Technically Creative

Technically Creative: 5 Rapid Fire Talks that Bridge The Gap Between Tech & Creative

What a year! This is usually the time of year where we have a nice big event and gather our community in person for networking, mentorship, and professional development. But the world had other plans, and if it’s one thing we’ve learned over these past few months, it’s how to be flexible and go with the flow.

Have fun and learn with us at Technically Creative rapid-fire talks, an event that seeks to expose you to some new ideas that bridge the gap between tech and design, all while using the fun format of 5 slides in 5 minutes. There are some big things happening in Baltimore, and some very passionate people leading the cause. We can’t wait for you to join us for this event.

EVENT SCHEDULE:
7:30PM – Open the Zoom Room
7:35PM – Welcome & Speakers Intros
7:40 – Speakers – 5 Minutes Talks & 2 Min Q&A
8:15PM – Networking & Recap

Baltimore Womxn in Tech (BWiT) is for women and female-identifying technologists in the Baltimore and the Greater Baltimore region who are working and playing with any kind of technology. We host events and educational programming throughout the year that showcase and support Women in Technology initiatives. We aim to empower women in our extended community so that they understand the work they do is valuable and feel supported. You don’t have to be a developer to be considered a woman in technology.

Our events are open to all genders.

SPONSORS & PARTNERS:
Points North Studio
Spark Baltimore
Fearless
AIGA Baltimore

Revolutionary Typography with Tré Seals

Baltimore Design Month presents:

Revolutionary Typography with Tré Seals

Join us for an informal interview with Tré Seals on Instagram (@aigabaltimore), on Oct. 6th, 12pm, and for a longer presentation followed by discussion on Zoom, on Oct. 13th, 12pm-1pm.

Tuesday, October 6: IG Live: View Video
12:00–12:30 PM

Tuesday, October 13: Zoom Webinar (Register Here)
12:00–1:00 PM

AIGA Baltimore, Society of Design Arts, and Stevenson University co-host these online events with Tré Seals, founder of Vocal Type Co. With the mission of diversifying design (through type), Seals has crafted a catalog of fonts that tell the stories of various underrepresented races, ethnicities, and genders—from the Women’s Suffrage Movement in Argentina to the Civil Rights Movement in America. And the rest is history.

Fun Fact! We used Tré’s typeface, Bayard, in this year’s Design Month Branding. 

About Tré Seals

Tré is one of those rare individuals that became what he wanted to be as a child. From kindergarten to third grade, he would bounce between drawing, religiously, and practicing writing in cursive until he could get his handwriting to look like the sample sheets.

In the 5th and 6th grades, Seals started his first business. For $3, he would graffiti people’s names on index cards. In high school and college, he would design bead jewelry, Lego™ jewelry, tattoos, posters, and t-shirts.

And at the age of 22, he started a passion project turned font foundry, Vocal Type. With the mission of diversifying design (through type), Seals has crafted a catalog of fonts that tell the stories of various underrepresented races, ethnicities, and genders—from the Women’s Suffrage Movement in Argentina to the Civil Rights Movement in America. And the rest is history.

Social Handles

Instagram: @vocaltype.co | @seals.studio
Twitter: @vocaltypeco
Pinterest: @vocaltype

Type Walk

Unique & United is the theme for this year’s Baltimore Design Month and it’s time to get outside.

Look for the letters of our theme at home, on the street, or wherever you find yourself, then create a collage of letters spelling “Unique & United.” Share to social media using our hashtag #BmoreDM20 and tagging @aigabaltimore, and we’ll reshare your creations throughout the month! Submit your collage by the 13th for a chance to win a Skillshare subscription. 

Note: Letter prompts will be posted daily to IG/FB stories. Feel free to join the event at any time and tag us (@aigabaltimore #BmoreDM20) as you collect each letter, but in order to win you only need to tag us when you post your finished type collage on October 13th. If you snag a letter from a Baltimore landmark or business, make sure to give a shout out. Letters can also be created from found objects or hand drawn.

How to win: 

  1. Find and photograph, cut out, or create each of the 13 characters in our theme, Unique & United.
  2. Create a collage with your letters that spell out Unique & United.
  3. Share your creation on social media by October 13th using our hashtag #BmoreDM20 and tagging @aigabaltimore.
  4. Your handle will be added to a list to be included in our random drawing.
  5. The winner will be announced via our IG feed, story, and social media inbox.
  6. Respond to our DM with your email address to receive your subscription link.
About Skillshare:

skillshare.com
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes for creative and curious people, on topics including illustration, design, photography, video, freelancing, and more. On Skillshare, millions of members come together to find inspiration and take the next step in their creative journey.

