AIGA NY

💥 New look, same mission.💥 We’re excited to introduce the refreshed AIGA NY brand, a visual town square for New York designers, built around the energy you bring to this community. We’re organizing for New York design and its designers, elevating diverse voices, celebrating world-class work, and advocating for better industry standards. Your support powers it all. In 2024–2025, together we: • Supported 339 designers in our mentorship program (1,485 since 2019) • Launched the ACE program for 60 leaders & executives • Hosted 40+ events for 3,000+ attendees • Connected 300+ designers with 10+ companies at our Job Fair To keep this work going, we’re raising $16,000 for 2025–2026. We’re volunteer-powered with a small budget, every tax-deductible dollar directly fuels mentorship, accessible events, and the community infrastructure that keeps NYC’s creative scene thriving. If AIGA NY has impacted you or you believe in a stronger future for design in this city, please consider making a donation today. 🧡 Donate & learn more at the link in bio. Let’s shape the future of New York design, together. 💫 Design 💫 Chris Guerrero, Design Lead Raven Mo, Typography *AIGA NY Brand Taskforce* Archie Bell, II. Heather-Mariah Dixon Ella Dobson Naeiri Zargarian Nicole Motta Ana Rice David Perrin *Partners & Collaborators* Red Setter Antfood ❤️ AIGA NY Thanks All Alumni and Current Board Members for their support in participating on this reel. Brad Johnson Forest Young Katie Henderson Raven Mo Shar Biggers Ella Dobson Alicia Cheng Heather-Mariah Dixon Randy Hunt Richard Danne Stacey Panousopoulos Sarah Williams Chelsea Goldwell Cameron King

⚡EVENT ALERT⚡ Business of Design Operations & Talent The Foundation Nobody Sees Join, Katie Cowden, Partner of People Operations, SYLVAIN, Hannah Cantrell, Senior Resource Manager, KOTO, and Kara Adnopoz, Director of Operations and Resourcing, VIRTUE Worldwide in conversation with Mike Perry of TAVERN. 📍 Welcome to Chinatown 📆 Wednesday, May 27 ⏰ 6:30-9:00 PM 🔗 in bio for more info!⁠

🔥EVENT ALERT🔥 Everything is Waves: How Sound & Music Connect Brands to Their People Design shapes how we see the world, but what about how we feel it? Join Wilson Brown and Lilly Pontius-Goldblatt of Antfood, one of the world’s most celebrated music and sound design studios, for a wide-ranging conversation on the untapped power of audio in design and brand. From the earliest instruments humans ever made to the generative tools reshaping creativity today, this talk traces the surprisingly visual, deeply emotional language of sound and what it means for the work we make. 📍 Museum of Arts and Design 📆 Thurs, May 21 ⏰ 6:00-7:30 PM 🔗 in bio for more info!⁠

@aigany on the Community Roundtable at Future of NYC Design 🎨 Stacey Panousopoulos — Executive Director, AIGA NY — anchors NYC's 100-year-old design chapter. 25+ years across the creative sector, building relationships between members, board, and partners. The Roundtable is the candid hour — who's shaping NYC design, what access looks like, what the leading orgs are doing about it. May 16 · Brooklyn · Link in bio #FutureofNYCDesign #NYCxDESIGN #AIGANY #AIGA #BrooklynDesign #NYCDesign #DesignCommunity #DesignersOfNYC

🔥COLLAB EVENT ALERT🔥 Design leadership isn't a straight line anymore , it's a jagged edge. ⚡ Join us for Leadership Lab, a short-form talk series where top design leaders get real about navigating uncertainty, expanding roles, and what it means to lead through it all. 📍 May 26 · 6:30–8:30pm Presented by iF DESIGN ACADEMY x AIGA NY Speakers: → Ben Swire, Founder of Make Believe Works & Author of Safe Danger (IDEO Alum) → Rich Tu, Executive Creative Director & Partner at Sunday Afternoon → Sandy Fershee, Chief Design Officer at Audible Talks + discussion groups + networking. Come ready to think differently. 🔗 Link in bio to register.

There is still time to enter the @aigany essay contest! Deadline: May 12, 2026 at 5:00 PM Prompt: Do you have a non-design hobby, passion, or side hustle? AIGA NY is looking to publish a critical essay on how studying design has changed the way you view other activities. Design is a process that shapes how we make choices and interpret meaning. Studying design changes you, and we’re interested in personal stories about how it has shifted the way you approach things outside of design. Whether it’s a sport, a job you held during college, or another interest, how has design thinking influenced the way you see, remember, or do it now? This essay contest is open to graduating students in degree programs in New York City (grad and undergrad welcome!). Essays should be 800–1200 words, previously unpublished, and submitted as a finished draft. The winner will receive a $200 prize, be published in the Fresh Grad program booklet, and be honored on stage at the event on June 5th. The winning essay will be edited by AIGA NY and may be shared with external editors for potential republication. Please send submissions to [email protected] with the subject line “ESSAY CONTEST” Essays can be submitted as Google Docs (with appropriate sharing permissions) or Word documents. No PDFs.

