(VOTING IS NOW CLOSED)

AIGA DFW Members and Friends,

After many years of serving our robust local design community, I am excited to share with you a new direction that we’ve planned for a strong new future, with continued growth for our chapter and reimagined opportunities for creative professionals in DFW.

But before jumping ahead, I need to extend deep gratitude to those whose tireless dedication kept AIGA DFW kicking during rough times. Through pandemic confusion and the several arduous years of restructuring that followed, a skeleton crew kept our chapter running smoothly, wearing a silly number of hats at any given time to keep our programs alive. Secretary, Mentor Event Chair, Director of Membership, Chair of The Deck, and Copy Editor? Check ✔️. It’s hard to express how much appreciation I have for the determined and loyal leaders who’ve brought us here (but the next time you see Linda Joseph or Brett Yanoski, do offer a handshake and a well-deserved ‘thank you’). To our unwavering members, generous partners, and community friends, thank you greatly for the continued support.

We’ve made it, we’re stronger for it, and man are we ever excited to move on! We have regrown our team, revamped our events calendar, and reslated the AIGA DFW Board of Directors. It is my privilege to introduce you to our 2024-2026 Board Slate:

Rosilyn Rayborn | Slated for President
Rosilyn is the Vice President of Strategy & Design for Citi. She has held past positions as Creative Director at BrandCory and as the Vice President of Brand & Creative Services at Associa. After volunteering with AIGA DFW as a mentor for several years, both before and through the pandemic, her robust leadership history and contagiously bright-yet-direct personality have made her an inimitable candidate for our chapter’s next President.

Linda Varghese Joseph | Slated for Vice President of Operations
Linda is a Creative Director for Corgan, and previously worked in the Digital Design Department at Fossil for fifteen years. She began volunteering with AIGA DFW in 2017, and served as our Director of Diversity & Inclusion for four years, running many events and diversity in design content campaigns, before accepting a position on our Executive Board of Directors as Secretary in 2022. Linda has chaired over a dozen events and was the Jackie of all trades on our team through the funky pandemic fallout. She has emerged safely on the other side with unrivaled deftness, and I cannot imagine a more qualified candidate to serve as the VP of Ops.

Crissanka Christadoss | Slated for Director of Partnerships & Treasury
Beyond her work as a Client Manager for Pulse, Crissanka has a long history of service leadership for nonprofit organizations, with particular experience in partnerships, grant writing, and other financial matters. While her personal background is not in design, she loves supporting the creative community. We learned that Crissanka also wields expertise in both marketing and program / event management, and we knew she belonged with us. We’re enthused by this opportunity to channel her energy and ingenuity into our partnerships.

Ana Ponce | Slated for Director of Community
For several years, Ana has served as a member of our comms team: designing art, crafting motion graphics, and revamping our social media presence. During college, she served on the AIGA UTA Student Group Board, completing a year as the organization’s President after serving a term as the group’s Director of Membership. There’s so much AIGA love, community spirit, and creative vision alive in Ana. We couldn’t be more excited to unleash her passion for growing an environment of creative camaraderie as our Director of Community.

Jenna Bradford | Slated for Director of Communications
Since joining the AIGA DFW team to serve as Marketing Chair last year, Jenna has impressed us with copy writing, wowed us with innovative communications ideas, and given our creative protocols a proper facelift. She is the Director of User Experience for Falkon Technologies, and her work for our organization has consistently featured an unflinching can-do attitude and striking eye for detail. Jenna’s professional experience, clever ideas, and penchant for iterating make her a shoe-in to join our Board as the next Director of Communications.

If you are a member of our chapter, kindly give one more minute of your time to vote online (VOTING IS NOW CLOSED). Vote to show your support for the new team. Vote because you’re excited for a brighter future. Vote to help me retire from the presidency! Vote just to show us that you read this far, or vote to let us know that you don’t support this slate (and then use the comment field to share why, so that your voice can be heard). Vote because we legally need our members to ratify our new board slate so that we can begin an amazing next phase for you, for us, and for the community.

Pending member approval, our new board slate will begin working immediately with our dedicated team of stellar program chairs, including:

• Ayumi Anderson, The Deck Chair
• Pamela Shelby, Student Groups Chair
• Claudia De La Garza, Onsite Experience Chair
• Jeremy Johnson, UX Events Chair
• Miranda Mabery, Professional Development Chair

And then, with the blessing of our members, Brett Yanoski and I will step away from the Executive Team and onto the Advisory Board with Gus Granger, Dawn Davidson, Willie Baronet, and Holly Aguilar.

