ABOUT

AIGA response_ability conference aims to foster an ongoing dialogue and debate about design ethics, sustainability and design education. It will include main stage speakers, breakout sessions, roundtable discussions and digital “poster” displays sharing curricular models and issues addressing graduate and undergraduate design education.

The conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza Toledo.

The response_ability conference is a project of AIGA in partnership with Adobe Systems.

response-ability is hosted by AIGA Toledo and the Graphic Design Division of Bowling Green State University.

Conference Committee

Matt Davis, conference co-chair
Associate Professor, Division Chair of Graphic Design
Bowling Green State University

Amy Fidler, conference co-chair
Full-time Educator
Bowling Green State University

Jenn Stucker, conference co-chair
Full-time Educator
Bowling Green State University

Sub-Committees

Eric Benson, sustainability chair
Assistant Professor
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Todd Childers, sustainability committee
Associate Professor
Bowling Green State University

Michael Paulus, interactive co-chair
Creative Director
Deploy

Gene Powell, interactive co-chair
President
Spoke, LLC

Shawn Simmons, presenter/reader chair
Assistant Professor, Visual Communications Design
Kent State University

Holly Whitney, registration chair
Graphic Design Program Coordinator
Davis College

Lori Young, volunteer chair
Associate Professor
Bowling Green State University

AIGA
AIGA, the professional association for design, is the premier place for design—to discover it, discuss it, understand it, appreciate it, be inspired by it. AIGA’s mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force. AIGA stimulates thinking about design through journals, conferences, competitions and exhibitions; demonstrates the value of design to business, the public and government officials; and empowers the success of designers at each stage of their careers by providing invaluable educational and social resources.

Founded in 1914, AIGA remains the oldest and largest professional membership organization for design. AIGA now represents more than 22,000 design professionals, educators and students through national activities and local programs developed by more than 60 chapters and 240 student groups. AIGA is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational institution. For more information on AIGA, visit www.aiga.org.

AIGA Education and History
AIGA educational standards and criteria represent an effort by the profession and educators to set clear expectations for accredited design programs, through AIGA’s partnership with the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). This effort stimulates thinking about the key characteristics of curricula and professional requirements. AIGA archives at www.aiga.org represent a growing resource of design history and criticism. AIGA is also encouraging the development of print archives through legacy gifts. In June 2003 we announced that our competition archives will be transferred to the Denver Art Museum, which made a long-term commitment to graphic design collections.

AIGA Conference Policies
AIGA policies toward conference activities have been developed based on experience and with a firm commitment to follow practices that are fair, equitable and consistent. They are applied across all circumstances to assure each participant that he or she is being treated the same as any other participant as a matter of trust. Therefore, exceptions are not given unless the policy is to be changed for all participants. Policies also reflect the need to be able to administer practices fairly and consistently with limited staff resources, which will result in certain policies having been established for administrative viability.

What the registration fees cover and how they are set?
The registration fee for participants includes attendance at all conference general and focused sessions. Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks and Beverages will be provided throughout the conference. The fees are set to make the experience both memorable and affordable. We have tried to reduce the cost to encourage as many people as possible to attend.

Press
We are a nonprofit professional association. Our activities are created for our members, who also support them. We have a limited number of press passes for editorial staff on publications who we believe are likely to write a substantive article on the content so that it can be made available to a broader audience. Press who are intrigued by the content are encouraged to attend. We apply our policies consistently and fairly to avoid situations where designers with limited means are subsidizing participation by others. This is the only way we know to remain fair to our members who support us all year and also pay to attend our conferences. To apply for a press pass, send a proposal to press@aiga.org. Under no circumstances will noneditorial staff or more than one writer from a single publication receive a press pass.

Group registrations
You can register as a group, but there are no reduced prices for groups.

Speakers
When the national design conference originated 20 years ago, the conference was an opportunity to bring together people who were passionate about design to share ideas. Over time, we have drawn farther and farther afield in seeking speakers who are inspirational, informative and provocative. The speakers are selected by a program committee and are offered a modest travel honorarium. Except in highly unusual cases, we have not paid speaking fees. We also try to avoid any presentations that will be self-promotional or promote a specific product. Unlike some professional conferences, we do not offer opportunities for presentations that do not fit into the main theme of the conference as determined by the conference committee. This policy is followed in order to be able to manage the experience and value we offer our participants.

Partial registrations or one-day passes
AIGA offers only full conference registrations to its events. The experience and the pricing for the conference are based on attendees attending the entire conference. Based on experience, we have determined that it is neither economically nor administratively feasible for our small staff to offer partial registrations and to police compliance. It would be unfair to those paying full registration to allow those purchasing a partial registration to allow a means for others to experience the conference by violating the intent of a partial registration.

Comps
We do not offer complimentary registrations to anyone, including board members or chapter leadership. This policy is based on a firm commitment to equity and fairness. We respect our customers who pay for the conference and will not violate their trust.