Educational Exhibits for Graphic Designers

A Graphic Design Institute Dedicated to Education

The American Institute of Graphic Arts, or AIGA, was founded in 1914, and has since grown into a national organization that represents some 16,000 designers and supports 48 local chapters. The organization is "committed to furthering excellence in design as a broadly-defined discipline, strategic tool for business and cultural force." To advance its mission, AIGA focuses its work on providing a forum in which graphic designers with various levels of experience and expertise can continue to build their education and further their career development in graphic design.

One of AIGA's most popular education forums is held in the National Design Center, located on the first floor of AIGA's New York City headquarters at 164 Fifth Avenue. Here graphic designers can view a variety of ever-changing exhibits on the graphic arts.

Learning From Graphic Designers with Legendary Careers

In 2000, the Center held a retrospective of Milton Glasser, a graphic artist known for his enduring "I Love New York" logo and a famous 1967 Bob Dylan poster. The exhibit featured the biggest collection of Glasser's work shown in New York, including posters, magazines, magazine illustrations, and record albums.

The gallery also showcased the work of James Castle, an early 20th-century graphic artist who is hailed as a master of graphically coded drawings and books. In addition, a recent exhibit looked at defining elements of Californian graphic design, presenting the works of 175 notable graphic artists from California.

If you're interested in a career in graphic design, visiting exhibits that feature the work of graphic designers can be an effective way to learn what makes some designs better than others and factors that influence design such as economics, class, culture, and race.