Thank you to everyone who joined us for From Order to Expression at the Denver Art Museum. It was a special evening celebrating the history and influence of Swiss design, while remembering the life and legacy of our friend and AIGA Colorado Fellow, Fred Murrell.

We’re also incredibly grateful to everyone who showed up in support of AIGA Colorado as we continue to reconnect, rebuild, and shape what comes next for our design community. It meant a lot to share the evening with you.

October 1st through the 4th, we’re bringing the COS creative community together yet again — four days, four events, and a whole lot of inspiration for designers, photographers, painters, architects, and every kind of maker in between.

SPEAKER DOUBLEHEADER
Thursday, Oct 1 from 5 to 8pm at The Wolf Den
745 E Pikes Peak Ave, Colorado Springs

Kicking things off is Trevor Kinkade. Many of you may know Trevor as a former Colorado Springs resident, but he’s recently been running his design business while traveling full-time around the world. He’s got an interesting story to tell, and we’re excited he’s back “home” for Design Week!

Our keynote speaker is the one and only Adam Vicarel! Adam runs Vicarel Studios, a multi-faceted design studio that works on everything from branding to packaging to murals. Adam has tremendous insights and a ton of advice. He’s passionate about sharing his story with the creative community, and we can’t wait for what he has to say at the event!

GRAB YOUR TICKETS HERE.
$10 Students • $20 Professionals
Seats are limited, so make sure to grab yours soon!

DECK’D OUT
A Skateboard Art Show
Friday, Oct 2 from 5 to 8pm at Coati Uprise
514 S Tejon St, Colorado Springs [we will be on the Mezzanine]

This event is free, and no RSVP is needed.

Join us on First Friday, October 2nd, for our very own Skate Deck Art Show! Deck’d Out is AIGA Colorado Springs’ first-ever skateboard deck art show, featuring original, handcrafted art from over 40 local artists.

Driven by an overarching goal to support our thriving creative community, we asked artists to bridge the gap between white wall galleries and half-pipe chaos by creating their art on blank skate decks. Artists are given complete control over their subject matter and medium, and they will take home 100% of profits from any art sold!

The show opens on October 2, and will remain up for all of October.

Hope to see you there!

DESIGN & ADVERTISING TRIVIA
Saturday, Oct 3 from 2 to 4:30pm

Cottonwood Center for the Arts
427 E Colorado Ave, Colorado Springs

Test your design and advertising knowledge with us for Design Week Trivia!

While the questions may have a design/advertising twist, they are generally meant for anyone! You DO NOT have to be an expert on design or advertising to participate and have fun.

Come by yourself or bring your own crew — there are great prizes for the winning teams!

Then, head over to the afterparty. We will go to Mash Mechanix Brewing Co ( at 429 E Pikes Peak Ave) for a chill afterparty that starts at 4:30 and goes on until whenever.

COFFEE TALK & COLOR WALK
Sunday, Oct 4 from 11am to 1pm

Start at Story Coffee, 120 E Bijou St, Colorado Springs
End at Epicentral Coworking Space,  415 N Tejon St

This event is free, and no RSVP is needed.

As we wrap up Design Week, grab a coffee and let’s find some colors!

How it works: You’ll team up with a few other peeps, pick a color swatch, and start your journey! As you explore downtown Colorado Springs, take photos of your designated color — anything that catches your eye.

We’ll reconvene at Epicentral Coworking to share our results! Meet at Story Coffee (downtown location) in Acacia Park at 11am.

“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)

It’s been a minute, hasn’t it?

Like many organizations, we’ve navigated real ups and downs over the past few years. But here’s what I want you to know: AIGA Colorado is worth fighting for. We have over 100 years of legacy behind us—our chapter alone is over 30 years old—and that’s something you don’t just let fade away.

We’re ready to find the people who want to help shape the next iteration of this professional organization.

Why Now

The world has changed. How we design has changed. You know this. But our profession’s fundamental value hasn’t. We move culture and business forward. We understand the human side: the emotion, the psychology, the nuance of color and typography, the subtle differences in cultural expression that actually move the needle in the marketplace.

