IBM and AIGA have announced a partnership to develop programs that promote how design improves the human experience, reinforcing that design is integral to the civic and business agenda.
IBM will serve as the first official AIGA Sponsor for Design Leadership. Over the next year, IBM will strengthen its relationship with AIGA's creative communities by engaging IBM leaders to deploy their expertise across AIGA's network.
The partnership will integrate leadership development skills and experience design across AIGA's activities, including the organization's 26,000 members and the 260,000 professional graphic designers working in the U.S.
"We are thrilled to be entering into this multi-faceted partnership with IBM," commented Julie Anixter, AIGA executive director. "Today designers are being called upon for their design and problem-solving skills to help organizations of all kinds imagine their futures. IBM has the ability to help us advance our professional development offering through thought leadership, strategy and training for our chapter leaders."
AIGA's Design for Good supports and sustains designers who play a catalytic role in communities through projects that create positive social impact. By connecting and empowering designers through online networking tools, inspirational stories, toolkits, chapter events, training, national advocacy campaigns and promotion, Design for Good serves as a powerful framework for designers who wish to work in this area and a beacon for designers leading the charge.
Design for Good and other programs that will leverage IBM's support will be disseminated through AIGA's new Ambassadors Program, an ongoing communication and leadership strategy designed to build a scalable, sustainable, national ecosystem of influential AIGA designers. This program will prepare AIGA influencers (AIGA board members, chapter leaders, members, awardees, educators, and others) to become effective and persuasive advocates of the value of design, at the local, national and global level. This program will provide an evergreen communications channel to share strategic design news, critical content in the context of AIGA programs and partner involvement. The goal of this program is to strengthen the creative community's dialogue on how design improves the human condition, reinforcing that design is integral to the civic and business agenda.
Select IBM leaders will be represented on various taskforces, including AIGA Women Lead initiative. Through these hands-on collaborations IBM will help steer the conversation forward and explore new ways to think of how design excellence meets leadership and equity.
IBM will also present a Design Leadership content series, "brought to you by IBM," featuring online editorial and short-form videos and IBM's new DesignLine talk series. The content will focus on issues of design leadership, IBM's work with clients, design thinking and future trends.