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Happy New Year! Well 2009 was a great year for our chapter. It was really inspiring to see the UPSTNY graphic design community rally around AIGA events throughout the region. Every year, I feel I gain knowledge about our field through my involvement in the leadership of AIGA. I truly value the insight I've gained into what is happening in both the design industry as well as in design education in our region through getting to know individual AIGA members. You are the heart and soul of this important organization. So where is the Upstate New York graphic design community going in 2010? The truth is that the members themselves (that would be you!) will determine where we go. The participation of ALL design professionals, educators and students determines what will happen this coming year and every year to come. This is beyond AIGA membership. As a community, our success depends on the creative and professional vitality of each person, as well as your willingness to organize and participate in events, engage others by sharing your expertise and ideas. I'm deeply committed to building a healthy design community in Upstate New York and I am very excited to see what happens in 2010. So tell us what great things you plan on doing in 2010 .. http://upstatenewyork.aiga.org/discussion/2009/12/doing_great_des.cfm Bottoms-Up! 
AIGA UPSTNY 2010 PROGRAMMING CALENDARParticipate in one of the many events happening this year in the Upstate New York graphic design community. For more information, visit our website events page. Monthly Regional Creative Eats | 1/21, 2/18, 3/18, 4/15, 5/20, 6/17 Studio Tours | Date to be announced Lecture: Matt Owens | 02/25 Mohawk Mill Trip for Students | March date to be announced Movie Screening "Typeface" | Date to be announced Lecture: Debbie Millman | 04/01 AIGA Upstate NY Roundtable by invitation | April date to be announced Student Portfolio Review | 04/08 Glide '10: Biennial Design Web Conference | 10/27
CREATIVE EATS | January 2010
This monthly social event series was a huge success last year. AIGA UPSTNY is continuing these third [3rd] Thursday of the month social gatherings. The locations will change between a dining experience and a happy hour gathering. We hope you will come out to join us in open dialogue about local design issues and creative discourse. This networking event is open to long time professionals through beginning students. It is not exclusive to members or graphic designers. It is a gathering of those in the local creative industry, no matter what your title. Find out more about this month's locations:
AIGA DESIGN COMPETITIONS
Now is your chance to join a great legacy and have your talents publicly recognized. “365/31” and “50 Books/50 Covers” are now accepting entries for the March 5th deadline. All jury selections become part of the AIGA Design Archives online. To participate: www.aiga.org/competitions
JOB POSTING: DESIGN LEADERSHIPAIGA UPSTNY, a non profit organization run solely by volunteers, is seeking an AIGA member with aptitude and understanding (and perhaps even a little passion) for numbers to assume the role of TREASURER on our board. This position is not a difficult nor a very time consuming one, but it is one critical to the success of the financial health of our organization. The candidate must be detail oriented, highly responsible, and committed to guiding the vision of our chapter in a well-organized, accurate, business-like manner. Prior board experience is not required. Position duties can be fulfilled in as little as 4-6 hours a month and available to serve for a minimum of one year beginning January 2010. Tasks include: reading and understanding bank statement; disbursing checks; balancing the checkbook (typically 3-5 transactions a month); preparing a brief financial report for each event (recording income/expenses, profit/loss, and number of attendees); submitting a recap on our financial status at the monthly board meeting (held 6-8pm the second Tuesday of each month, able to attend in person in Rochester or remotely via skype); and annually providing the necessary information to the chapter's hired CPA so they can then prepare the chapter's annual tax form. Perks include: working with an experienced team of professional designers, who bring a wealth of knowledge and talent to the board; exercising your special left-brained professional skills; developing or honing your leadership skills; and receiving the satisfaction of directly contributing to the success of your chapter by acting in good faith for our member's interest. Our current treasurer is relocating out of state, but will remain available for the incoming treasurer on an as-needed basis to support a smooth transition. So, if you are looking to enhance your resume with the addition of titles, such as guardian of the AIGA UPSTNY funds, keeper of the chapter financial records, contributor to the success of your beloved organization, then please immediately contact current treasurer, Lori Reed at treasurer@upstatenewyork.aiga.org to inquire further about what this position involves.
SPEAKING OF TYPE...By Marjorie CrumDo you know who is given the responsibility of starting the private press movement?
Morris, from early childhood had an extreme love of nature. This is evident from the fond natural descriptions of his letters and poetry, the patterns of his tapestries, and the vining borders of the Kelmscott books. There was also his passionate devotion to the Middle Ages and to everything they represented; romantic Medievalism informs Morris's literary output, as well as his arts and crafts work and the books from his Kelmscott Press. Morris often contrasted the social organization of the Middle Ages with the present condition of England during his lifetime. This belief led him to advocate a complete reform of the industrial society. He also believed that it was impossible for an artist to exist outside the context of a community. Thus Morris's homes in London's Red Lion Square, Red House in Kent, Kelmscott House in Hammersmith near London, and Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire became centers of communal artistic and intellectual endeavor. Morris's talent for friendship was another continuity in his life. Though he was a somewhat solitary child, as a university student he formed enduring attachments to the Pre-Raphaelite artists Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. These close friendships influenced his choice of a life devoted to art. Morris believed that it was necessary to rethink all aspects of the printed book, returning to the examples of the fifteenth-century printers, who had managed to create books which were both beautiful and readable. He returned to the use of an iron (Albion) handpress, which not only produced more beautiful results than a machine press but was also capable of economically printing limited editions of several hundred copies.