This is the moment to activate that power locally.

What’s Coming

We’re hosting gatherings to reconnect with past board members, celebrate a chapter fellow’s poster collection at the Denver Art Museum, bring back the speaker series, and explore conversations around AI ethics and workflow. We’re also eager to hear what you want to experience. Because it’s your future as much as ours.

Better Together

Here’s the beautiful part: you’re not reinventing the wheel. Nationally, the organization provides playbooks, guidelines, mentorship, and a network of peers across the country.

You can host events virtually to reach practitioners nationally, or locally to create those intimate conversations that actually build community. You have support just a message, email, or dare I say, a phone call, away. The chapter has the infrastructure to make it possible with a very large reach.

And more importantly, you have local wisdom and support. Every new board member will be paired with a board mentor who was a previous board leader. We have a group who have stepped up to be your Sherpa, your guide, your support system through this. I can tell you from experience. The best part is collaborating with people you didn’t know before and seeing great things through. We will help make that happen.

The Ask

We’re not asking for perfection or burnout. The goal for the next board is 6 events per year; a sustainable rhythm that allows for quality and presence. The priority is finding a steady cadence and building professional conversations shaped around the head, heart, and hand framework to inspire our intellectual side, impact our community, and elevate our craft.

We also encourage you to co-host events with other organizations around town. AIGA Colorado is a tool to build community for our members and the design community at large. When we partner and collaborate, we amplify our impact.

Your Move

If you have ambitions to shape the Denver, Boulder, and Greater Colorado design community (the culture, the conversation, the future of the profession), this is your chance. Nominations are happening in October. We’re actively looking for people who believe this work matters and are willing to show up. A couple of hours a week.

Here’s what I know: when you bring people together with intention, create space for connection and learning, and honor the profession and the people in it… magic happens. I know you know this. We have the infrastructure, the members, the national network. All it needs is activation. All it needs is you.

Let’s Talk

Curious but not sure? Want to talk through what board membership looks like? Reach out and let’s connect you with previous board members, current leaders, and anyone who can answer your questions.

The answers are still a work in progress. This is a rebuilding moment, which means there’s real opportunity to shape what comes next. And the best work happens when people who genuinely care show up and lead together. We trust that person is reading this letter, and we can’t wait to meet you.

With excitement and gratitude.
Elysia Syriac, Charles Carpenter, Jenny Taylor, activating Denver
Colin Christie & Joseph Bullard, leading Colorado Springs

————
Ready to get involved?
Reach out at president@aigacolorado.org.
Nominations open for all positions in October.

How AIGA Colorado runs

We keep it simple. Five goals. Three event themes. Nobody does it all alone. It ladders up to our mission: AIGA advances design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force.

Nominations will open mid to late October.

Check out the roles below and read more about the Operating Framework we drafted to help shape the future and keep things simple. We are seeking a President, Treasurer, Secretary, Events Chairs, Communication Chairs, and Emerging Talent Chairs.

Everyone will get a previous chapter leader as their partner to help advise and support this fresh start.

Chapter President

Time commitment: ~8–10 hours/month · 2 year term · Volunteer

The short version

You keep the chapter pointed in the right direction and the board healthy. You’re not the person doing everything — you’re the person making sure everything has an owner.

What you’ll do

• Set annual chapter goals with the board and check in on them quarterly
• Run monthly board meetings (60–90 minutes, with an agenda, ending on time)
• Be the chapter’s liaison to AIGA National and key local partners
• Support and unblock fellow board members — remove obstacles, not add process
• Recruit and develop your successor (leadership continuity is part of the job)

You’d be great at this if you…

• Have led a team, project, or community before (title not required)
• Enjoy making others successful more than being on stage
• Can hold a long-term view while things get scrappy short-term
• Are comfortable making decisions with imperfect information

What you’ll get

A genuine leadership role in the local design community, a direct line to AIGA’s national network, and the kind of experience — board governance, partnerships, people leadership — that’s hard to get in a day job.

