“It’s been too long” was the sentiment heard throughout the event, Affogato About AIGA on August 25. Faces from boards past, those with a new passion for design and community, and leaders of related design organizations converged on Huckleberry Roasters in the Tennyson neighborhood, Denver. 65 creatives enjoyed their drink of choice, shared stories and ideas with the aid of the ubiquitous sticky notes in as many colors as perspectives. 

Although the pandemic quieted the chapter, AIGA continued to thrive in Colorado Springs. This gathering, crafted by Elysia Syriac, the chapter’s interim (and past) president, and Charles Carpenter, also a president emeritus, invited all present to contribute their ideas to feed and water AIGA through volunteering for planned events and rebuilding the board. Special guest, National AIGA Board President Rachel Elnar, came to support the efforts, start bright-eyed conversations, and take pictures (thank you!). 

Let’s keep the momentum going! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter (in the page footer) and volunteer opportunities 

These ideas are just the beginning.

We look forward to continuing this collaboration with our volunteers.

HEAD

Ways of working / ways of thinking
Mentor/Mentee professional pairings
Structuring & Pricing – design as a business
Structure of Freelance Contracts
Understanding Business Needs
Knowing the limitations
Quarterly Creative brainstorming
Ethics of AI / AI use guidance
Interviews with users/groups
Book Clubs (many stickers on this one)
Collab with other creative organizations
Design Community Office Hours – come to share & connect
Seminars on how to start with new clients
Portfolio Playtime – parallel play, reviews, etc
Tips, Tricks & Hacks – sharing yours event
Round Table discussion or show & tell
Speaker Series at DAM
Ethics & Politics within Design

HEART

Understanding their behavior
Shared physical meeting/coworking space or cowork days at coffee shops
Mentorship Matchups with Jr/Student designers
Bring back The Review – student portfolios event
Design Olympics – head to hand design challenges/competion
Heart Art Auction
Human Centered design
Tours of other industries – coffee roasting, furniture, fabrication, letterpress, etc.
Live presentation
Accessibility in Design
Understanding the ideas presented – presentation sketches
Virtual community space – like Discord
How to convey the VALUE to our clients
Educating = Value = Understanding & Appreciation

HAND

Motion graphics
Typography & Motion Graphics
Getting a job
AI as a tool
3D modeling
Learn Glyphs software
History of typography
Old design tech day – letraset, compass, ruling pens, etc.
Brand identity workshop
Layout design
Collage & Chat night
Collage & Printmaking
Alt Process Photography & Collage
Woodworking
Embroidery
Riso Printing
Hand-drawn Typography
Figure drawing workshop
Wheat Paste
Street Art
Design Week
Co-host Event w SEGD
Free Tools Workshop/Skill Share – open source apps & resources
Bring back the lecture series (speakers @DAM)