With appreciation,

Loryn O’Donnell
President
AIGA DFW

Exciting news, DFW community! We’ve found a new spot to call home at Spencer + Company! AIGA DFW is all about creating spaces where design thrives for everyone and fostering a strong sense of community, and Spencer + Company perfectly aligns with our vision.

For over 46 years, from start to finish, Spencer + Company has got everything covered when it comes to commercial interiors. They provide expert design, planning, project management, furniture procurement, installation, maintenance, and even relocation services.

“Our crew at AIGA DFW is so honored to find our new home with Spencer + Company,” said Loryn O’Donnell, President of AIGA DFW. “They have this impressive dedication to finding innovative design solutions for the commercial interior industry that really mirrors our own commitment to fostering creativity and community. We love collaborating with locally owned businesses that share our values and vision. With this new relationship, it’s a gift to be reminded that design truly unites us.”

So please join us in celebrating our new home and partner, Spencer + Company! Cheers to collaboration, inspiration, and a bright future ahead!

Learn more about AIGA DFW and our upcoming events at aigadfw.org.

Learn more about Spencer + Company’s interior design solutions or relocation services at spencerandco.com.

Our 2024 Calendar of Events is LIVE! Take a look at some of the exciting events we have coming this year and save the dates!

From UX Roundtables to fan-favorite, The Deck, we can’t wait to share another year of inspiring design with you! Check out the events below:

January

27 – Design Student MiniCon

February

22 – UX Roundtables

March

19 – AIGA + DSVC: Design Trivia Night

April

11 – The Deck 2024 Kickoff Party

May

30 – The Artrepreneur’s Toolbox

August

22 – UX Design Workshop: Figma Unbound

September

7 – Student Group Leadership Luncheon
19 – Get Unstuck! Career Advisory Convos

October

10 – Design Community Meeting
26 – Hand Lettering Workshop

November

21 – The Deck 2024 Reveal Party

December

7 – Poster Show

AIGA DFW is powered by its membership, whose continued commitment strengthens our local design community and advances our craft at a national level. The Board of Directors would like to recognize this year’s membership milestones:

10 Years

• Leah Francis
• Guy Garrett

5 Years

• Mark Baker-Sanchez 
• Claudia De La Garza 
• Amelia Leicht
• Roxanne Minnish 
• Jessica Molina 
• Anna Phengsakmueang 

Thank you for your membership.

AIGA DFW is calling for passionate community members to join us in 2024, with opportunities to join our Board of Directors in both leadership and program chair roles. As our current leadership terms come to an end, we look forward to meeting and onboarding a new generation of leaders. 

Our board members are everyday people with design team leadership experience who commit to serving the local design community for minimum 2 year terms.

Now is your opportunity to do the same. If you’re interested in joining a team dedicated to supporting designers at every stage of their careers and developing a community where design thrives for everyone, check out the many positions that are necessary to keep us fully functional from year to year. Then, email your resume and/or LinkedIn profile to secretary@aigadfw.org with a note regarding the position(s) you find most interesting and applicable to your skillset.

Why volunteer leadership? AIGA is a network of enthusiastic design professionals that span all areas of visual communication from graphic design to UX design to print production. If you’re just showing up to events, you’re not getting the most out of us. Volunteering is the surest path to building relationships with design leaders both in Dallas and across the country, and you’ll have an opportunity to found new programs and make a noticeable difference locally while doing it.

If you’re interested in learning more about filling one of these roles at AIGA DFW, please email secretary@aigadfw.org. We look forward to meeting you and discussing the possibilities.

Interested in nominating someone else to be considered for our Board of Directors? Email secretary@aigadfw.org.

We often talk about “Design for Good,” thinking mainly of designing a logo or creating a website for a non-profit, or perhaps providing design education for underprivileged children, like our friends at DSGN FOR US. When I first started thinking about how AIGA DFW could get involved in our community and answer a need that a lot of our members are hungry for, I thought about partnering with organizations that were already making an impact — and of course we plan to continue doing that. However, like all “problems” that need “solutions,” I let my mind sleep on it, ruminate, and come back to it again. 

What I came up with was not an answer, but a question: “Why can’t ‘design for good’ also be ‘designERS for good’?” Just creative humans collaborating to do good for other humans; our design community making a difference in our local community.

