs each time his wife switched jobs and cities, Rob decided to begin his role as an independent creative. His experience working as an agency art director, and later as an in-house senior package designer has cultivated a knack for understanding the unique needs of each client. Today, Rob works and lives in Maryland with his wife, kids, and dogs.

About Ink & Pixels:

Ink & Pixels is one of AIGA Baltimore’s largest events focused on helping designers prepare for a career or career shift. This year’s Ink & Pixels event was held on Saturday, April 13th at Stevenson University.

More about Ink & Pixels

Save The Date: AIGA Baltimore Design Week 2018

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

Celebrate & examine design beyond the margins

What boundaries does design face in Baltimore? What boundaries have we overcome? How could we do better?

This year’s AIGA Baltimore Design Week is an exploration of these and other topics related to the boundaries – real and artificial – that constrain, separate, protect, and define us. As designers, as Baltimoreans, and as people.

Join us, along with luminaries from Baltimore’s academic and design communities, for a series of events and discussions as we look back at developments that shaped Baltimore design over the last year, and look ahead to what’s next.

Stay tuned for full event details, and join the discussion on social media with #BMOREDW18

Event Lineup Preview

5 Tips for a Successful Portfolio Review

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

Ink & Pixels 2018: Creative Review is just around the corner, which means you’ll have the opportunity to have your portfolio reviewed by industry professionals. Here are five tips for you to get prepared so you can make the most of it.

Portfolio Tip #1: Don’t take it personally

Portfolio tips- don't take critique too personallyAs creative people, we tend to get deeply attached to our work, but keep in mind that any criticism you receive is not directed at you but at the work you present. Reviewers don’t know how long it took you to make it, or if your piece has a profound personal meaning to you, they will be there to give you a neutral honest opinion about your designs. They are providing you with their time and knowledge to help you have a stronger portfolio.

Portfolio Tip #2: Presentation is key

Ink & Pixels 2017 portfolio tips- presentation

Whether you have a website, a PDF or a print portfolio doesn’t matter as long as you’re paying attention to detail. This includes not having typos and how your work is presented. If you are a product or packaging designer and don’t know how to take crisp, clean pictures, ask a friend who knows photography for help. The internet has plenty of free Photoshop mockups to display your card, flyers, and posters. It would be a shame to have your sharp designs lost in blurry or dark pictures.

Portfolio Tip #3: Keep it consistent

Ink & Pixels 2017 portfolio review-consistencyBy consistency, I don’t mean including only print design, or only website design but rather the quality of the work. Every designer has good and bad pieces, so don’t feel pressured to include everything you’ve made. A few “meh” pieces can bring down the entire quality of your portfolio.

Portfolio Tip #4: Include what makes you special

Ink & Pixels 2017 portfolio review tips-personalize your portfolioNowadays with templates on the internet, pretty much anyone can come up with a business card design, but that doesn’t mean all of them are innovative. Include what makes you special. Examples of this could be your use of color, your minimalist or maximalist aesthetic or the way you mix fonts.

And finally…

Portfolio Tip #5: Don’t be afraid to ask questions

Portfolio review tips-ask questions

Take a look at your work and write down any questions you have. Are you wondering if you should include a particular project in your portfolio?  This is the time to ask your reviewer any questions you have. Take advantage of this, as once you are showing your work to a possible employer there is no turning back.

 

Now is time to get to work and prepare your portfolio. Join us at the next Ink & Pixels, where you’ll get personal reviews from peers and design professionals in the area!

 

We’ll see you there!

 

BMORE Inspired by Local Arts Events

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

Designers and creatives of all kinds visiting Baltimore will find that the city has a long tradition of supporting
the arts and so regularly hold events in that vein. The warmer months in particular allow visitors to take in
these events and festivals while wandering our beautiful city. Three such events are the Maryland Film
Festival, Artscape, and the Kinetic Sculpture Race. (But, we’d be remiss if we didn’t also mention the
newcomer festival in Baltimore, Light City.)

Artscape
Artscape is an annual festival that takes place in the areas surrounding Baltimore’s centrally located Penn
Station. It is the country’s largest free arts festival, hosting hundreds of artists of just about every variety.
Visual arts exhibitions can be found throughout the festival, at specific locations or even in the streets,
featuring fine art, fashion, crafts, sculpture, art cars, photography, and more.