Treasurer

Time commitment: ~4–6 hours/month (heavier at year-end) · 2 year term · Volunteer

The short version

You keep the chapter’s money simple, visible, and boring — in the best way. No CPA license required; if you can keep a clean spreadsheet, you can do this.

What you’ll do

• Maintain the chapter budget and a one-page monthly financial snapshot
• Handle reimbursements, payments, and event ticketing revenue
• Own sponsorship invoicing and required financial reporting to AIGA National
• Flag early when an event — or the year — is trending over budget
• Help the board build toward a healthy operating reserve

You’d be great at this if you…

• Are organized and reliable with recurring tasks
• Like turning messy money questions into clear one-page answers
• Are comfortable saying “that’s not in the budget” kindly but firmly
• Have any experience with budgets, invoicing, or bookkeeping (formal or not)

What you’ll get

Real nonprofit financial management experience for your resume, insight into how sponsorships and event economics actually work, and the quiet satisfaction of being the reason the chapter never has a money scramble.

Secretary

Time commitment: ~3–5 hours/month · 2 year term · Volunteer — great first board role

The short version

You’re the chapter’s memory. Decisions, documents, and membership numbers live with you — which makes you quietly one of the most important people on the board.

What you’ll do

• Take and share board meeting notes with clear action items and owners
• Maintain the shared drive, templates, and the goal-tracking sheet
• Track membership numbers from AIGA National and report at board meetings
• Own onboarding documents so new board members can hit the ground running

You’d be great at this if you…

• Are naturally organized and enjoy a tidy shared drive
• Can distill an hour of discussion into five clear action items
• Want a meaningful board seat without a massive time commitment
• Are curious about how the whole chapter runs (you’ll see all of it)

What you’ll get

The best seat in the house for learning chapter leadership — Secretaries see every decision get made and support the whole chapter. 

Events Chairs

Time commitment: ~10–12 hours/month · 1–2 year term · Volunteer · co-chairs welcome

The short version

You’re the engine room. You turn our event calendar — balanced across talks (Head), socials (Heart), and hands-on making (Hand) — into real rooms full of real designers, about once a month.

What you’ll do

• Own the annual event calendar and keep the Head/Heart/Hand balance
• Run event logistics: venues, run-of-show, day-of coordination
• Recruit and coordinate per-event volunteer leads — you build teams, you don’t solo every event
• Run the post-event survey and share what’s working with the board
• Lock event details 3+ weeks out so Communications can promote properly

You’d be great at this if you…

• Love the moment a room fills up and the thing you planned comes alive
• Are an organized project manager under a creative exterior (or vice versa)
• Can delegate — this role fails when one person tries to do it all
• Have planned anything before: meetups, weddings, studio events, conference talks

What you’ll get

The most visible role on the board and the fastest network-builder in local design. Serious, portfolio-worthy production and leadership experience.

Emerging Talent Chairs

Time commitment: ~5–8 hours/month (spikes with the school calendar) · 1–2  year term · Volunteer · co-chairs welcome

The short version

You’re the bridge between the local design community and the people just entering it. Students and early-career designers find their way into the profession — and into this chapter — through you.

What you’ll do

• Build relationships with student design programs and their faculty
• Lead student-facing events: portfolio reviews, mentorship pairing, welcome nights
• Recruit student volunteers (our best pipeline for future board members)
• Advocate for student pricing and early-career relevance across all chapter events

You’d be great at this if you…

• Remember exactly how confusing your own school-to-work transition was
• Enjoy mentoring, teaching, or just being the person who makes intros
• Are early-to-mid career yourself, or love working with people who are
• Can work with academic calendars (September and April are your big months)

What you’ll get

Direct, visible impact on real careers — the designer whose portfolio you helped review will remember you. Plus relationships with every design program in the area, and experience building programs from scratch.

Communications Chairs

Time commitment: ~6–8 hours/month, steady rhythm · 1–2 year term · Volunteer · co-chairs welcome

The short version

You make sure people actually know what’s happening — and make the chapter look the way a design organization should. Every event lives or dies on your work.

