Message From The President

Nationally, we find ourselves drawn to the forums of debate and discussion that accompany our 2008 Presidential election. At AIGA Chicago, 2008 marks the change to a new board president, development chair, editorial chair and programming chair.

While leaders may change, it is the daily events that surround each of us, individually and collectively, that prove to be most relevant and ubiquitous. Over the last few years, national alliances and balances of power have shifted under pressure from the voices of many, and the voices of few. Maps and boundaries that we have long taken for granted have been redrawn. Economically, we’ve moved in and perhaps out of recession. Stock bubbles have been replaced by housing bubbles. Global markets appear less predictable than ever before. Culturally, the news is lead by amateurs just as often as it is by professional journalists and editors. Oil prices have reached levels not seen since the oil embargo of the 1970’s, when the price of oil quadrupled to 55 cents per gallon. Consumers have raised their awareness and concern for the environment while grappling with how to curb large-scale consumption and a “throw away” mentality.

Breeze through any media channel and Iran, Iraq, Gaza, Darfur, China, and Afghanistan intermix seamlessly with iPod, celebrity, organic and sub-prime. In the news, we move between global and local in a fraction of a second, from life changing to trivial in a blink of an eye. And yet, we need to keep our bearings, understand what is significant, move beyond illusion, and create meaning for our future.

In comparison to the world at large, you might think that our industry is calm and relatively stable. However, we are a fragmented industry under significant pressure to change. Consider how technology has affected the way in which we work — extending our reach but narrowing our focus. Consider how software blends production and design while isolating the skills needed for production from those needed to design. In each case, technology plays a strong role in changing what clients want and what the market will support as a fair price for service. To cover these diverse needs, designers have evolved to include a range of talent, education, skills and experience that is deeper and broader than ever before. Consequently the practice of design is evolving. The mix and type of work done is shifting. Traditional support bases like printing and paper are consolidating to fuel growth while new support bases are emerging. Design practices have become both larger and smaller, with some gathering in-house at corporations and others extending themselves further out in the market to include a broader and more diverse range of individuals.

Compared to national and global events, the pressure for our industry to change may seem quiet and subtle because it’s not blaring from the evening news and splashed across the front pages of newspapers and magazines. For that, we are lucky. Given our own devices and forums like AIGA Chicago, we are positioned, collectively and individually, to face our challenges and find a meaningful path forward using our connections and awareness, rather than a sound bite, as our guide.

With all that is going on around you, you don’t have to have all the answers, vote for the right party or divine the future to thrive. Here, among friends, we offer a far simpler alternative for each member of AIGA Chicago — we ask you simply to engage.

Engage with 1,600 professionals who are committed to what they do, participate in over 25 programs a year, and profit from a wide range of speakers and topics aimed at all levels of your design career. Connect with over 40 year-long and event-specific sponsors from paper, print, technology and talent businesses that generously choose to support designers both in the services we provide to clients everyday, and in how we grow and develop our businesses and industry over time.

Through the generosity of sponsors, the dedication of the board, and the commitment of countless volunteers, AIGA Chicago continues to grow stronger and more stable in the midst of change. In the last three years, our membership has increased to include over 300 new members, our operating income has almost doubled, and the scope of our programs continues to expand. Our business series has been rich with executive insights from Christie Hefner of Playboy, Katrina Markoff of Vosges Haut-Chocolat and Jake Nickell and Jeffery Kalmikoff of Threadless. Complimenting the executive and entrepreneur point-of-view, our Tools of the Trade program covers practical daily concerns like business management, software and technology content and systems. We are opening doors to design firms all over the city so that each of us can experience an in-depth view into the business practices of our peers through the Small Talk Series. And we are providing a vision for future careers in design to promising Chicago high school students through our partnership with the Chicago Public Schools Education to Careers program.

We want to help you engage and stay connected. To that end, AIGA Chicago has also developed our systems to extend your conversations and connections beyond programs. We have re-designed aigachicago.org with a wider range of content and stronger structural and back-end capabilities. Every AIGA Chicago member will now have a clearer voice through individual blogs and profiles. Greater resources. More visibility. Better interaction. New opportunities. Engaging is simple. If you’ve missed some of the outstanding programs produced last year, make time for one or two this year. If you know someone that should be a member, invite that person to participate or join. If you haven’t visited the site lately, log in to aigachicago.org to see what’s new and start a conversation. You will find us here, no matter what else changes around you.

While AIGA Chicago has grown and changed with the times, we remain true to our original spirit and purpose — to bring together and engage a diverse community of Chicago designers. We have always come together, in times of growth and decline, in times of learning and refinement. Today, we come together to find our way through uncertainties and change so that we can actively create future opportunities and enrich design in Chicago.

Personally, over the last three years of my tenure as President of AIGA Chicago, I have been fortunate to work and connect with so many talented members of our community — including our board, our advisory board, individual members, speakers and sponsors. I have welcomed the opportunity to contribute. And I continue to find that each time I give, I receive far more back. Engaging pays dividends. Thank you all for the opportunity.

Change is in the air. I look forward to what’s next.

– Tim Bruce, AIGA Chicago President 2005-2008