AIGA Cleveland's September Community Meeting was a design jam held at Kent State University on September 28th, 2023. During this casual two-hour design challenge, attendees used the allotted time and materials to design creative works from scratch. Think of it as a jam session, except instead of improvising a song based on a standard, attendees made creative works based upon a surprise topic. These works could be any type of creative endeavor: an illustration, a mockup for a typeface, a wireframe for an app or website; it could be anything just so long as it is made within the hours of the event and is tangentially connected to the surprise topic. Since this event was AIGA Cleveland's first in Kent, the surprise topic was "Cleveland", with the intention being to connect the student-majority attendees with the Cleveland creative community.
Because the surprise topic was announced at the event itself, there was no preparation in advance for the activity on the part of attendees besides bringing whatever materials they wish to use (beyond what is prepared by the Community Outreach Committee). We provided various materials (paper, pens, pencils, etc.) for use at the event, though attendees were encouraged to bring their own sketchbooks, laptops, tablets, and any other creative materials they wished to use or share. The creative task at hand can be accomplished either individually or collaboratively. At the end of the event, attendees did (but were not required to) take a minute to share with the group what they designed based upon the topic.
This event was AIGA Cleveland's best attended Community Meeting in the past three years (possibly since the creation of the monthly meeting format), with 60 attendees. The majority of attendees were KSU students from the Visual Communication Design program, though there were people with a myriad of backgrounds in attendance, including AIGA Cleveland board members, KSU alumni, and Community Meeting regulars. Attendees were engaged and eager participants, with the majority filling out our survey to let us know how the event went for them.
As Community Meeting Co-Chair, it is my responsibility to plan, lead, and moderate our monthly Community Meetings alongside fellow Co-Chair, Maria Ahmad. In order to prevent burnout, we alternate who is the primary organizer on each month. As that was me in this case, I developed the premise of the design jam, the format used at the event, and the surprise topic. I coordinated the venue with KSU faculty and the AIGA KSU student group, strengthening AIGA Cleveland's relationship with these groups and facilitating potential events after September. I art directed the print campaign and social media promotion with support from our in-chapter designer Carmen Dotterer and Community Outreach Committee member Nick Giammarco. From this campaign and Carmen's original design jam logo concept, I designed the slides for usage at the event itself, including a partial display typeface. At the event itself, I introduced the topic and format and Maria and I spoke with attendees, learned about how they approached the topic, and offered critique if requested. Once the two hours had elapsed, over 20 attendees shared their work with the group (submitted via Google Drive to be shown onscreen).
Intro Slide
Format Slide
Inspiration Slide
Thank You Slide
Attendees Making
Attendees Making
Attendees Making
Attendees Making
Discussing the Prompt with Attendees
Showcasing Attendees' Submissions (this piece is by Audrey Pierson)
