AIGA Board Leadership - CHRIS GROSSE - Cross Channel Brand Builder

Service Design AIGA Boston Board Leadership, Event Photos

Spotting and capitalizing on trends, brought first-ever twitter feed to a multisite event, encouraging dialogue and knowledge-sharing between five, simultaneously run workshops. Identity design: Clif Stoltze, Board Advisor

Service Design | AIGA Boston Board Leadership

Passionate about the local design community, I served three terms/six years on the Boston chapter of AIGA’s volunteer-run Board of Directors, preceded by two years on the chapter's Small Business Professional Development team.

As Chapter Secretary, Basecamp was utilized to keep our high-engagement, 40+ live events a year humming along.

Together with five board members, I represented the Boston chapter, a highly-respected chapter, at AIGA's National Leadership Retreat (South Beach Miami). Focusing on delivering exceptional service to our members, we connected around nationwide chapter success stories, exercises, and workshops. Collaborative break-outs helped us build skills needed to serve and engage our local design community. With over 70 chapters in the U.S. and tens-of-thousands of members, AIGA's mission is to empower designers to succeed at every stage of their careers.

In addition to operational roles, board members proposed programming and oversaw event logistics. Mindful of fiduciary responsibilities to the 700-member Boston chapter, I assembled and guided volunteer teams of energetic, early-career members in the implementation of these offerings:

(1) Event Committee: AIGA FELLOW AWARD: LEGENDARY TYPE DESIGNER MATTHEW CARTER - Speakers, exhibits, and a silent auction of priceless items from Matthew's personal collection, along with limited-edition letterform posters designed by previous Fellows, rounded out this very special, bi-annual celebration..

(2) Event Co-Chair, Design Thinking Workshop Chair: INSPIRING IDEAS FOR 25 YEARS - To mark the chapter's milestone, AIGA Boston offered a two-pronged event: a suite of hands-on workshops during the morning and afternoon, followed by an evening party. During the five, multisite workshops (design thinking, typography, book bindery, letterpress printing), I pioneered the chapter's first twitter handle @AIGABoston_25, along with a custom-branded skin. Participants jumped on, sharing workshop discoveries.

(3) Event Co-Chair: CREATIVE DRIVE STUDIO TOURS, 4 TOURS/12 STUDIOS - Canvassing the city in can-not-miss orange trolleys, AIGA kicked-off the season visiting twelve design studios spread across Boston's diverse neighborhoods: (1) Downtown community: Korn Design, Barbarian Group, and Vessel; (2) Fort Point neighborhood: Weymouth Design, Arnold Worldwide, and Stoltze Design; (3) Cambridge area: Philographica, Proteus Design, and Modernista!; and (4) West of Boston: WGBH, Design Continuum, and Corey McPherson Nash.

(4) Event Co-Chair: WHAT DRIVES YOU: DAY TRIP TO MASS MoCA - Members were inspired and challenged by interactive spaces, large-scale installations, contemporary sculptures, and innovative video installations. And . . . after six hours in the van, we definitely had a renewed sense of community!

(5) Committee Member, CFO-responsibility: SMALL BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES was the chapter’s successful, half-day, hands-on workshops cultivating business skills. Quarterly workshops highlighted different stages in the life of a project. From the selling process to writing winning proposals and creating smart pricing strategies; to brainstorming techniques and tactics for idea generation; to reading financial reports and maximizing them to bolster business.

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Photos: Volunteers + Event Participants