The Kelmscott Press, established in 1890, used Morris's designs for the type and ornamental letters printed in editions of the classics and of his own works, notably The Kelmscott Chaucer (1896). In his political writings, he attempted to correct the dehumanizing effects of the Industrial Revolution by proposing a form of society in which people could enjoy craftsmanship and simplicity of expression. William Morris created three typefaces for the Kelmscott Press, two were based on the type from the incunabula period (Chaucer and Troy) and one (Golden) was based on Nicolas Jenson's Venetian roman typeface. All of these typefaces are available in digital form today from P22 Type Foundry (p22.com), another Upstate New York connection.
UPSTNY MEMBER INTERVIEWAIGA member since 2007, Cindy Buckley Koren Associate Professor of Communications Design at PrattMWP of Utica, NY is interviewed by fellow member and President, Bill Klingensmith. What prompted you to start your teaching?
My current position at PrattMWP allows me to combine all of my many passions: design, typography, and contemporary art, but most importantly, I have the opportunity to learn something new every day. Truthfully, I have the perfect job…. (please note, I did not say the perfect salary) Let's just say, I don't do it for the money, but do I get to make up dream projects and we are free to experiment and take risks --usually not having to worry about those pesky clients messing up the process. Ha! What inspires you? Everything inspires me; my students, my family, fortune cookies, even my husband's sweater. Honestly, not to suck up but… long before Debbie Millman became president of AIGA she was an amazing source of information and inspiration for me. Her interviews of important and up and coming creative professionals have been invaluable. Debbie found a way to reach and educate people about design in an accessible and entertaining way. What role do you think designers should play in going green? It goes without saying, that we all need to recycle/reuse and avoid using toxic materials. Our greater contribution should be in our thinking… how we approach design problems by setting good examples. What would your top piece of advice be for a designer who is just getting started in the industry? Set your goals high. Do your research. Always have an outside personal project in the works. Meet the right people and get involved. Take risks. In what way does being a part of AIGA enhance your career/being a designer/educator? AIGA is a fantastic source of information and opportunities to get involved. 
AIGA enhances me as a creative by... Supplying ethical guidelines and standards in our creative field. Because of AIGA... (http://becauseofaiga.com) I had the opportunity to participate in the Polling Place Project. From that project one of my photographs was published in the Design for Democracy Book now included in the AIGA archives. Another image of mine from that project was included in a film by Andrew Sloat that was featured in a special 2009 exhibition curated by William Drenttel and Jessica Hefland. Miscellaneous... I really enjoy taking my students to the New York city chapter AIGA head quarters where there is typically a terrific exhibit in the gallery and the staff gives a wonderful tour of the facilities, including the upstairs main office with it's interesting architecture and deep downstairs in the archives. Suggest an AIGA member to be interviewed, contact Bill Klingensmith, President AIGA UPSTNY: president@upstatenewyork.aiga.org
PORTFOLIOSBe among the first to display your work in the AIGA Member Gallery! In January, AIGA is switching to a new portfolio service hosted by Behance: the AIGA Member Gallery! To make sure the gallery launches with impact, we're asking you to be among the first to set up your portfolio and share your work. Sign-up links are not yet public on the AIGA site, so we're providing links to get you started; following these steps will get you properly linked in to the AIGA network.
We're eager for your feedback as you work your way through adding and sharing your work. We are likely to tweak it over time based on your feedback, so don't be shy! Please set up your portfolio and email your feedback to Lydia Mann, AIGA web director, by Friday, January 8. Thanks for taking the time to make your portfolio one of the first in the AIGA Member Gallery! We know that as it grows, it will prove beneficial for all AIGA members. |
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Membership BenefitsAIGA membership offers great value, including tangible and intangible benefits: Savings. Information. Special offers. Community. Inspiration. Education. Representation. Validation. |
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William Morris (1834-1896), a multi-faceted man who was at one time or another (and sometimes simultaneously) a designer and manufacturer of furniture, stained glass, tapestries, wallpaper and chintzes; an accomplished weaver; a pioneering preservationist; an active Socialist and social reformer; a successful poet and novelist; and in his last years, the founder of the Kelmscott Press.
When I relocated back upstate from NYC an old professor of mine, invited me to teach design course at the local community college. That was almost 20 years ago. I've been hooked ever since.