4243323436_1f21d11aff_z
Credit: Chris Dilts

Artscape also features plenty of
performance art, including theater, opera, dance, film, live music concerts, and even performances from the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. The festival is one of the highlights of the summer for Baltimore residents
and visitors alike. Artscape 2016 will be held from July 15­–17, and you check their website for details on
specific events.

MD Film Festival
Going into it’s 19th year, the Maryland Film Festival has continually fostered local
and international film and video work of all lengths and genres. There are screenings over five days every
year in the first week of May at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA),
and the soon­to­be­restored Parkway Theater. Baltimore’s most legendary filmmaker John Waters picks a
favorite film every year to introduce, too, and he’s as hilarious, uncouth, and as witty as you’d imagine.

Kinetic Sculpture Race
Although already past for this year, the Kinetic Sculpture Race is one of Baltimore’s most distinctive events.
Hosted by the American Visionary Art Museum, the race challenges entrants to custom build amphibious
human­powered vehicles to race through the city. The races takes eight hours and covers 14 miles, leading
racers through several Baltimore neighborhoods, parks, and even into the Inner Harbor itself.

Credit: Ben Mason
Credit: Ben Mason

The first ever Kinetic Sculpture Race took place in 1969 in Ferndale, California, though the races now take place is several places across the country. The first Baltimore race took place in 1999, when AVAM founder Rebecca Hoffberger heard about the California race on television. Since then, the AVAM has not only sponsored the event, but also participated, racing Fifi the giant pink poodle every year since 2001. Fifi has become the race’s mascot and is on permanent display at the museum. Vehicles are built to resemble
anything from a giant crocodile to a Rube Goldberg mousetrap. Words don’t really do justice to the creativity
that racers have in building their vehicles. You can find pictures of vehicles from each year’s race on their
website.

Though these are three of the most distinguished large­scale Baltimore events, they are only a very small
sample of what our city has to offer visiting designers. AIGA Baltimore’s own Annual Design Week, held the
3rd week of October each year, is sure to entice visiting and local designers alike. And you can always
check out the city’s events calendar to find something to suit your tastes. Baltimore is a city that has something
for everyone!

This post is part 1 of our “Bmore Inspired in Baltimore” series.

Image Credit: kineticbaltimore.com

Mitch is a volunteer copywriter for AIGA Baltimore. In the real world, he’s usually indulging in
gaming of some kind, controller or dice in hand. Find him on Twitter at @mc_mittens.

A recent transplant from Texas by way of NYC, Andrea Chen is happy to call Baltimore her home. She’s a
graphic designer at T. Rowe Price, owns her own company the codex club, and loves to knit, cook, and
garden. Tweet her @andreachen3d.

Letter of Introduction from Vanessa Ulrich, Incoming President

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

I am incredibly excited to officially begin my first term as President of AIGA Baltimore this summer, replacing the leadership of our amazing outgoing Co-Presidents, Jennifer Marin and Stacey Fatica.

I’ve worked with Jen and Stacey for two and a half years since I joined the board in February 2013 as Visibility Director. In that role, I connected with other organizations in the Baltimore community to build relationships, collaborate on events and create awareness and understanding for AIGA Baltimore’s goals. I’m so inspired every day by all the people who make Baltimore a creative, innovative, and fabulously quirky city.

As incoming President, my goal is to promote the value of design and design professions while continuing to strengthen the chapter’s programming and community involvement. Under Jennifer and Stacey’s leadership over the past two years, AIGA Baltimore produced more than 60 amazing events to bring education and inspiration to the Baltimore design community. In 2013, Design Week was also recognized officially by the state. I seek to continue to strengthen this legacy.

Assisting me in achieving this goal is a board powered 100% by volunteer AIGA members. Each one has a specific area of focus, and each brings a diversity of thought, talent and passion to the board.

Education
Gary Rozanc, Education Director
Vivianna Bermudez, Education Chair

Gary and Vivianna led a highly successful Ink & Pixels student portfolio review conference this past April. They are currently planning next year’s annual conference, and are working to develop new ways to engage with AIGA Baltimore’s student groups.