What you’ll do

• Own the email newsletter, social channels, and event promotion
• Run a simple promo checklist per event: announce → reminder → recap
• Keep our visual identity consistent using templates (systems, not one-off heroics)
• Capture photos and recaps at events for future promotion and sponsor decks

You’d be great at this if you…

• Write clearly and can match a warm, human tone
• Think in systems and templates rather than reinventing each post
• Have run social or email for a brand, studio, side project, or yourself
• Can hold a steady drumbeat — this role rewards consistency over bursts

What you’ll get

A real audience to build (not a hypothetical one), a public portfolio of brand and content work for the design community, and the chance to shape how an AIGA chapter sounds and looks.

Design for Democracy

Design for Democracy is based on the premise that good design makes your choices clear. Join us in 2026 to help get out the vote in your community for crucial midterm elections.

Starting in 1998, AIGA’s oldest initiative has the mission to apply design tools and thinking to increase civic participation. By making interactions between the U.S. government and its citizens more understandable, efficient, and trustworthy, designers become more vocal citizens and make democracy sounder.

In 2026, we continue to advocate for civic engagement through voter education, registration, and access. We turn design skills and aspirations into tangible actions that can make a difference.

GOTV posters designed by AIGA members are available for printing and public distribution by all.

Email gotv@aiga.org to participate or head over to Design for Democracy on AIGA’s site.

Rachel Elnar is AIGA’s new President—designer, educator, and longtime community builder with over two decades of involvement in AIGA at the chapter and national level.

I’ve spent twenty-five years in this industry, and learned that none of us make it alone. Believe me, I’ve tried.

I have the group chats to prove it—the same handful of people who’ve shown up every time things got bad, like the time a client said something that gutted me, or that deadline that I missed when the power cut out mid-project, a very specific kind of rage I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

And the bigger one: watching my whole team get laid off, myself included, when the org that absorbed us decided the whole program I’d built didn’t need to exist. None of it made losing that job hurt less. But the people who supported me made it bearable. That’s the whole thing, really.

If you’re having a good year, I’m genuinely glad. Keep it going. If you’re not, and your team’s shrunk from six to two, or you flinch a little every time another “open to work” post appears in your feed, you were never meant to carry that alone. I’ve tried gritting my teeth and handling it myself. Mostly it just makes me tired and a little crabby at dinner.

Even a month into my presidency, I keep noticing the same pattern: people choosing each other on purpose. One new chapter board member joined right in the middle of his own job search, not despite it. Another came back after years away and told me: “I missed this too much to stay gone.” Nobody’s getting anything out of this except each other—the people who lead it, and the people who just show up because they need somewhere to be.

So here’s what I’m actually tending to this month: not a strategy, not an initiative, not yet. Right now, I want AIGA to feel like one of your group chats—the kind where someone notices you’ve gone quiet and actually texts back “you good?” instead of just wondering.

What’s one true thing about how this year has felt for you? Not the LinkedIn version, although I love LinkedIn. We’d love to know.

Till next month,
Rachel

Behind every happy hour meetup, Art Walk, remote-work campout, and Design Week is a group of people quietly (and not-so-quietly) making it happen. That’s the AIGA Colorado Springs Board — a mix of designers, creatives, and community-builders who are working to connect, support, and grow the local design scene.

They are a subgroup of the state-wide chapter that have been crushing it the past few years.

Their goal isn’t just “networking” (gross, we know). It’s building real relationships and a design community that people actually want to be part of. So, in that spirit, we thought it was time for a proper introduction. Here’s who’s steering the ship this year.

Meet Adam

Adam is a community builder and vintage enthusiast. He’s a wannabe fashion icon, classic car and motorcycle lover, and appreciator of the arts and inappropriate jokes. He’s the co-founder of Wolf & Key Marketing, The Wolf Den, and Boulder Street Moto. He serves on several boards and committees in the Pikes Peak region in an effort to make life about more than just working. His latest venture is the People of Colorado Springs Podcast, where he sits down with a local badass to chat over a drink.

