Event Desription

For the fourth installment of the 2007 season, AIGA Chicago Small Talks visits Liska + Associates, a strategic brand and communication design firm.

Liska + Associates specialize in comprehensive brand programs that often include research, naming, logo design, editorial direction, development of brand guidelines, and application of the visual and verbal style to a wide variety of media including print, packaging, web and advertising.

Event Summary

The Fourth Small Talk was hosted by Liska + Associates on Thursday, July 24. Steve Liska prefaced the event by informing everyone, "I'm used to doing this for students. I'm a little nervous about presenting to peers." From that point forward, any further hint of diffidence was undetectable in what was a very entertaining and thought-provoking presentation.

Liska is very articulate and likewise, this is the skill he prizes most: "Design is subjective and hard to understand, so we [designers] need to learn how to talk about it -- and not in the language of design... We have to work around the push to dumb things down and to keep bringing the standards up." Increasing the value of design in society hinges on our ability to position ourselves as authorities and successfully communicate its value to our clients.

Liska focused less on the minutia of his company and client base and more on his personal thoughts on topics ranging from the outsourcing of design to the viewership of "Dancing with the Stars." The night felt more like a lecture on the state of design and communication than a Small Talk, yet one left with a very clear impression of where his business is coming from and more importantly, where it is headed.

Sponsors: Artisan, Dupli-Graphic, Getty Images