Programming
Joseph Anthony Brown, Programming Director
Jermaine Bell, Programming Chair
Kerry Korrer, Social Design Chair

Joe and Jermaine are leading the planning for Design Week 2015, all while working to execute several special events as well as our regular monthly Blend and Converse events. Kerry leads social design programming, and she’s got a few key initiatives she’s gearing up for.

Communications
Kate Lawless, Communications Director
Meredith Burke, Web Chair

Spearheading our outreach online via email and our website are Kate and Meredith. They also manage a committee of dedicated communication volunteers who assist with our blog, social media, and other communications needs.

Membership
Chad Miller, Membership Chair

The newest member of our board, Chad, will cultivate AIGA Baltimore’s relationship with you, our members, encouraging you throughout the year to engage with us, give feedback, and add your voice to our initiatives.

I am honored to lead and work with such an amazing team. But nothing we do would be possible without a strong community of people passionate enough to volunteer their time to this effort—people who volunteer to speak at events, offer up their spaces for us to use, review portfolios and serve on committees. There are so many people who have helped make AIGA Baltimore what it is today. A two-year term is not a long time, and I hope we can continue to carry that torch and serve the evolving needs of our chapter’s membership and the Baltimore design community as a whole.

I look forward to a great two years serving as your new chapter president.
Thank you,
Vanessa Ulrich

Ben Jenkins Lives Slow and Makes Fast

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

Ben Jenkins, founder of OneFastBuffalo, toured the East Coast hitting up six cities in six days to talk to six AIGA chapters about how he evolved his design business and his personal life into a more satisfying and fulfilling one. We laughed, we learned a lot about his concept of work-life balance, and we talked about how designers have a natural inclination to be designtrepreneurs.

“Twitchyness is contagious”

Ben Jenkins started his presentation with a disclaimer: “I can be a bit twitchy, and it can be contagious.” And as he continued through his talk, we watched him go into side tangents, witnessing just for ourselves how twitchy he was. We hung onto every word, anyway, as Ben told us a story about how he evolved his design business and his personal life into a more satisfying and fulfilling one.

About Ben

Growing up in the suburbs of Dallas, Ben Jenkins loved two things: art and baseball. He admitted it’s an odd combination; there aren’t many sports fanatics that are also into art and design. Following his dreams, he got a scholarship to play baseball at Mississippi State University, where he studied graphic design and architecture. After graduation, Ben went on to play for the Phillies in the minor leagues, and out on the road he passed the time working on small design projects for whoever asked him. These projects put him on the path to freelancing after Ben realized that his career as a baseball player was not going to land him in the big leagues. He continued his education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he earned an MFA in Art & Technology.

Everything is Bigger in Texas (Including Partial Male Nudity)

In 1998, OneFastBuffalo (OFB) was born from the idea that conventional wisdom isn’t always useful. Using his competitive nature as a ball player, Ben grew OFB from a two-person operation to a boutique firm. OneFastBuffalo would move from one office space to another as they expanded, and each time Ben would strive to create the dream office that any agency and their employees would love to have, especially one that would impress clients.

Through the growth of OFB, Ben sought validation as a successful graphic designer. He felt strongly that in order to be considered a good designer, he needed a client list full of the big ones. He was collecting his own design trophies, so to speak. Over time, he would spend more energy managing than designing, more time at the office than at his home, and more time making calls for work. Those 10 years of trophy collecting took a toll on Ben. The man who had been good enough to play in the minor leagues had gained substantial weight and it showed (literally) in the photos his wife took of him just wearing gym shorts.

Slimming the Buffalo (and the Man)

In 2008, Ben realized that it was time for another renovation, and not just one of office space. He turned his work and personal life upside down after realizing that he could work better in a different way. In a period of purging, Ben reduced not only his weight and a large portion of needless possessions, but also the size of OFB as the economy took a downturn.

He even subleased his office space (with the furniture), enabling him to do more with less. Plus this allowed him to spend more time with his wife and three sons. Instead of just heading off to work in the morning and getting home late from the office, he wakes up and has coffee with his wife, takes his sons to school, works in his home office (or wherever he feels like working), and spends time with the boys after school, too.

