American Institute of Graphic Arts

The American Institute of Graphic Arts, also called AIGA, is a special group for people who work in design. Its members create many kinds of designs that help us share ideas, like posters, websites, and logos. They work in areas such as graphic design, creating letters in special ways, making things work on computers, and helping people use products easily.

This group wants to make sure all designers follow good rules and do their best work. Today, AIGA has more than 25,000 members and many groups in schools and cities all across the United States. In 2005, the group changed its name to AIGA, the professional association for design, so it could include every kind of design work.

History

In 1911, three people named Frederic Goudy, Alfred Stieglitz, and W. A. Dwiggins talked about starting an organization for people who love communication design. On November 12, 1913, John G. Agar, the president of the National Arts Club, announced the creation of The American Institute of Graphic Arts. The National Arts Club helped form a committee to organize the group, which officially started in 1914. William B. Howland became the first president. The goal was to support and improve the graphic design profession by creating local groups across the country.

In 1920, AIGA began giving out medals to people who had done great work in design over many years or who had made important new ideas in the field. In 1982, the New York Chapter was formed, and the organization started making more local chapters to share leadership. On September 6, 1984, the Washington, D.C., Chapter was officially created.

Symbol sign project

Main article: DOT pictograms

The American Institute of Graphic Arts worked with the US Department of Transportation to make 50 standard symbols for signs. These symbols are used in airports, transportation hubs, and big international events. The first 34 symbols were made in 1974 and got a Presidential Design Award. The last 16 symbols were added in 1979.

Annual competitions

In 2012, the American Institute of Graphic Arts changed its contests to one called "Cased." This contest shows the best new design work through special stories about each project.

Since 1941, AIGA has held a contest for the 50 best-designed books each year, called "50 Books/50 Covers." The contest stopped in 2012 but started again in 2020 and celebrated its 100th year in 2023.

AIGA used to have another yearly contest for graphic design that was not book design, called "365." This contest stopped in 2011 but returned in 2022 as "365: AIGA Year in Design."

Conferences

The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) held two big meetings for designers: the AIGA Design Conference and GAIN: AIGA Design and Business Conference. These meetings happened every two years, taking turns. The first AIGA Design Conference was in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1985. Starting in 2016, the AIGA Design Conference began happening every year. The 2016 meeting was in Las Vegas. Since 2016, these conferences have been led by Roman Mars.

National board members

As of 2022, the national board includes leaders such as Cesar Rivera as President, Jennifer Ford as Vice President, and Dawn Davidson as Secretary. Other directors like Lama Ajinah, Victor Davila, and Nicole Parente-Lopez also help guide the group.

Affiliations

Between 2005 and 2009, the American Institute of Graphic Arts was part of a group called Icograda. This group is now known as Ico-D. In 2010, AIGA left this group because of money issues.

International membership

In 2014, the American Institute of Graphic Arts started letting creative professionals from outside the United States join. This meant artists and designers living in other countries could become members.

Publications

The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) has published many books and journals about design. In 1947, they started a journal called the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design. Later, it was renamed Trace: AIGA Journal of Design, but it stopped in 2003.

AIGA also published other journals and books about design. Some books include The Open Brand and Digital Foundations. In 2014, AIGA began Eye on Design. It started as a blog and grew into a platform for designers with a print magazine, events, and more.