Event Calendar /

Our new design social—second Thursday of the month!

Our Seattle Design Socials have become such a popular monthly gathering that members have asked for a regular meetup in Bellevue. We’re excited to be starting an Eastside happy hour the second Thursday of each month. Come Shmooze with us!

Come find a treasure trove of items designers are clearing from their studios! Sample items:

James Victore will inspire you. Pulling no punches, he built his career on the strength of his convictions as much as his skill as a designer and has aimed for one thing in his work: “to make it personal.”

What’s a Wayzgoose?
It’s a centuries-old celebration of the honored craft of letterpress printing. While The School of Visual Concepts’ Wayzgoose doesn’t date back quite so far, the ninth edition of this event promises to be bigger, better, and Wayzgoosier than ever, with steamroller printing, a marketplace, an equipment swap, and demonstrations.

Northwest women design professionals offer insights into their challenges, their successes, and how they got to where they are today. This unique event offers specific resources for creative women at all points in their career. Moderated by Methodologie principal Shannyn Roberts, the panel includes Wendy Chisholm, Senior Strategist at Microsoft; Chelsea Conboy, designer for Bumbershoot 2010; Robynne Raye, co-founder of Modern Dog and instructor, Cornish College of the Arts; and Åsa Sandlund, Brand Creative Director for Nordstrom.

Join us again this month at Barca on Cap Hill.

Stop by and make connections with other Seattle designers (of all kinds) at our casual gatherings. The last Thursday of each month we get together to swap ideas, vent about impossible deadlines, share inspiration, and have a laugh. No reservation needed, no cover charge. Everyone is welcome (including nonmembers).

Many designers believe that our natural environment is in peril and want to use their creative talents to persuade people to protect it. The AIGA chapters in North and South Carolina, for example, asked their members to design posters that would inspire the people of their states to make sustainable decisions in their everyday lives. No idea was too small or too large.

Join us on Friday, May 14 for the annual Membership Party, one of the biggest AIGA Seattle events of the year. With this party we offer a giant "thank you" to our members and also bring together the Seattle design community, from students to design leaders. If you’re not a member, please join us: this would be a great evening to find out what we’re all about.

What is Reality Check?
Reality Check is an event designed for students and newcomers to the field: This is your opportunity to receive constructive portfolio feedback from experienced design professionals. At Reality Check you can show your work and ideas to some of the best art directors and designers in the Northwest. All you need to do it preregister—and bring your résumé and portfolio to the reviews. The portfolio doesn't have to be perfect—that will come after you incorporate the advice you’re going to receive at Reality Check. You’ll be able use this event to check your understanding of how to create a powerful design portfolio. Participants will receive at least a half dozen reviews, probably more.

Whether you’re a freelancer, an in-house designer, or working at an agency or studio, you can never know too much about the business side of design. And in today’s tough economy, you need that business edge even more.

Stop by and make connections with other Seattle designers (of all kinds) at our casual gatherings. The last Thursday of each month we get together to swap ideas, vent about impossible deadlines, share inspiration, and have a laugh. This time we’ll meet again at Grey Gallery & Lounge on Capitol Hill. Enjoy their great food, espresso, or something stronger to drink — with people who get what design is about.

Now that internet-enabled devices are in nearly every pocket or purse, design and development for the mobile platform has rapidly become a key sector of interactive design. Join us for an evening focused on the design and development of applications, websites, and experiences for mobile devices.

Leaders from companies in both the design and mobile sectors will host discussions on process, concepts, and execution of interaction design for mobile platforms. This HIVE event will be organized in a new format with smaller groups to allow for a more intimate exchange.

Whether you’re a freelancer, an in-house designer, or working at an agency or studio, you can never know too much about the business side of design. And in today’s tough economy, you need that business edge even more.

In October AIGA Seattle launched the Green Salon series as an open forum for both AIGA members and other designers, and invited participants to list a menu of topics for future roundtables about sustainability: a pair for each upcoming discussion. In this second roundtable of the series, we will focus on two of those topics: