2015 marks the third year of AIGA Boston’s annual Launch Party!
The Launch is a chance for members to connect with the chapter’s board, meet volunteers, and learn about events and initiatives for the coming year. This year’s launch was hosted by District Hall in the Seaport District.
AIGA President Mat Budelman welcoming guests (Photo: Margaret Wang)
Initiatives included:
Alisa Aronson represented YouthDesign, a program empowering talented urban teens to pursue a path to higher education and promising equitable careers by engaging the professional design community to mentor, educate, train, and employ the next generation. YouthDesign is interviewing students for this summer’s program Saturday, April 25 at MassArt.
Alisa Aronson introduces YouthDesign (Photo: Margaret Wang)
Nick Di Stefano, Director of Education for AIGA Boston, talked about student chapters and the upcoming student portfolio review on Saturday, April 25. If you would like to be a reviewer this year, contact Nick for more information. Stonehill College will also be holding our first student chapter meet-up on Sunday, March 22.
Jason Stevens, VP of Operation for AIGA Boston, introduced the theme of this year’s DxB: People First. Entering its third year, DxB is a two-day design and innovation conference in September dedicated to celebrating the impact of design. The DxB experience explores the ideas, work, and strategies currently shaping our culture. Past speakers have included Eddie Opara, Brian Singer, and Tobias van Schneider. As part of the party, panels were set up where people could post what the theme meant to them. Follow DxB get updates and tickets when they become available.
DxB volunteers and boards (Photo: Margaret Wang)
Jen Odegaard and Nathan Pyritz discussed the Design for Good initiative. Design for Good is driven to implement and teach design thinking for sustainable, social change. It creates new opportunities for designers to engage with local organizations, produce actionable solutions with long-term impact, and build their own practice and visibility through new interactions. If you’re a design professional and would like to be a part of the Design for Good initiative, please contact: designforgood@boston.aiga.org
Laura Grey, AIGA Boston board member and faculty at Boston University, covered the Future/History and Take it From Me series. Future/History, a lecture series hosted at BU, engages the voices defining contemporary graphic design. Bringing together established masters and rising stars in the field, the series considers the future of visual communication. The next installment is Thursday, February 19, 2015. Designer, programmer, and author Ben Fry (of Fathom) joins fellow designer, programmer, and educator Casey Reas for a very special evening examining the relationship between technology, media and the visual arts. Learn more and register now!
Student Chapter members (Photo: Margaret Wang)
Take it From Me gives students and emerging professionals the opportunity to interact with established professionals in the design field. This initiative will encourage engagement and discussion through a range of events—including workshops, panel discussions, roundtables, lectures, networking events, studio tours, online activities, etc.—that address different aspects of the design discipline. Past segments have covered how to photograph and document your work (with Adam DeTour) and how to work with printers (with Ambit Creative). The next one will cover how to make a great impression, hosted by Moo Boston.
This March will have our Eduction by Design night. A panel of designers and education professionals will discuss how design methods can be used as a model for fostering collaboration, problem solving, and critical thinking in classrooms. Panelists will offer their expertise on various applications of design thinking in education, and how it can be used to engage students, while putting process and perseverance back at the center of student work. Register to attend.
(Photo: Margaret Wang)
Thanks again to everyone who braved the weather (#BOSnow) to join us, and thanks to the team at District Hall!
Couldn’t make it? Tell us what you’re thinking of! We want to connect with you and see what we can do together. Contact us at info@boston.aiga.org
