In May we asked you to tell us the feature you liked best on the newly redesigned AIGA SF website…

Clark Creative Group (CCG) has produced a line of t-shirts and tote bags with the theme, “Design Matters. They chose the theme to celebrate their firm’s 25th anniversary. Of course, design matters to CCG because it’s central to who they are and what they do for their clients.

In that spirit, CCG has developed a few expressions of the “Design Matters” message to benefit the San Francisco Chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design. This non-profit organization has been a crucial source of support, education, and advocacy for the design community since 1914. And like CCG, the San Francisco chapter of AIGA is also celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

At this moment, however, CCG is exploring why design matters in a broader context. How design makes the world a better place…

Design matters because it persuades. Graphic communication is a visual argument. Like good verbal oratory, it spurs us to weigh the points pro and con. Have a favorite movement, charity or cause? Chances are pretty good that design played a role in persuading you to get involved.

Design matters because it delights. How many times have you saved a promotional poster, clipped a favorite ad or tacked up a cool product package—just because it was fun or quirky or inspiring to look at? Design finds the specific beauty in the things of every day.

Design matters because it intends. Good design has a clear point of view. It takes a stand, and encourages us to do the same. It allows us to be decisive as it helps clarify why we feel or believe or act the way we do.

To order, please Click here!

For 41 years Steve Reoutt touched the lives and enlightened the minds of the students of the California College of the Arts (CCA). He was a founding member of the San Francisco AIGA, and from 1996–2005 served on its board as the organization’s only design historian. He was made an AIGA fellow in 2001, and just this month was honored as an Emeritus Professor of Design at CCA. He passed away on May 14 of pancreatic cancer.

Through his lectures, encyclopedic knowledge and wealth of ephemera, Steve drew connections between the past and present with unique insight and inimitable humor. As we mourn his passing we celebrate his legacy and pause to give thanks for his profound and lasting influence on all of the communities he touched.

His family has requested privacy. Letters of condolence may be sent c/o

Mark Reoutt
2278 30th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94116

Please, no flowers.

The California College of the Arts has created a named scholarship in honor of Steve Reoutt. Tax-deductible donations can be sent to:

CCA/Steve Reoutt Scholarship
c/o Camille Gerstel
CCA Advancement
5212 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94601

Checks can be made out to “CCA.” Please include a note or indicate on the check that the gift is being made towards the Steve Reoutt Scholarship.

Way back in March we asked you to tell us about your design specialization. No surprises here…most of us are print or web designers.

Read the next mid-month blast for the results and the next hot topic.

In 1980-81, Chuck Byrne collaborated with Buckminster Fuller on design and production of a portfolio of 12 prints titled “Inventions: Twelve Around One.”

The work was done at his studio, then named ”Colophon,” in Cincinnati, Ohio and published in 1981 by the Solway Gallery. This summer a part of the portfolio will be included in the exhibition ”Buckminster Fuller: Starting with the Universe” at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

The portfolio can be seen on the Solway Gallery website.

The exhibition is described on the Whitney web site.

Image caption: Motor Vehicle–Dymaxion Car, Patent, 1933 – Three-part print, 30”x40,” 1981

Buckminster Fuller: Starting with the Universe
on view June 26, 2008-September 21, 2008

Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street
New York, NY 10021
General Information: 1 (800) WHITNEY

At CCA’s two-week Summer Institute in Sustainable Design you will gain first-hand experience in sustainable design concepts and practices through direct interaction with nature in Point Reyes. You will then learn how to apply this knowledge in the urban environment of San Francisco.

Early Bird Registration deadline: May 13, 2008

More Info.

Submit your work to be eligible for a Graphis Award of excellence, and be eligible for the new Gold or Platinum level Graphis Award. Complete instructions forms, specifications, shipping and payment information may be obtained on the entry website


Annual Reports 2009 – Call for Entry, Entry Deadline: May 12

New Talent Annual 2009 – Call for Entry, Entry Deadline: May 26

Graphis Awards

The Winterhouse Awards for Design Writing & Criticism seek to increase the understanding and appreciation of design, both within the profession and throughout American life. A program of AIGA, these annual awards have been founded by Jessica Helfand and William Drenttel of the Winterhouse Institute to recognize excellence in writing about design and encourage the development of young voices in design writing, commentary and criticism.

Submissions for the 2008 awards must be submitted by June 2, 2008.

There are two types of awards:

Writing award of $10,000
Open to writers, critics, scholars, historians, journalists and designers and given for a body of work.

Education award of $1,000
Open to students (high school, undergraduate or graduate) whose use of writing, in the interest of making visual work or scholarship or cultural observation, demonstrates extraordinary originality and promise.

This awards program is part of a larger AIGA initiative to stimulate new levels of design awareness and critical thinking about design. The 2008 awards will be announced in August and presented at the AIGA Design Legends Gala on September 18 in New York City.

Apply Online.

Adobe is continually striving to get the thoughts and opinions from its users in an effort to improve their products. Adobe User Research has an upcoming study geared towards desktop and web application designers who are currently using Photoshop/Illustrator/Fireworks/etc. to create mock-ups and prototypes.

They are interested in giving design professionals a hands-on look at our upcoming application. They’d like to have you walk through some processes with their new application and see if it makes your life easier. If it doesn’t, they’d love to know why and what they could do to improve this product. They’d also like to discuss what features you find important to your own processes and what they could do to enhance your experience.