As Ben simplified the external aspects of his business, his branding process changed, as well. Now, instead of giving clients multiple logo concepts, Ben focuses on just one concept until he gets it right. This allows for more concentration and energy to be put into that one idea, as opposed to spreading the creative energy and time across two or three ideas, he says. And, as an added benefit, the client never picks his least favorite concept. And this process works, too! Since Ben began presenting one concept to clients in 2008, he’s only had to go back to the drawing board a few times.

Since 2008, one logo concept is shown to the client. This allows for more concentration and energy to be put into that one idea.
Since 2008, Ben shows only one logo concept to the client. This allows for more concentration and energy to be put into that one idea.

As his business evolved, Ben also stopped worrying about collecting trophies. He now focuses on creative work to help good people make famous brands, and he’s quickly learned that it’s more enjoyable and more fulfilling to work this way.

Where the Buffalo Roam (Have laptop, Will Travel)

While eating some authentic Mexican cuisine with his wife and kids, Ben came up with the idea of a Mobile Creative Lifestyle. Harking back to his days as a baseball player in the minor leagues and being out on the open road, Ben wanted to combine his passion for design and travel. Buying a 1958 Airstream trailer, Ben began to take his family out on “journeys” (not just vacations) and taught himself to “create big work in the smallest of ways,” by working within the confines of wherever he is at the time.

The OneFastBuffalo 1958 airstream mobile office
The OneFastBuffalo 1958 airstream mobile office.

 

You can now find Ben working on a brand concept in the back of his truck on a lawn chair, parked by a lake, while his wife and three sons enjoy some fly fishing or playing in a nearby playground. This is how “Live Slow, Make Fast” became his new mantra. Ben says that living and doing beautiful things that you enjoy while resting and relaxing will re-energize your work. Working in this way allows him to stay more focused and fill the eight hours (and only eight hours) with a more productive workflow. He uses the 8-8-8 principle to demonstrate this: 8 hours of sleep, 8 hours of play, and 8 hours of work make for a much more healthier work-life balance. There’s time to make and time to live, all in one day.

Ben quickly noticed that this new found freedom of working anywhere at any time made his work better, too. The famous brands that Ben used to chase around now just come to him because they recognize the quality of work he produces and the energy and focus he puts into it.

Designtrepreneur

With his new approach to working, Ben found he had the energy and focus to create brands for himself rather than for a client. He believes that designers are still artists at heart and that their ability to create and produce gives them a natural inclination to start their own personal brands. Armed with a passion for baseball, Ben started Warstic Bat Company, which produces handmade wood bats, baseball gear, and apparel. The company was recently featured in the pages of GQ and was even contacted by Coach to sell a limited run of men’s gear in their stores. Some other brands Ben has created are Treadsmith Board Co. (a snowboard producer), and INDIG (a strategic branding company for Native American owned companies).

Warstic_Pic
Warstic Bat Company, one of Ben’s many self-created brands.
The Journey Continues

The takeaway from Ben’s presentation is that a well-rounded work-life balance can be beneficial to re-energizing a creative professional’s focus and drive. He says you do not have to allow the pressure and distractions affect you as a whole. Spending time away from the computer and spending quality time doing things that make you happy will help you to be a better creative.

On June 1, 2015, Ben will shut OFB down for the summer and not reopen for business until September 1, 2015. He will travel around the country on a journey with his family, enjoying some quality time together while resting and relaxing. When September comes back around, with the energy he will have stored up, he most certainly will come out swinging his bat of creativity. And we can’t wait to see what he does next.

Chad Miller is a Senior Graphic Designer for MedStar Health who enjoys all things design and all things caffeinated.

Human Rights Campaign: Designing for Equality

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

During Design Week 2014, AIGA Baltimore was joined by Bob Villaflor, the Design Director for the Human Rights Campaign. Bob talked with us about his experiences with the organization and the importance of design in his work.

About the Human Rights Campaign (HRC)

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is the largest LGBT civil rights organization that is fighting for LGBT equality. They aim to spread the word about important LGBT issues by featuring and supporting high profile people who are behind their cause. If you know about the HRC, then Design Director Bob Villaflor is doing his job!