Examining Photographic Archives: photographic portraiture as an event

Join the Society of Design Arts, AIGA Baltimore and Stevenson University for a discussion with SHAN Wallace and Elena Volkova. The Blacks and Blues archive and the curation process for the exhibition Reflections: a brief history of looking at ourselves (2019) will be presented.

Wallace’s Blacks and Blues archive demonstrates the “Archive as Artwork” medium. This archive and search engine innovates and challenges how modern archives can be curated. It also shows us through photography the experiences, identities, inequalities and injustices of Black life, as well as, how to ethically accumulate primary source documents.

What drives people to sit for a portrait? was a primary question that guided co-curators Elena Volkova and Joe Tropea as they researched the Maryland Historical Society archives for the exhibition Reflections: a brief history of looking at ourselves. In addition to the exhibition, a secondary project was launched, photographing Baltimore residents using Tintypes, a 19th century photographic process. Tintype processes and photoshoots will also be featured in Volkova’s remarks for how they demonstrate the many ways of how the taking of a portrait is an event.

HOW TO ATTEND THE EVENT
1) This event will be online using Zoom. Click here to register for free.
2) Please ensure you download the app for your computer or mobile device prior to the event here on Zoom.
3) Registered attendees will receive a link and password when they complete their registration. The link and password will also be sent 24 hours and 1 hour before the event. Make sure to check your spam folder for the email.

Crit Chats

Creating in a vacuum of isolation is tough as we forego necessary parts of the creative process such as brainstorming and personal feedback. To support our working at home creatives, AIGA chapters from Saint Louis, Asheville, and Baltimore are teaming up to provide you with a way to share ideas and get creative feedback from your peers. Meet new people from other cities while enjoying new inspiration and fresh perspectives.

How it works

You’ll join a small Zoom breakout room with three other attendees. Each room will be organized by project type (i.e. branding, website design, etc…). Each participant will get 15 minutes to present and receive feedback from their peers (5 minutes to present the problem and ask for what they want out of the group; 10 minutes for problem-solving and discussion/constructive Crit)

Rules and best practices 

Constructive criticism only; have a solution in mind

Your criticism is your opinion; no one is right or wrong

Respect time limits

Respect each other 

What’s said in Zoom stays in Zoom. Confidentiality is key

Put in as much as you want in return – the more you participate, the more your peers will want to help you out.

Project Types

  • Branding
  • Web UX/UI
  • Ad campaign 
  • Video/motion
  • Environmental 
  • Publication
  • Student projects
  • Fine art/illustration
  • Photography
  • Misc/not listed

Ink & Pixels Part 3: Portfolio Reviews

Now, more than ever, it is important to provide students, emerging designers, and designers in transition an opportunity to get feedback on their portfolios so that they feel prepared for the future, whatever it holds. Whether you need feedback on your portfolio, resume or a cover letter or need additional advice as you network, we want to provide you with the resources you need to succeed. Registration has closed. 

Portfolio Reviews are Going Virtual

Instead of hosting a single afternoon of virtual review sessions, we will be matching reviewers with two to three reviewees who will work together to find a time and platform (phone, email, video chat, etc.) for their one-on-one review sessions. Portfolio reviews will begin on May 16 and run through June 13, hopefully allowing everyone adequate time to schedule and hold their review sessions. Practice your interview skills and receive honest feedback about your work and resumé and/or cover letter.

Reviewees

This is your opportunity to be partnered with two or three professionals who will review your portfolio (and possibly your resumé and cover letter) and offer professional guidance.
Sign Up Closed

Reviewers

This program works because of amazing volunteers, like you! If you have the capacity to review two to three portfolios (and maybe a few resumes and cover letters), please sign up to be a reviewer today.
→ Sign Up

How it works

We will partner reviewees (creatives needing professional guidance) with two or three reviewers (professionals who can provide advice and resources). Communication will be conducted on a virtual basis via the platform that works best for you: email, phone, video, etc.

Expectations

There is no official time or method to meet outside of completing portfolio reviews within a month following being matched. Once you are partnered with the other two or three creatives, we hope you will reach out at least a couple of times during the month-long timeline. We will be sure to check in on you halfway through the month, and we certainly welcome you all to continue conversations following the end of this program’s timeline. Our goal is to empower creatives to be successful and connected.

Additional information

The deadline to sign up is May 9th. Please direct any questions to Kim Loper at kimberly@baltimore.aiga.org.

Accessibility

If you need any accommodations, please get in touch with us by Friday, May 15, 2020 at info@baltimore.aiga.org.

Code of Conduct

AIGA Baltimore expects that all attendees treat each other with respect, openness, and in adherence to the guidelines specified in AIGA’s Code of Conduct, which can be found here: Code of Conduct.

Questions?

If you have general questions about AIGA Baltimore, feel free to reach out to us at info@baltimore.aiga.org.