So, to close the year with a big impact, and in the holiday spirit of giving, we’re inviting designers to make a real difference and be part of the change they want to see in the world. AIGA DFW is excited to invite you to a happy hour where we will hear from Artist and Professor, Willie Baronet, founder of We Are All Homeless, and co-director and producer of the award-winning documentary “Signs of Humanity.” At the event, we will craft inspirational messages and stuff care packages to hand out to those most in need in our community—the homeless. Afterwards, participants can take these bags and spread goodness out into our community.

This is a big task, and there are many needs to make an impact of this magnitude. We plan on making hundreds of these “care bags” and we can’t do it alone. We’re asking for our design community’s help. You. We’re talking to you! Just showing up can be part of the small way that we make a big difference.

We are seeking partners to help us make this happen!  Want to partner with us to make a difference? 

Click here to see our partnership levels.

Have other ideas about how AIGA DFW can make an impact for the good of our community? I would love to hear from you! Reach out to community@aigadfw.org.

It comes as no surprise to many that the design industry in the U.S. does not accurately reflect the diversity of this country in terms of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and many other factors. But did you know that as of 2019 – thirty years after the first AIGA Design Census highlighted the fact that the design industry was 93% white – non-white designers still only make up 27% of the industry? This lack of diversity is a result of the design industry being slow to change to reflect the diversity of the U.S. population. But how can design studios and the design industry as a whole increase their diversity?

AIGA DFW’s Path to Impact workshop

At a recent AIGA DFW workshop focused on Diversity in Design, I helped lead a breakout group through design thinking exercises as participants learned the Path to Impact framework. Path to Impact is a five-step framework that helps designers have a positive impact through design by teaching users to always work with a specific beneficiary in mind, stay inclusive throughout the process, have measurable courses of action, and consider any consequences of your decisions. The workshop was led by Gage Mitchell (he/him), co-creator of the Path to Impact framework, former President’s Council Chair for AIGA as well as the Principal and Creative Director at Modern Species, a strategic branding and responsible design studio in Seattle, Washington. I am grateful for his time and effort in making this workshop a reality. 

The state of diversity in design

The workshop was formatted into two parts, with the first being a brief presentation introducing participants to the Path to Impact framework and the state of diversity in the design field in four areas of focus: education, workplace, those impacted by design, and community. During this time, my co-facilitators and I also shared statistics such as the ones mentioned at the beginning of this article. I presented on the topic of diversity in the design workplace, including statistics like the fact that 53.4% of designers are women, yet men are still overrepresented in leadership positions – with only 11% of women designers holding leadership positions.¹

Breakout sessions: envisioning our impact

Afterwards, participants broke out into smaller groups to experience the process themselves by working through the first step of the framework: Envision. During this breakout session, participants worked with an imaginary beneficiary. My group had the profile of a design agency co-owner, Alexandra, who valued diversity in her field and wanted to ensure she had a wide-ranging pool of applicants and employees. 

Through the process of brainstorming about the problems Alexandra was facing, the desired outcome, and potential ways to get to these outcomes, our group came up with the following activities that Alexandra would need to commit to in order to interview and hire more diverse candidates for her company. These activities and our discussions around them offer valuable insights for all design organizations that want to emphasize the importance of diversity and improve their hiring practices.

1. Educate current employees and stakeholders

In order to emphasize the importance of diversity and improve their hiring practices, Alexandra’s company must educate employees and especially those stakeholders who are in hiring roles. The hiring process and the selection of a final candidate can be influenced by the perspective and biases of the hiring manager. My group came to this conclusion through discussing our own experiences with the hiring process, including several members of our group who were students and had experience interviewing for internship positions. 

One example a member of my group brought up was a hiring manager who had only ever used a personal vehicle to commute might not understand the struggles faced by a candidate who relies on public transportation to come to work. However, we agreed that whether or not a candidate has a car does not influence the quality of their design work or the unique perspectives they could bring to Alexandra’s company.

2. Emphasize the importance of diversity to the field of design

Another concept we discussed was that even lower level employees who are not in a position to interview or hire new employees should be brought into conversations about the importance of diversity in the design workplace. One workshop participant shared how she had been in environments where the higher-up employees understand the importance of diversity in design, but her fellow workers did not seem to have been exposed to this concept.

An example we came up with was how an employee who went to a traditional, four-year, predominantly white design school in the U.S. might have different visual tastes then an employee who grew up in Indonesia and was exposed to different design movements during their education at a 2-year design program. However, both employees bring valuable contributions and unique visual styles to the table at Alexandra’s company and neither educational or cultural background nor visual style should be considered to be the default or the more correct way to approach design.