Bob joined the HRC eight years ago and is believed to be the first non-LGBT creative in the organization. His fresh perspective reflects on how far we have come and where it will take us.

What we do as Designers

To quote Bob, “Design plays a critical role in what we do.” With over two million supporters and members, the design team pushes to reach as many people as possible. HRC volunteers are knocking on doors, sharing educational materials, and gathering pledges, which are just some of the tasks the creative team has to support. Being responsible for the visual presence of the organization allows them to put a face to the goal of driving movement among the public.

The most easily recognizable visual aspect of the Human Rights Campaign is their logo. Until its current version, the logo didn’t really exist on a social level, so the design team aimed to consolidate the old version in a way that still reflected the company. The logo had to be simple, elegant, and honest—values inherent to the organization.

Formerly known as the Humans Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF), the HRC was founded in 1980 and went through several logo iterations (here’s just a few of them). In the most recent redesign, the HRC design team partnered with SYPartners of San Francisco in a yearlong rebranding effort. SYPartners helped to solidify the brand and eventually settled on the yellow equal sign on a navy blue square. This now iconic logo helped to give an identity to the movement by representing the HRC core values.

Bob explained, “The logo became something for people to rally around.”

A Tipping Point

In 2012, Chad Griffin joined HRC as the organization’s President, which marked the start of a growth point for the organization. Shortly thereafter, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear arguments on California’s Proposition 8, a ballot proposition that had been passed into law by California voters to deny rights for gay couples to marry. This announcement gave HRC the opportunity to brand the event for its supporters in Washington, DC. Realizing that Proposition 8 was a “court case about love,” Bob and his design team chose to make red the signature color of the campaign. In a bold move, the HRC logo was temporarily changed to muted pink on a red background to show its support for turning over Proposition 8 in early 2013.

In an unexpected turn of events, the campaign went viral, with celebrities and supporters like George Takei, Alicia Keys and Budweiser changing their Facebook and Twitter profile pictures in support. Fans took the campaign and ran with it, remixing and personalizing the logo. The reach was global to the point that it crashed the HRC website and to this day remains one of the most successful campaigns in Facebook history as well as one of the most retweeted of all time. HRC could not have planned for this one hesitant change to be so big, but it made people realize who supported who—which was a big thing to see.

To learn more about HRC, their logo and how it went viral, visit:
http://www.hrc.org/the-hrc-story/about-our-logo

Equality Magazine, Annual Report and Other Campaigns

In addition to their social media and campaign presence, the HRC design team is also responsible for the layout and design of Equality Magazine. At 250,000 copies distributed each quarter, Equality Magazine is the largest LGBT rights publication in the United States. The magazine helps bring attention to anti-LGBT organizations such as the National Organization for Marriage; it also endorses its supporters, recognizing their work in the movement.

The annual report serves as another opportunity to focus on both positive and negative world trends. For the 2013 annual report, HRC partnered with design agency Column Five to develop something that went beyond the standard data-heavy reports that can overwhelm readers. Research and data was compiled into a sharable, easily digestible infographic printed on the reverse side of a book jacket for the annual report. Doubling as a poster, the infographic was shared outside of the organization’s list of major donors.

The HRC design team tackles other campaigns, too, like the “Love Conquers Hate” campaign leading up to the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi. Equality Magazine started this campaign to show support for the LGBT community in Russia. It was punishable to show LGBT support in Russia, so HRC encouraged Olympians and celebrities to share pictures of themselves with the Russian-language version of the “Love Conquers Hate” shirt across social media.

The Future

In the future, the Human Rights Campaign will continue to “fight for people’s lives” not only in the U.S., but also across the globe. Campaigns such as Project One America aim to share the stories of real LGBT people and their families in less-than-supportive areas such as Central Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. On the international front, HRC continues to share their materials, design, strategy, and knowledge with fellow supporters who are trying to raise awareness to audiences across the globe.

Q&A With Bob

What is the biggest hurdle to design around at HRC?
Joint projects. Other departments or agencies can be sensitive over their content.

