Last night a couple of us from WRS attended a community meeting for the AIGA Triad North Carolina at Black Horse Studio in Winston-Salem, NC. If that sounds vaguely familiar, but some how different then it might be due to the fact that it is a new chapter of the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts). This is great news for all the creative designers of the Triad area. The AIGA Triad North Carolina aims to build a community for designers of all types.
This first community meeting was to bring together as many designers as possible and collaborate on ideas for the kinds of events and activities they would like to see this chapter of the AIGA bring to them. The group plans to hold community meetings in such a way as to give their members around the Triad in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point, and the surrounding area all an opportunity to have access to meetings and events. Judging by the sample of designers that came to fill the studio the Triad is ripe for this kind of gathering of creative minds.
The evening started off with your typical meet and greet before beginning the meeting proper. After the initial introductions of the board members everyone counted off and split into four groups; however, there were so many people present that a few groups broke into subgroups. Then it was a fabulous exchange of ideas and discussion about what the designers want more of, from opportunities to hang out with other designers to workshops to help expand their skill and knowledge base.
It was a wonderful opportunity to see how many design professionals the Triad has to boast, and this meeting only exposed the tip of the iceberg. Designers put their mark everywhere from the architecture of a building to the logo on your business card or the banner of a website, just to name a few. We are fortunate to have so many in the Triad, and we look forward to seeing the impact of this group on the design community.