We are thrilled to share with you the first-of-its-kind AIGA chapter-led and co-created national awareness week: EMERGE. Designers locally and across the country will be actively participate in this initiative. More information on how you can participate below.
EMERGE is a series of experiences tailored to help the emerging designer hone their skills, discover their talents, and grow their career. We’re kicking off this new EMERGE Initiative with a week’s worth of events and content.
EMERGE programming will continue on throughout the year ahead and supported nationally by all 70 AIGA local chapters. Your participation will ensure its continued success. EMERGE is the result of AIGA Minnesota’s awarded AIGA Innovate grant.
About the Event:
Join AIGA Seattle for inspiring presentations from five creative professionals of varying backgrounds and experience. With topics covering Employment, Growth, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Life Skills, this event is a perfect kickoff to the new AIGA Emerge initiative in Seattle.
Schedule:
8:30am: doors open - grab some coffee and a snack
8:45 - 10am: presentations and Q+A
11:45am - 1pm EDT / 10:45am - 12pm CDT / 9:45 - 11am MDT / 8:45 - 10am MST + PDT
Speakers:
Employment: Michelle Guarino, Product Designer, Axon
Michelle is a designer at Axon, the Seattle division of TASER International, Inc. She designs software products for law enforcement that center around the relationship between police and civilians with a focus on confidence, accountability, and productivity. To gain better understanding of the products Michelle has participated in officer training, observed body camera deployment programs, and volunteered to get tased. She has also been accidentally locked in a bathroom and, over a course of three hours of ideation and prototyping, designed her way out.
Growth: Erik Molano, Co-Founder / Designer, Photon Factory
After a few years at Digital Kitchen, Erik co-founded Photon Factory, a Seattle based design and video studio for brave organizations and emotional humans. With the power of boundless creativity, he firmly believes we can all create more moments of meaning and play in our communities. He has worked with Greenpeace, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, California Institute of Technology, Starbucks, Ocean Defenders Alliance, XPRIZE and Netflix.
Leadership: Abby Breckenridge, Partner, 2A Consulting
Abby brings creative storytelling and a knack for organizing information to her clients and team. A marketing-pro, she specializes in helping companies effectively engage with their audiences. Before receiving her M.B.A. from Michael G. Foster School of Business in 2007, she worked in academic research and non-profit fundraising.
Life Skills: Danny Krueger, freelance Art Director and Photographer
Originally from Chicago, Daniel has experience in leading and executing creative for both in-house and freelance clients. His work focuses on mixing design, photography, and motion for social and digital campaigns. On the entrepreneurial front, he has launched multiple projects with expertise in small business branding and creative strategies. With successful careers in publishing, social media, and product marketing, Daniel has been focusing on collaborative and non-profit ventures, most recently volunteering with Urban Artworks, a Seattle-based youth arts program.
Entrepreneurship: Shelby Burford, Marketplace Storyteller
The Seattle Times once printed, “Knowing Shelby Burford is like knowing Forrest Gump. The stories never stop.” Today, Shelby crafts narratives that capture the attention of the marketplace. Through communications strategy, copywriting, and presentation design, he helps companies put words and images to the value their products and services possess.
Entrepreneurship is in Shelby’s DNA. As a tween, he launched a graphic design business from his childhood bedroom, crafting regrettable logos for Midwestern small businesses. Today, he’s a freelance communications strategist who helps startups and corporations tell the world who they are. But between those two points is a journey of starry-eyed dreams, corporate realities, and entrepreneurial rediscovery. At Emerge, Shelby will discuss the aspirations and frustrations that led him to venture out on his own.
Attend:
Register today to enjoy the presentation live with opportunity to meet other emerging creatives. Light breakfast snacks and coffee will be provided.
Live Stream:
Can’t make it in person? Tuning in from across the country? No need to register—you can livestream the event via this link: https://livestream.com/AIGASeattleEmerge.
Emerge Awareness Week:
This event is part of AIGA’s nation-wide EMERGE Awareness Week. Check out what other chapters across the country are doing at aiga.org/emerge and via #AIGAemerge.