3. Make sure there will be a welcoming environment for any new hires.

Finally, we discussed that ensuring the work environment is welcoming to new employees is essential to Alexandra’s goals. Alexandra’s company is off to a good start if current employees (including stakeholders and lower-level employees) are educated and shown the importance of diversity in the industry. However, if a new employee is hired and they don’t feel welcomed at the company, then it may have been for nothing. An unwelcome employee may end up having a short tenure at the company. 

It is likely that we have all had experiences in a work or school environment that made us feel unwelcome or undervalued and are familiar with the feelings this can bring up. By making an effort to welcome new employees and show that their work and perspectives are valued, Alexandra’s company will be well on their way to diversifying their talent pool.

Our conclusions

These three activities all support my group’s main conclusion and the concept we chose to share with the rest of the workshop attendees at the end of the breakout session – that if a company wants to interview and hire more diverse employees, there must first be an internal cultural shift that takes place. This ensures that any interview candidates and potential employees are able to see this as a company that values every employee and their unique perspectives. It makes the company more attractive to candidates from different backgrounds, tying into the idea emphasized by the Path to Impact framework that you must always design with a specific beneficiary in mind – in this case, those who have traditionally been underrepresented in the Western design community. 

One of the biggest points Gage taught during the workshop was that good design requires context, and that it was important to keep one’s beneficiaries in mind when designing for good. If a design organization wants to hire more diverse employees, they must start with understanding that they already are designing for a diverse population, and it is up to them to reflect this in their values.

Additional resources

If you’d like to learn more about using design to make a positive impact on your community, AIGA DFW has Path to Impact workbooks available for purchase online at https://dallas.aiga.org/shop/. 

Sources:

1. Data USA – https://datausa.io/profile/soc/designers
2. AIGA x Google 2019 Design Census – www.typeroom.eu/article/automation-threat-gender-pay-gap-evident-2019-aiga-design-census-reveals

The AIGA DFW board is proud of the chapter’s several university student groups and consistently impressed by the work that student group leaders do for their college creative communities.

Without their dedication, our student groups and the services they offer to design program communities would not be possible. We are excited to announce the installation of commencement medals for each graduate who:

• has served a full school year (2 or more semesters) in an executive board leadership position (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Communications, Membership) for their AIGA DFW student group.
• is an active and good-standing member of their AIGA DFW student group at the time of graduation.

Participation in AIGA Student Groups and the accompanying activities encourages students to take early steps to commit themselves to success in the design profession. Further participation by taking on a student group board position deepens this commitment as student leaders go above and beyond with respect to their work – a rewarding endeavor that will serve them in all of their future endeavors. 

Cody Swanson, former event chair for AIGA DFW, advocates for the student group leadership from his own time as an officer. “My time as Membership Director for AIGA UTA was an awesome and enriching experience that helped me develop my leadership skills and participate in the design community in a more meaningful way,” said Swanson. “In my career since graduating, I have been able to put into practice the valuable lessons I learned, such as communication, organization, and project planning.” 

AIGA DFW’s new student group leadership medals highlight that level of commitment to college creatives’ community. Through these medals, AIGA DFW celebrates success, commends dedication, and embraces student leaders as a vital part of our thriving design community. We are honored to share in the achievements of our hard-working students, and are committed to furthering and supporting the future of design.

The AIGA DFW board always looks for ways to improve the value of membership. For that reason, we are happy to change the price you pay for events based on the AIGA membership levels.

Membership levels are simpler than ever before and give better discounts to more members. This discount will make most events FREE for all members who have been in the industry 5 years or more. Leader levels even get to bring a friend or colleague at no cost, too.

*Based on the non-member ticket fee for most events, $20.

What about Students?

We offer special pricing to both Students and Student-Members! Please be prepared to show your valid Student ID at check-in when you register under this ticket option.

**Based on the non-member ticket fee for most events, $20.

Want to come for Free? Volunteer!

One of the many benefits of volunteering for AIGA DFW is that you get to attend almost all events for free. Members can volunteer or serve on the board.

To become a volunteer, email volunteer@aigadfw.org.

Have a passion project you’re excited to share? Perhaps some new things have been in the works and you’re eager to show them to the world? AIGA DFW would love to spread the word about the great things our members are up to. Submit 3 to 5 showcase-ready images of a design that you would like us to consider for the spotlight on our social media channels as part of Member Mondays.

Guidelines

1. The work submitted must be original and you must have the rights/permission to share it.
2. You may upload up to five images of one project per submission for consideration.
3. Include your social handles and website for us to tag!

Visit this link and submit your top work today!