AIGA Atlanta program pursues diversity in the profession

On January 18, AIGA Atlanta invited members and nonmembers to participate in “Color Blind,” an open dialog event that explored the AIGA initiative to encourage membership diversity and build a more inclusive community.

The chapter organized a panel session that discussed why the graphic design community does not “look like America.” Compared with the U.S. population at large, African American, Latino and Hispanic designers are significantly under-represented. According to David Laufer, AIGA Atlanta chapter treasurer, “the ‘aha’ moment of the evening came when the panel agreed that nobody ‘gives’ a designer equality—every designer must earn it through high creative standards, preparation and by treating every project as though it were one’s first big break. Proactive diversification doesn’t mean picking a lesser talent to achieve a quota. It just means recognizing the bigger payout awaiting managers and clients smart enough to choose and develop vibrant and diverse creative teams.”

AIGA Atlanta on Diversity: Color Blind Online blog provides further discussion around the issues raised that evening. Podcasts related to the event will be available online soon at www.aiga-atl.org. Moving forward, AIGA Atlanta will continue to strengthen its diversity initiatives and welcome designers to join the community.

Contact Maria Emmighausen (maria_emmighausen at aiga dot org) to join the AIGA diversity task force. To share success stories and best practices, subscribe to the AIGA diversity mailing list at lists.aiga.org/mailman/listinfo/aiga-diversity.