20x20 an AIGA Charlotte Annual Meeting

As a way of saying thanks to all of our fantastic members, we will host a fun and inspiring evening with local designers showcasing what makes them tick. Presentations will be in that popular 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide format. Our presenters have been given free reign over their presentations, under the condition that they are design related, and not a portfolio presentation or sales pitch. So come celebrate with AIGA Charlotte, we promise you will laugh, you may cry, you will learn, and you will have a blast in this fun filled evening bringing together friends and local talent to celebrate design and community.

As if that wasn’t enough, AIGA Charlotte will be hosting a Silent Auction with a plethora of designers' favorite things – posters, artwork, t-shirts, printing and professional services, design books, gift certificates, tickets to local attractions, swag and more. For more details and a complete list of donations, see the list below. It’s a great opportunity to add to your inspiration archive and get some great services at an unbeatable price! All proceeds will go toward continuing support for the programming and initiatives that AIGA Charlotte provides to its membership and the Charlotte design community.

Register Now!
AIGA Members & AIGA Student Members - FREE | Non-Members - $10 | Student Non-members - $5

Click here to register now

* Parking is available at the BB&T Center Parking Garage on College Street between 3rd and 4th.

Schedule
6:30 Silent Auction bidding and networking
7:15 Opening and Presentations
8:00 Intermission (Silent Auction bidding ends at end of intermission)
8:30 Presentations continued...
9:00 Closing and Silent Auction winning bids announced

Presentations

Mike Carroll
Photographer, Mike Carroll Photography

From wake to day’s end, we are all exposed to design. Product design. Environment design. Lighting. Graphics. Fonts. Work. You can't make it through the day without being exposed to what we do as designers, photographers and creatives.

Bio: For more than 18 years, Mike Carroll has created award-winning photography for agencies, clients and corporations. But for Mike, this is not a job -- it's his life. His passion for capturing stories and creating scenes with just the perfect amount of light, color and perspective has made him one of Charlotte's most respected photographers. When he's not behind a camera, Mike can usually be found spending time with his wife and two daughters. After the birth of his first child, he traded in his cavernous South End studio for a custom-built space attached to his home. This means Mike can enjoy the best of both worlds: family and photography. And for Mike, there's nothing more peaceful.

Melissa Depasquale
Senior Graphic Designer, Kym Abrams Design

North Lawndale Employment Network is a nonprofit organization that creates innovative employment initiatives in a distressed Chicago neighborhood. Starting with a zero budget we were asked to create the branding for a line of honey products that provides training and jobs for ex-offenders.

Bio: Melissa DePasquale has worked with Kym Abrams Design over the past 5 years collaborating with some of the most challenging and inspiring industries. Managing clients such as The MacArthur Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, Northwest Community Hospital, Facing History and Ourselves, Erikson Institute and the University of Chicago, Melissa's work has been recognized in a number of design annuals and publications. Before joining Kym Abrams Design in 2004 Melissa worked on the environmental design team at Pentagram in New York.

Leslie Kraemer
Creative Director, birdsong gregory

20 ideas for a presentation of 20 slides in 20 seconds.

Bio: Leslie Kraemer formed birdsong gregory with partner Jim Cusson in 2001. As Creative Director, she has developed creative for a range of clients including Food Lion, Bloom Grocery and Lowes Home Improvement. She received her BA from Davidson College and has 12+ years experience in the industry.

Joel Kuehn
Web Designer, carbonhouse

Rolling up his sleeves and taking an honest look at his own life, Joel will share about meaning, inspiration, and process of designing for skin as a medium.

Bio: Joel Kuehn is an urban pioneer transplant from the rural North Carolina mountains. He enjoys working as a web designer at carbonhouse, inc. and spending time with his wife and friends. Follow him on twitter @joelkuehn.

Josh McGlinn
Interactive Designer, MCG Studio

Random Thoughts: Though bound together by barely a shoestring of comprehensive thought, if anything this presentation will provide you with a front row seat into the cerebral wasteland of a man who has no social filter. Some of these thoughts might be deemed inappropriate, but we assure you they are not dangerous and in fact, they are barely coherent. Our sincerest apologies.

Bio: Josh McGlinn is an interactive designer living in Charlotte, dreaming in technicolor, and worsening his vision thanks to a set of monitors in his office. Though he balances a busy work schedule, he still finds time to Twitter, watch movies, and rip on FourSquare whenever possible. He has a Yorkshire Terrior named Parker, a wife named Andrea, and a six month old baby girl named Lane. All of which contribute to his lack of sleep and degrading mental capacity.

Gage Mitchell
Graphic Designer, Gage Mitchell Design

Our Quest for Perfection: An attempt to convince you that our obsession over achieving perfection with our work leads us to continual disappointment while depriving the world of a lot of potential design awesomeness.