What advice would you give to designers working with nonprofits who might be against riskier design moves?
Don’t be afraid to put something out there. Consolidating branding of HRC was a big move—so was changing the logo in support of Proposition 8—but it allowed the community to think, to interact with it. Design solutions do take a lot of buy in from senior management, but they do have to trust your decisions in this dynamic time for the organization and LGBT community.

How do you feel about living, working and making changes in Washington, DC—the political heart of the country?
Seeing change is incredible. My family and kids live in a city where lives are being validated—which is funny in a city like Washington, DC that at times can’t seem to get anything done. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was a recent win that was seventeen years in the making.

As a designer, how do you handle a bad stakeholder review?
Beer! Think less about the rejection and more about moving forward, about the mission. You are not going to win them all. Some days there is just no time to come up with something perfect and sometimes it’s junk. Other times, it’s about the longview. With HRC, there’s the luxury of not having to have tangible results like numbers, sales, revenue, but that’s not always the case.

Shannon Crabill is a New Media Specialist at T. Rowe Price. Outside of the Internet, you can find her dancing, riding her motorcycle and binge-watching home improvement shows on HGTV. Tweet her at @shannon_crabill.

Mitchell Cole is the web sales manager at Service Photo Supply. Most of his free time is spent indulging in some sort of gaming, controller or dice never far from reach. Find him on Twitter at @mc_mittens.

BMA’s Big Table Roundtable: A Conversation on Immersive Design

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

On Saturday, October 18th, AIGA Baltimore opened its third annual Design Week at the Baltimore Museum of Art with a roundtable discussion on immersive spaces.

The Big Table is a project headed off by Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) that strives to address questions and criticisms about art posed by visitors. Each year, a designer or a team of designers is chosen to address one question or idea. Bruce Willen and Nolan Strals from Post-Typography, Ellen Lupton and Abbott Miller from MICA and Cooper-Hewitt (respectively), and David Plunkert of Spur Design, have all designed for The Big Table over the past few years. They gathered together to discuss their concepts at the BMA in the Fall of 2014.

Gamynne Guillotte, Director of Interpretation & Public Engagement for the BMA, talks about the purpose and format of The Big Table.
Gamynne Guillotte, Director of Interpretation & Public Engagement for the BMA, talks about the purpose and format of The Big Table.
Words are Pictures are Words

How do contemporary artists use text in their work? Willen and Strals approached this question by considering language and how meaning changes depending on how it’s written. They created their immersive space, titled Words Are Pictures Are Words by using that same phrase in several contexts, including a room-sized infographic, showing how the meaning of the phrase changes depending on type, style, and arrangement.

Willen and Strals talk about their concept for Words Are Pictures Are Words.
Willen and Strals talk about their concept for Words Are Pictures Are Words.
Point, Line, Grid

“The idea becomes the machine that makes the art.” This quote by Sol Lewitt inspired Ellen Lupton and Abbott Miller to create the work Point, Line, Grid. They created a bulletin board-style grid that explores the way an artist thinks by inviting visitors to create and display their own artwork to dominate the room for the next year. The environment was created to point to the inspiring artwork while letting the visitors create something of their own.

Ellen Lupton talks about how they implemented the grid on the walls, and suddenly the room became an interactive experience for viewers...or shall we say, participants?
Ellen Lupton talks about how they implemented the grid on the walls, and suddenly the room became an interactive experience for viewers…or shall we say, participants?
Extra-Ordinary Objects

David Plunkett says that an object in a museum becomes something more important because it’s in a museum. He approached his Big Table project by studying the permanent exhibits in the contemporary wing and making a list of the common items he saw there and in an everyday environment. The resulting work, Extra-Ordinary Objects, is a room about objects one could find anywhere, remixed and displayed in ways that were unusual, presenting the viewer with a new, amusing way to see the relationships between those everyday objects. It will be on display in the Contemporary Wing until September 2015.

David Plunkert talks about a few of his extra-ordinary objects.
David Plunkert talks about a few of his extra-ordinary objects.

To see more photos from this event, check out the set on Flickr.

Greg Jericho spends an awful lot of time designing for clients that do not exist. Check out his work at gregoryjericho.prosite.com.