Futurism(s) | Online Talk By Ellen Lupton

Join the Society of Design Arts, AIGA Baltimore, and Stevenson University for an online talk on Futurism(s) by Ellen Lupton.

In 1909 the Futurist Manifesto triggered a series of avant-garde design movements that used design and typography to disrupt tradition. This talk takes a tour from Italian Futurism—with its Fascist bent and anti-feminist ideology—to alternative modes of techno rebellion, from Afrofuturism to the Cyborg Manifesto. It’s 2020, folks! The future is here, and it’s not pretty.

PRESENTED BY
Ellen Lupton | Senior Curator of Contemporary Design at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City. Her exhibitions include “How Posters Work,” “Beautiful Users,” and “The Senses: Design Beyond Vision.” Lupton is founding director of the Graphic Design MFA Program at MICA in Baltimore, where she has authored numerous books on design processes, including “Thinking with Type,” “Graphic Design Thinking,” and “Graphic Design: The New Basics.” Her recent books “Design Is Storytelling” and “Health Design Thinking” were published by Cooper Hewitt. She is an AIGA Gold Medalist and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

HOW TO ATTEND THE EVENT
1) Register for free here on Eventbrite.
2) This event will be online using Zoom. Please ensure you download the app for your computer or mobile device prior to the event here.
3) Registered attendees will receive a link to the Zoom online event when they complete their purchase on Eventbrite. The link and password will be sent 48 hours prior, 2 hours prior, and when the event starts. Make sure to check your spam folder for the email.

Lecture: Lisa Strausfeld at MICA

We are excited to announce that Lisa Strausfeld will speak at MICA on Monday, March 11.

Lisa Strausfeld is an information architect, data visualization entrepreneur, and principal of Informationart. She is a senior researcher at The New School and holds four patents related to user interfaces.

The Steinmetz ’50 Designer in Residence will provide a free public lecture in Falvey Hall on March 11 at 7pm. Strausfeld is internationally renowned for her work in design and technology, particularly information visualizations. Read more about the designer here.

Lisa Strausfeld design lecture at MICA

Design Week 2018: Baltimore Women in Tech Brunch & Learn

Whether you are new to the Baltimore tech scene or a seasoned professional, navigating the landscape comes with its own set of challenges, successes, and learning experiences. Baltimore Women in Tech and AIGA invite you to join us for a Brunch & Learn event that includes both a panel discussion and the opportunity to chat with industry leaders during our mentor roundtables. Hear empowering stories, learn about overcoming obstacles, get sound advice, and get your roadmap to tech in Baltimore.

YOUR TICKET INCLUDES

– Delicious brunch, coffee and mimosas (full menu coming soon)
– A riveting panel discussion featuring tech leaders
– An opportunity to sit down with a tech mentor (space limited)
– Official Baltimore Women in Tech swag (tee-shirts are first come first served)

Our event is open to all genders.

About Baltimore Women in Tech

Baltimore Women in Tech (BWiT) is for women and female-identifying technologists in the Baltimore and the Greater Baltimore region who are working and playing with any kind of technology. We host events and educational programing throughout the year that showcase and support Women in Technology initiatives. We aim to empower women in our extended community, so that they understand the work they do is valuable and feel supported. You don’t have to be a developer to be considered a woman in technology. Our events are open to all genders.

Baltimore Women In Tech - Baltimore Design Week 2018

Design Week 2018: Have a Nice Day Project

The Have A Nice Day Project may be the nicest thing going on in Baltimore right now – and this Design Week, you can be a part of the good vibes. At this social hangout, we’ll write positive messages on blank coffee cup sleeves, designing to your heart’s content. The sleeves are then donated to locally owned cafes around Baltimore– and your art will be personally loved by one lucky coffee-drinker.

We’ve been chatting with the business owners and community of southwest Baltimore and we’re excited to have them host us for our next event. Join us on Tuesday, October 16 from 6-8PM to mix and mingle with good peeps and rock out one of the coolest give back projects in Baltimore.

THE PROJECT
We’ve ordered a bulk supply of blank coffee sleeves. 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?

WHAT TO BRING
1. Yourself, your good vibes, and your appetite 🙂
2. We’ll have some markers. If you want to bring your own or donate some supplies to the lot, we would think the world of you.

POP UP FOOD VENDOR:
Poppy Rose Kitchen & Co.

PARKING
Free street parking is available! This event is free and open to the public. Just let us know you’ll be there by clicking “going” on the Facebook event!

Have A Nice Day Project Baltimore

AIGA Baltimore Design Week 2018

This year’s AIGA Baltimore Design Week is an exploration of 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 in October as we look back at developments that shaped Baltimore design over the last year, and look ahead to what’s next. See the full week of events here.