These studies will be occurring the first two weeks of May in the Adobe San Francisco office and will last roughly 90 minutes. For your time, they’ll gladly thank you with a $125 AMEX Gift Check.

If you are interested in this study, please fill out this screener so they can learn a little more about you.

If you have questions, please email them at .

The Adobe® Design Achievement Awards celebrate student achievement reflecting the powerful convergence of technology and the creative arts. The competition — which showcases individual and group projects created with industry-leading Adobe creative software — honors the most talented and promising student graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, animators, digital filmmakers, developers and computer artists from the world’s top institutions of higher education.

The 2008 Adobe® Design Achievement Awards gives higher education students from around the world the creative license to propel their careers in the future. Enter in 12 categories in 3 media areas endorsed by the industry, over $60,000 in cash prizes will be awarded in New York City.

Submissions close May 2, 2008.
Enter here: Adobe Awards

Categories
Both individuals and groups may enter one unique project in up to three of the following categories:

• Interactive media
• Browser-Based Design
• Non-Browser-Based Design
• Designer/Developer Collaboration
• Mobile Design
• Installation Design
• Video and motion
• Animation
• Live Action
• Motion Graphics
• Traditional media
• Illustration
• Packaging
• Photography
• Print Communications

Official rules

The ADAA competition is open to full-time higher education students in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Republic of China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, or Turkey. Projects must be original works completed 50% or more with Adobe software after May 1, 2007.

The site has four main categories:

Events are the lifeblood of AIGA SF and we’ve made it easier to find upcoming events that appeal to you. We are also now able to archive events, so visitors can search past events and see reviews, photos, podcasts and other moving images from those events.

The new Community section is a way to connect designers in the Greater Bay Area. We’ll feature articles, announcements, polls and profiles that are of interest to our members and the design community. Visitors may offer comments on community posts, as well as upcoming and past events.

The Resources section gives visitors access to local and national information that is important to their career and business needs. Visitors can search for a designer in the national database or find their next career move. Trying to find the name of a great printer? You can find it here.

AIGA SF is involved in many issues that are important to design and the Bay Area design community. The Initiatives section gives you information about these programs and the appropriate contact for each so that you can get involved.

We hope that you’ll take some time to explore the new site. We know you’ll find it interesting and informative. Please go the Contact page to send us comments or sign up for our email list. To keep on top of all issues, please subscribe to the AIGA SF iCal and RSS feeds using the links at the bottom of the page.

Finally, this new website would not have been possible without the amazingly creative efforts of Brick Design, Inc. Founded by Brian Jacobs, a past president of AIGA SF, Brick generously donated all of their design and production work, and we owe them a huge Thank You.

Welcome to AIGA San Francisco.

-Amy Gustincic and Brian Singer

AIGA San Francisco is celebrating our 25th anniversary. Founded in 1983 as the national organization began creating local chapters to decentralize leadership, AIGA SF is one of the oldest chapters. In the quarter century since our founding, we have grown to also be one of the largest and most active.

We’d like to recognize the original group of dedicated professionals who founded the chapter:

• Doug Akagi
• Leslie Becker
• Rich Burns
• Michael Cronan
• Barry Deutsch
• Jim Foelman
• Craig Frazier
• Kit Hinrichs
• Tom Ingalls
• Conrad Jorgenson
• Kate Keating
• Russell Leong
• Michael Manwaring
• Michael Mabry
• Harry Murphy
• Steve Reoutt
• Susan Roach
• Neil Shakery
• Jim Stockton
• Michael Vanderbyl

We’d also like to recognize Linda Hinrichs who served tirelessly as the first president of the chapter from 1983–1985.

Last month we asked: “With the primaries in full swing, we’re curious to know which candidate’s logo appeals to your design sense. You cast your vote for the best primary candidate logo.”

Looks like a landslide…

In January, we closed out our round of polls related to our first AIGA SF Design Library book drive asking about your favorite postmodernist design tome…

Whether set along the picturesque coast of Norway or in its remote mountains and forests, architect Wenche Selmer’s wooden cabins and houses blend effortlessly into their surroundings. Combining local building traditions with modern conveniences, her designs evoke Norway in all its rugged beauty and smart Scandinavian pragmatism.

Just looking at these cabins is an invitation to sit down at the lovingly designed dining table for a hearty meal, or to curl up with a book on one of the inviting corner sofas while enjoying the panoramic view through large glass windows. These are houses that, while thoughtfully designed and beautifully crafted, were meant first and foremost to be lived in, and it is this accommodation of “high design” and livability that is partly responsible for their universal appeal.

Taken from a book by Elisabeth Tostrup, a professor of architecture at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, Norwegian Wood captures Wenche Selmer’s work beautifully.

The Gallery is located within the shared AIA and AIGA SF’s offices, located at 130 Sutter Street, Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94104

The Gallery is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 9:00 am-5:00 pm. Opening receptions are held the first Thursday of the month when there is a new exhibition, from 5:30-7:30 pm. All are welcome.

In December we asked, “To keep my holiday conversations bright, I will be brushing up on my design history with . . .”

In October we asked: “The awesome power of the grid did not become mine until I turned the pages of . . .”

We asked which typography books held a place of honor on your shelf.