AIGA fundraising campaigns

Each year AIGA strives to enhance the design profession by establishing programs that reach above and beyond the scope of its regular initiatives. The current programs are particularly exciting and look to ensure the future of thoughtful, informed designers. Your contribution to AIGA will help to make these possible. Monies raised will benefit the following AIGA programs and initiatives:

• AIGA Design Archives, preserving the legacy of great work accomplished by our gifted colleagues
• Worldstudio AIGA scholarships, nurturing the next generation of design leaders
• Diversity initiatives to make the profession more inclusive and diverse
• The Legacy Fund, an endowment to secure the future of AIGA

History and archives

The AIGA Design Archives at the Denver Art Museum are the most comprehensive collection of contemporaneously judged selections of American design excellence in the world. More than 6,000 original artifacts represent the complete collection of communication design examples selected in AIGA's national competitions by jurors of national prominence each year since 1980. The Archives offer a study collection and a collection that can be used for exhibitions on popular and visual culture as well as demonstrating the craft and effectiveness of extraordinary American Design talent.

The Denver Art Museum was selected for the archives based on its commitment to design; it is one of the few museums in the country with a curatorial staff focusing on contemporary design. In 2006, a new iconic building by Daniel Libeskind nearly doubled the size of the museum, allowing a full floor of the museum to be dedicated to design objects. AIGA values the long-term commitment to design by the Denver Art Museum and its location, accessibility to designers, students and researcher outside the immediate vicinity of the traditional New York locus of graphic design.

Each year, the collection will increase with the addition of new annual competitions, in which juries select approximately 300 pieces in 13 categories, with independent juries selecting work for each category.

The online Design Archives launched in December 2004 with four years’ worth of selections; contributions to the Archives have allowed us to bring the total to twelve years of selections, almost half-way to the initial goal of including selections since 1980. All members can access these vital materials—from a student in Des Moines to a professional in San Francisco. Moreover, the archives are searchable by a wide variety of criteria.

The AdamsMorioka Archives vault has also been upgraded to providing environmental and climate control for AIGA’s institutional archives.

An illustrated history of AIGA, its activities and medalists during its first one hundred years will be published and distributed on the event of its centennial in 2014.

Scholarships

Worldstudio AIGA Scholarships allow young people from minority and economically disadvantaged backgrounds not only to realize their artistic dreams, but to give back to their communities. Contributions to this program allow AIGA to provide students eager to influence the world with their talents with the financial means to do so. The expansion and continued strength of the profession are solidified through these students and their future influences in the design field.

Diversity initiatives

AIGA is developing a new online archive and traveling exhibition entitled “Design Journeys,” a collection of stories about the professional lives, contributions and portfolios of leading African American, Latino, Native American, Asian American, Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander designers.

In 2005, the AIGA Task Force on Professional Diversity developed a list of recommendations for increasing diversity within the profession. Among the stated goals were to publicize design heroes of varying backgrounds and create traveling shows of the work of diverse designers. The “Design Journeys” project seeks to achieve both—by not only celebrating the stories and work of these practitioners, but also influencing the next generation of young people from all backgrounds to consider design as a viable and rewarding career.

AIGA Legacy Fund

Contributions from the profession and the public enable AIGA to celebrate the legacy of American design and to demonstrate the value of design. Membership fees allow AIGA to continue to serve designers today; additional funding is needed for special projects. These funds have been used in three ways: preservation of AIGA’s archival material, documentation of American design history, and design education in schools.

AIGA will provide the ability to make online donations in 2008. In the meantime, you may download this contribution form and send to:

Jessica Casper
AIGA
164 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
212 710 3124