AIGA Houston: 2013 Recap

2013 was a very good year for AIGA Houston. Over 34 events, from lectures, to workshops, a regional conference for in-house design, from inspirational speakers sharing design insights from global brands such as Facebook, Target, Wired Magazine, to local creatives sharing their success stories and insights with the Houston design community. We started the year off with 329 members and close it with 546 members.

The year marks several milestones for the chapter; we had successive attendance records set and broken with various speaker events throughout the year. The Houston chapter launched a highly successful mentorship program, Design Loop, pairing recent design graduates with experienced professionals within the Houston design community and offering a highly engaged framework and exclusive curated programming to equip young designers with the tools and insights they’ll need to succeed in a very competitive profession.


Video courtesy of Hakaya Art

Also AIGA Houston pulled off its first ever Houston Design Week, developing a lineup of over 9 design related events this past September to connect Houston’s dynamic design and creative community, with lectures, exhibitions, workshops, film screenings, morning discussions and more. In addition, the chapter forged new partnerships with various organizations and institutions (CAMH, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Asia Society Texas Center)  to help bridge gaps within the creative community here in Houston and to promote design and design thinking in this great city.

A question that came up again and again (and again!) in 2013: “What are you guys going to do in 2014?” At first the question was a bit intimidating, 2013 would be a very hard act to follow. But the board has had the better part of six months to ponder the question and 2014 will prove to be a very exciting phase for the chapter, we have a lot of exciting new initiatives and speaker events underway and a lot of manpower to help bring them to fruition. In addition, AIGA Houston has a multitude of existing event series and annual events that we are still committed to and seeking ways to improve in 2014 (be sure to fill out the post-event surveys!).

One theme that will definitely occupy the forefront of AIGA Houston’s agenda in 2014: Serving our membership like never before.  

AIGA Houston events in 2013: 

February 21st Ben Barry

April 18, Portfolio Review

May 16th, Jessica Hische

June 20th, Shop Talk: Workhorse Printmakers

July 27th, Stefan Sagmeister and Marian Bantjes

August 17th, Armin Vit

September 5th, Andrew Blauvelt

Summer 2013: Design Loop: AIGA Houston’s Mentorship Program

September 19th, Houston Design Week: Jonathan Hoefler

September 20th, Houston Design Week: Trivia Night

September 21st, Houston Design Week: Family Day at CAMH

September 22nd, Houston Design Week: Coffee & Content

September 23rd, Houston Design Week: Grounds for Discussion

September 24th, Houston Design Week: Sign Painters Film Screening

September 25th, Houston Design Week: Good F*cking Design Advice

September 26th, Houston Design Week: Aaron Draplin

September 27th, Houston Design Week: Aaron Draplin Logo Workshop

October 22nd, UHGAP Main Event

November 9th, Inside Job 2013: One-day Conference for In-house Design

November 14th, Small Talk: Houston Zoo

December 5th, Member Holiday Party

December 7th, Design Craft 2013

None of these events would be possible without the amazing support of our members, sponsors, volunteers, committee members and board of directors.

Special thanks goes out to: Khalil Abusharekh, Daniel Atkinson, Claudia de Almeida, Jason Bacher, Marian Bantjes, Alex Barber, Ben Barry, Andrew Blauvelt, Brian Buirge, Michelle Coffey, Will Cunningham, Tim deSilva, Aaron Draplin, John Earles, Daren Guillory, Jessica Hische, Jonathan Hoefler, Thomas Hull, Jill Hunter, Bennett Peji, Allan Peters, Stefan Sagmeister, Jackie Schaffer, Robin Tooms, Kirsten Ufer, and Armin Vit.

Also a special thanks to all of our partner organizations and in-kind sponsors:
MMI Agency, BrandExtract, The Museum of Print History, Workhorse Printmakers, Axiom, Bayon Creative, Clampitt Paper, Unleaded Communications, Start Houston, AIA Houston, Houston Zoo, Market Square Park, MFAH, CAMH, Asia Society Texas Center, The Tinderbox, Kraftsmen Bakery, OKRA Charity Bar, The Flat, Brazos Bookstore, La Colombe d’Or Hotel, The Black Labrador, The Chelsea Grill, The Continental Club, Rigsby Hull, Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co, Sundance Cinemas, Hakaya Art,

 

By John Luu
Published December 19, 2013
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