Chapter Spotlight: AIGA St. Louis

June 14, 2010 Filed Under: AIGA Chapter Spotlight 1 Comments

AIGA St. Louis
Number of Members: 350
Year Founded: 1989

1. What is your chapter's proudest recent accomplishment?
This past March, we held our inaugural charity event – Love Crush – that raised $4,500 for the American Heart Association. The evening event featured a silent auction of more than 40 artworks by nationally-known illustrators and designers from St. Louis and around the U.S. and Canada that considered and grappled with the theme of "LOVE." In addition to the original work, metal hearts were provided to twenty artists that used the blank templates to create unique pieces that were also featured in the silent auction. In addition to cocktails and canapés, the event established a "kids' area" for creating their own love-inspired artwork. To document the event and to help promote future cause-related events for our chapter, attendees were encouraged to visit the photo booth. Love Crush was a great way to showcase the value of design, give back to the community and bring members from various interest groups together to celebrate a worthwhile cause. As our first-ever charity event, we hope to make this an annual program to spotlight and support a local organization through the creative work of the design community. Check out the video or download wallpaper graphics at http://aigastlouis.org/lovecrush

2. Tell us about your chapter's design competition.
This year was the 15^th year of the St. Louis design competition – and as tradition has it, the name was imaginatively designated The AIGA 15 Show. To celebrate the theme of "not being nickel and dimed" – the invitation was accompanied by a little cash to get recipients in the mood to submit, i.e. 15 cents. The nationally-recognized judges engaged this year: Frank Chimero, an illustrator, graphic designer and writer whose creative output focuses on process, curiosity, visual experience, mental dexterity and play; Sibylle Hagmann, founder of the Houston-based design studio Kontour, who does work for clients such as the CORE Program, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The Menil Collection, Houston; Dallas Museum of Art, and the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, among others; and Petter Ringbom, a partner at the New York based design firm Flat, where he art directs projects for clients like MoMA, New York City Marathon, Macy's and Isaac Mizrahi.

Each year, the chapter invites three designers of national renown to judge the work of local professionals, at the end of which a show is hung and the community is invited to see the winning entries. Every year, there are surprises from both the community and students, and the party is always a great time to reconnect with peers, network and just hang out among some great work.

3. What programs does your chapter offer specifically for its student members?
The AIGA St. Louis holds an annual student conference. The all-day event is hosted at a local university and has grown to more than 130 student attendees from the region this year. Highlights of the conference include keynote talks by two speakers, typically one local, one visiting; portfolio reviews for 100 students and various breakout sessions that touch on topics from networking to technical skill development. Various student groups are involved with planning the day, designing the visuals and recruiting professionals to attend. It is the chapter's signature event for students and receives great participation. In addition to the annual event, we organize studio tours on a monthly basis to give students an opportunity to meet and learn about the design practices in the region. There are five student groups in the area and all are actively involved within their groups to bring in speakers, provide outreach to the community or volunteer at other AIGA St. Louis events.

4. What is one goal your chapter has for the future?
The chapter board has recently completed a few strategic planning sessions with local design firm Hughes. The strategic plan will help to further identify our broad mission and the programmatic activities that we must initiate to sustain membership interest, participation and growth. One outgrowth of the strategic plan has been developing a new website that seeks to engage and be relevant to the membership and community.

5. If we were to visit your chapter's city/region, what are some must-sees for a visiting designer?
A visit to St. Louis is not complete without a trip to the Arch. While there are many intriguing facts about it – like being the tallest monument in the U.S. or that it cost $13 million to build in 1963 – one of the great aspects of it is simply the design. It was designed by Eero Saarinen and is a great symbol of the value design can bring to a community and country, establishing St. Louis as having one of the most recognizable skylines in the world.

Forest Park is one of the largest urban parks in the country (500 acres larger than Central Park) and is home to some of the region's top cultural destinations including the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Saint Louis Zoo, the Missouri History Museum and the St. Louis Science Center. The park recently completed a multi-million dollar renovation that connected waterways, reengineered trails and renovated, restored and/or reinvented venues throughout, including three golf courses, a visitor's center, club house, the beloved Boat House and various monuments, performing arts venues and other points of interest. Throughout the year, some of the region's marquee events and festivals are hosted within, including the Shakespeare Festival, the Great Hot Air Balloon Race and the summer season of musicals at the Muny.

Check out City Garden – an immersive sculpture garden downtown, and grab a bite at the Terrace View. Around the corner is the City Museum, a unique interactive institution that’s almost indescribable – both a spectacle and a hands-on experience – plus the only venue in St. Louis where one can take a ride on a Ferris wheel – atop a historic 14-floor building.

Art and architecture buffs should head to Grand Center, arguably the densest performing and visual arts center in St. Louis. Check out the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and its neighbor, the Tadao Ando-designed Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. The two institutions share a courtyard where you can wander around Joe, the torque spiral sculpture by Richard Serra.

And last, but certainly not least – there is the frozen custard (just trust us) at Ted Drewes. For anyone who has lived and left, this is a must-do on trips back to St. Louis.

Photography by: Demond Meek, FK Photography, St. Louis

Written by: Members of the AIGA St. Louis board