365: AIGA Year in Design 21

AIGA Year in Design #21

by American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)

365 is the American Institute of Graphic Art's annual presentation of the best in American design, and features cutting-edge projects selected by a jury of pre-eminent designers and design specialists in the organization's Communication Graphics 21 and 50 Books/50 Covers of 1999 competitions. Communication Graphics is the premier design competition in the US, open to any and every form of graphic work, from traditional print and packaging to the most recent and innovative interactive technologies. 50 Books/50 Covers has recognized excellence in book design and production since 1923, and its entries include books and book covers ranging from trade, reference, and juvenile books to museum publications, encompassing standard as well as limited edition and special format books. Conceived by AIGA in conjunction with renowned San Francisco-based designer Jennifer Sterling, 365 serves up essays that contextualize the ever-changing shape of contemporary graphic design, including a text that critiques the New Minimalism movement for its conflation of consumerism and spirituality, and a defense of the printed book in the face of the ''post-literate'' Digital Age. In addition, AIGA's 2000 Gold Medallists--Scott and Laurie Makela, Michael Vanderbyl, and Fred Seibert--are profiled in insightful biographical essays and retrospective portfolios. This year's stunning plastic-encased volume is sure to become a design object collector's item.

368 pages, Hardcover

First published June 15, 2001

About the author

American Institute Graphic Art (AIGA), the professional association for design, is the place design professionals turn to first to exchange ideas and information, participate in critical analysis and research and advance education and ethical practice. AIGA sets the national agenda for the role of design in its economic, social, political, cultural and creative contexts. AIGA is the oldest and largest membership association for professionals engaged in the discipline, practice and culture of designing. Founded as the American Institute of Graphic Arts in 1914 as a small, exclusive club, AIGA now represents 22,000 designers through national activities and local programs developed by 59 chapters and 240 student groups.

AIGA serves designers with five critical functions for a profession:

* Information
* Communication
* Inspiration
* Validation
* Representation

AIGA is authoritative in promoting and communicating standards for ethical conduct and professional expertise and in collecting and analyzing data about the profession. It is stimulating in its provocative programming on critical issues facing design and in celebration of both effective and innovative design, a source of inspiration for many members. And it is open to new ideas, new professional disciplines and the ever-evolving nature of design.

AIGA supports the interests of professionals, educators and students who are engaged in the process of designing, regardless of where they are in the arc of their careers. The disciplines represented in the profession range from book and type design through the traditional communication design disciplines to the newer disciplines of interaction design, experience design and motion graphics. In addition, AIGA supports the interests of those involved in designing from other disciplines, professions and business who share designers’ commitment to advancing understanding of the value of design.

Through the relationships members develop within the community of designers, the information they share and the standards they develop for the profession, AIGA helps the profession to validate its own ethos and role in business and society. AIGA actively communicates the value of design to the business community and the public.

AIGA serves as a hub of thought-leadership and activity for the designing community. The association is committed to stimulating thinking about design through conferences, competitions, exhibitions, publications and websites. AIGA inspires, educates and informs designers, helping them to realize their talents and to advocate the value of design among the media, the business community, public agencies and the general public. While AIGA was created to advance the design profession, its members now place a higher priority on AIGA’s work in communicating the value of design to audiences outside the profession.