Bio: Gage Mitchell is an independent design professional making his first appearance in Charlotte since he and his wife left the Queen city to travel the world. He’s a former AIGA Charlotte board member and is currently serving on the AIGA Wisconsin board, tasked with enriching the Madison area design community. A former employee of Eye Design Studio here in Charlotte, Gage now works independently on branding and design projects for what he refers to as “super-awesome” clients. A self-admitted Eco-Geek, he is also an advocate for finding a more sustainable approach to life and design.

Dimeji Onafuwa
President and Creative Director, Casajulie

Yoruba Aesthetics: Exploring the Yoruba principles of design and how we find parallels with Western Principles of Design.

Bio: Dimeji is the founder and Creative Director of Casajulie Visual Communications. After graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts (with majors in Advertising and Studio Art), Dimeji has worked in the industry for over 10 years. He holds a Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in Management from UNC Charlotte. He sits on the board of a few local organizations, including the Belmont Community Development Corporation. Dimeji is also a figurative painter and is represented in Charlotte NC by Redsky Gallery and in Winston-Salem NC by 5ive & 40rty Gallery. His paintings are in private and public collections.

Karen Sessions
President, Perry Sessions Design

In 1999, 20 individuals, who practiced graphic design or were in an allied field came together to launch an AIGA chapter in Charlotte. Where are those Jeffersonians now? And what does AIGA/design mean to them today?

Bio: Karen Session is President of Perry Sessions Design, an award-winning graphic design firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina. With a focus on identity systems, packaging and websites, Perry Sessions works with both Fortune 50 corporations and small business start-ups, taking business messages and transforming them into design that inspires action. Karen has worked in the design industry for 20 years.

Jason Tselentis
Designer, Writer and Educator, Winthrop University

Design Failures: Although failure is relative, one thing remains certain: designers fail every minute, everyday, everywhere. Failure, for lack of a better word, is good; so long as you identify it and know what to do with it.

Bio: Jason Tselentis teaches graphic design and typography at Winthrop University's Department of Design. He has completed print and interactive design for: the Experience Music Project & Science Fiction Museum; Intel Labs; the National Park Service; and Sony BMG Music. His writings about design and visual culture have appeared in Arcade, Emigre, Eye, and How magazines. Rockport Publishers will release his book Typology: the Fundamentals of Typography in 2011.

Silent Auction

Below is a complete list of the generous donations made by supporting vendors and individuals for the Silent Auction. Make sure to show up on time to get your bids in! Cash, check or credit card will be acceptable forms of payment for winning bids.

Posters & Artwork
Posters and prints from Ben Gelnett / Human Shaped Robot / Mexican Chocolate Design / Patent Pending Industries / Aesthetic Apparatus / The Small Stakes / Tether, Inc.
Original artwork from "Look Both Ways" by Debbie Millman
Original woodcut print by Daniel Allegrucci
Limited Edition Fine Art Skateboard from Black Sheep
Original Photography from Jeff Holt Photo
Original Photography from Mike Carroll Photography

Merchandise & Swag
T-shirts from Beast Visual, Endurobrand / Ink Floyd / Tether, Inc. / Mexican Chocolate Design
Alexander Girard, Photo-Lettering and Neutraface Alphabet Blocks from House Industries
Memorex iPod speaker donated by Studiobanks
Goodie basket of paper products from xpedx
Merchandise from Veer

Design Books
Autographed copy of "Look Both Ways" by Debbie Millman
Autographed copy of "1,000 Journals" by Brian Singer
Autographed copy of "Things I Have Learned in my Life So Far" by Stefan Sagmeister
Autographed copy of "Graphic Design Referenced" by Armin Vit

Printing & Professional Services
$500 gift certificate for static digital printing from Belk Printing Technologies
$500 gift certificate for digital printing from Baucom Press
$250 gift card for printing services from Metrographics
Banner with stand and print production from Integraphx
Banner with stand and printing from Classic Graphics
Printing of 500 brochures and 1000 business cards from Allegra Printing and Imaging
Four hours of Sound Design (SFX) / AudioEdit & Mix from Hot Sake
Premium Annual membership to lynda.com

Local Attractions and Gift Certificates
One night hotel stay at aLoft Charlotte Uptown at the EpiCentre
Two AllSport passes to National Whitewater Center
Family memberships to the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art
Four tickets to Discovery Place
$100 Gift certificate to The Niche Market
Gift certificate to Cheap Joe's

Kindly note: This is not a "Pecha Kucha" event. AIGA Charlotte supports Point 8 and Pecha Kucha Charlotte and encourages all of our members and the community to attend their upcoming event April 8, 2010. For details please visit: http://www.point8.org/pechakucha/