Because of AIGA » Cincinnati

Inspiring content breeds inspiring imagery

mydarndest — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:45:50 +0000

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Thanks for this great platform to express our gratitude to AIGA. Here is a time lapse of the poster creation that incorporated some of posts from the site.

learn love fight sleep share

mydarndest — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:33:19 +0000

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AIGA has taught me to learn from others. Not just designers within my company, but others in general, creative and non-creative types. Learning has shown me to love what I do. And to fight for what I do in my work. With that in mind, I have been able to sleep better knowing my work, my craft is being shared everyday in many wonderful ways.

I continually grow, aspire, achieve

mydarndest — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:29:57 +0000

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AIGA cushioned my departure into the seemingly vacant job market by introducing me to others in a similar situation.

I opened my mind

mydarndest — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:51:08 +0000

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I joined AIGA to meet other people that have similar interest as I do. I wanted to grow as a designer and as a professional. It has been a great experience so far!

I believe more in myself

mydarndest — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:32:38 +0000

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Because of AIGA I have gained confidence in my design work and feel better about myself as a designer. Also, through my AIGA student group I have learned that critique is not a bad thing, and can be very useful.

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Also Because of AIGA I have made many new friends. I am shy (although people may not believe it sometimes) and I have a hard time gaining the confidence to talk to new people. Because of my AIGA student group I have found new friends, and they have become not just acquaintances that I talk to during meetings or class, but people that I know I can go to with design questions or really anything.

I know more (fabulous) people

mydarndest — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:16:06 +0000

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I get relevant experience and meaningful connections before I even graduate!

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I get a boost.

I believe in my abilities.

mydarndest — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:48:48 +0000

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Before I decided to join AIGA, I knew i wanted to be a designer, but I never believed I was good enough. Because of AIGA and the opportunities I have gotten because of it, I now feel like I do have the ability and talent, to be a good designer.

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I also owe it to AIGA for helping me make a lot of new friends. I moved to a new city right after high school, and had a hard time meeting new people. Even upon starting college I had a hard time finding people to connect with. Thanks to my schools AIGA student group, I have found people to connect with, and friends that push me to be a better designer.

I hate designers less.

mydarndest — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:35:40 +0000

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I used to really hate them, the black turtlenecks, the branding jargon, and the assumption that everything creative is essentially rooted back to graphic design.

Well, I’m not such a hater anymore. Yes, I have had a change of heart as I’ve met more and more with design professionals. They don’t bite, think they are better than you, or just read Communication Arts all day. I am happy to now know what everyone else already knew, that Graphic Designers are A.O.K. They are thoughtful, non-materialists, and concerned about the future of art.

I’m no longer a zombie

mydarndest — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:32:32 +0000

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I was your typical college student – go to class, talk to maybe three people, eat ramen noodles, go home, work on homework, lack sleep, and repeat. Pretty much like a zombie. To make matters worse, for some reason I thought that designers could not get along with each other. So one day, a member from the AIGA student group at my college talks to my class and mentions the benefits of being a member plus free pizza to attend a free lecture. So before I decide to go, I did what I thought was normal – I searched online for anything negative I could find – and I couldn’t find anything. So being the typical college student – I wanted free pizza and all I had to do was go to this free lecture, I wasn’t sure if I was going to join, but needless to say by the time the lecture was over, I joined the group.

After joining AIGA, my zombie-self pretty much disappeared (except during finals). I started talking to more of my fellow peers; I would ask them for advice and have them critique my work and they did the same to me. In a way we created our own support group. Outside of college I still was anti-social, so I attended a few social gatherings, locked myself out of my car countless times and started networking. I would later get the chance to attend three conferences by the connections I made from AIGA.

I collaborated on projects with my peers, started doing some freelance work with them, gaining additional portfolio pieces in the process. I have become more confident in myself as a designer, met professionals who I would have never met if I was still being a typical college zombie, built a stronger portfolio and network, and finally as lame as it may sound – I made friends.

licking envelopes = new opportunities

mydarndest — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:13:29 +0000

part one :
aiga held event with civic garden center
event canceled
I missed the memo
showed up and stayed to help lick envelopes
left my card
got amazing pro bono branding project

part two :
being on the board led me to be active in the chamber
again, another energizing pro bono project with the EACC (European American Chamber of Commerce)

part three :
aiga member referred me to a recruiter
recruiter found me a perfectly matching available job (during this crap economy)
while interviewing for my current positions, “Oh, I see you have done work with the EACC, and Civic Garden Center” (and strong creative to go with it)

part four :
is obvious, along this path I have had the privilege of working with a great board, and met fascinating people along the way. There is no better network for this profession (that I have found)

everything is pieced together and aiga is my spray mount.