The AIGA NY Board is calling and we want YOU. Applications are officially open for the 2026–2028 AIGA NY Board of Directors, and we're on the hunt for bold, curious, and passionate design leaders ready to shape what's next. Whether you're a seasoned creative powerhouse or an emerging voice with fresh ideas, this is your moment. Board members dive into the heart of NYC's most dynamic design community, leading initiatives in education, mentorship, programming, and beyond over a two-year term. This isn't just a volunteer role. It's a launchpad to amplify your impact, level up your leadership, expand your network, and help build a more inclusive and resilient future for design. Ready to make your mark? Self-nominate today. Application deadline: May 16, 2026 at midnight. Don't sleep on it! Want to know more? We're holding an info session on May 6, 6:00-7:00pm EST! 🔗 in bio with all the info!

Last Thursday, AIGA NY, in partnership with the Museum of Arts and Design, celebrated two collaborative projects by @polymodestudio and @xyz_type which include Polymode Sans, a new variable typeface, and Identity Is Variable, a book featuring voices reflecting on the connections between identity and typography. The conversation led by @brianpolymode and @seriousletterforms highlighted the importance of diverse perspectives in type with discussions around queerness, cultural representation, and inclusion in design. This was followed by an exciting live unboxing of the book on stage. The concluding panel joined by @saucyunicorn @davidjonwalker and @natpyper explored personal and cultural identities with a strong emphasis on community. Thank you to our speakers and audience for contributing to a thoughtful exchange of ideas, as part of our Fresh Dialogue Event Series.

AIGA’s Design for Democracy: Get Out the Vote campaign launches today, and AIGA NY is excited to help spread the word! Designers are invited to submit nonpartisan posters, and the national campaign will also feature webinars and video and podcast storytelling about the work, the makers, and why voting matters. Link in bio for more details!

What a night in NYC last Thursday! @seriousletterforms and @brianpolymode celebrated the XYZ Type / @polymodestudio book launch by sharing the stage with @saucyunicorn , @davidjonwalker , and @natpyper for an unfiltered conversation about personal identity and typography. Many thanks to @aigany and @madmuseum for being great hosts and to all the panelists for wearing your hearts on your sleeves. A last-minute binding problem held up the shipping of our new book Identity Is Variable. The box arrived from the printer just before the event, so Brian and Jesse unboxed them right there with the audience and shared initial reactions to seeing the book as a real physical object for the first time. (It smells so good!) Happy to say that the audience eagerly bought up the whole first box, so Jesse didn’t have to lug them home afterward. You can now order your own copy at goods.xyztype.com

🔴 My Life in Design - Series 9 🔴 Ten conversations. Eleven designers. Three cities - London, New York and Brighton. Series 9 of My Life in Design has wrapped. Our big thanks to our wonderful listeners, and to the Design Business Association (DBA) for their continued support and collaboration on the podcast. And, of course, to our exceptional guests, who so generously shared their journeys in design (so far), their perspectives on the industry, and thoughtful guidance for those just beginning: Samar Maakaroun, @pentagramdesign Rejane Dal Bello, Studio Rejane Dal Bello Paul Watmough-Halim & Jan Stein, @hyperfocus.cc James Martin, @made.by.james Mitch Monson, @siblingrivalryco Kiser Barnes, @redantler Sarah Williams, @aigany & @beardwoodco Jessie McGuire, @thoughtmatter Michael Johnson, @johnson_banks_design Laurence Bendjenad, @lonsdaledesign → Series 10 - alongside our 100th episode - arrives this autumn. In the meantime, look out for bonus episodes, including a live recording from the Northern Design Festival with Emma Barratt of Wolff Olins You can revisit all 93 episodes to date where ever you find your podcasts 🎧 #design #mylifeindesign #designers #designcareers #graphicdesign @designbusinessassociation

🎉EVENT ALERT🎉 MAY 5 / Business of Design: Accounts & Client Services The Relationship Layer Every creative breakthrough has a relationship behind it. Account and client services leaders carry something that rarely gets named: the invisible labor of keeping clients confident, briefs honest, and teams protected. Join Stephanie Primus of Beardwood, Justine Allan of Pearlfisher, Josh Griffin of Design Bridge, and Ru Soylu of Koto in conversation with AIGA NY board member Mike Perry of TAVERN. Link in bio!