Meet Colin

Colin began his design career way too late in life (he was 25). While he doesn’t have a design degree, the communication arts are in his blood as he holds a BA in Theater. He serves as creative director at Neon Pig, which he co-founded in 2018. Colin is primarily a brand & print designer, copywriter, and illustrator. He is married to Kristi, and no, she did not take his last name.

Meet Joseph

Joseph is an independent designer, educator, and host of the Students of Design podcast, and he cares deeply about helping creative communities grow. Before moving to Colorado, he worked as a Senior Designer at Dell and spent seven years teaching at Austin Community College. Now, he brings that same passion to AIGA Colorado Springs. Outside of design, he loves playing Skee-Ball, brutally difficult video games, and camping with his partner, Meg, and their dog, Renly Barkatheon.

Meet Jesse

Jesse is a stranger-to-none creative with a heart for people & passion for design. He’s an ACD at Marketing for Change, where he’s led breakthrough campaigns for the past 10 years. He’s also been freelancing even longer, focusing on branding, typography, and illustration. You can usually spot him in a crowd, either by his height, tattoos, or a hotdog in his hand.

Meet Drew

Drew is an independent brand designer working under the name Impossibly Awesome Design Co. When he’s not being distracted by well-designed store signage he just walked by or diving into the comments about the latest corporate rebrand, you’ll find him playing in a beach volleyball league, traveling, and hunting down that next great slice of pizza.

Meet Don

Don is the CEO of Upward Creatives, a nationwide creative agency specializing in brand identity, video, and photography. He is also the founder of BiZ Adventures, a community driven platform that highlights local businesses through storytelling and video interviews. Passionate about building community in Colorado, Don enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and son, exploring trails, throwing rocks, and helping keep nature clean.

Meet Katie

Katie is a graphic designer, illustrator, and muralist. She is the founder of AIGA COS’s Work from the Woods and loves to encourage others to get outside in any way they can. In her free time, you may find Katie downhill mountain biking, hiking, playing sand volleyball, or van-life-ing in the Colorado Wilderness. She has two fur-babies, Lil’ White and JuneBug.

Meet Kelly

Kelly brings years of experience in licensed toys and games, creating playful packaging and product art for brands like Nickelodeon, Disney Jr., Mattel, and Sanrio. She is a full-time, remote Design Manager at hand2mind, a Chicago-based educational product manufacturer, overseeing all digital and print creative for the Numberblocks brand. In her free time, Kelly loves spending time outdoors with her dog, Stanley, or curating the perfect music playlist for any occasion.

Meet Sophia

Sophia is a graphic designer and illustrator, and she’s lived in Colorado Springs for 13 years now. She loves creative work that allows her to combine her design and illustration skills — stuff like merch, branding, and posters of her favorite movies. Outside of work, she likes to draw, write stories, play video games, and go on hikes.

Meet Hector

Hector is a recent graduate from PPSC with a focus in multimedia graphic design. He specializes in branding, layout, and digital marketing, creating clean and impactful visuals. Outside of work, Hector enjoys spending time outdoors with his dog Moose and unwinding by scrolling through social media, collecting vinyl records, and playing Pokémon GO.

That’s Us

Ten different backgrounds, ten different design specialties, and one shared goal: making Colorado Springs a better place to be a creative. Whether it’s a podcast, a mural, a rebrand, or a campout in the woods, this board shows up for the local design community in ways that go way beyond a business card exchange.

Want to be part of it? Come say hi at the next event, follow along on Instagram @aigacos, or reach out about getting more involved. We’d love to meet you.

We invite you to be a part of our Coffee Talks series. In this Coffee Talk we’ll be focusing on the diverse world of creative professions. In this edition, we’ll delve into the exciting realms of graphic design, advertising, public relations, and other related fields. Come join the conversation, as we explore the various career opportunities, trends, and intricacies these industries have to offer. Don’t miss this chance to engage, learn, and be inspired!