Annual Members Meeting
Review by Aggie Toppins

The Chicago chapter of AIGA came together on June 25th at the Art Institute to celebrate an exceptional year of design. President Steve Ryan, recently decaffeinated and newly recaffeinated, began with a thought-provoking address. His words touched on the momentous year we've had: from the successful election of Barack Obama, whose campaign was created by members of Chicago's own design community, to the challenges that the current economic recession presents to our profession.

"We are living through a moment that five, ten or fifteen years from now will be viewed as definitive. It is a moment of great change, great challenge and great opportunity. Getting through it will, no doubt, be painful. But, not unlike the accomplishment we witnessed together in Grant Park last November, the challenges we face today are not insurmountable if we adapt intelligently," said Ryan.

After Steve's opening remarks came the first of many segways characterized by the video work of Jon Satrom, whose style of using "glitch-ware" proved to be most entertaining.

The AIGA Chicago staff and board of directors were acknowledged with special attention paid to incoming members, Fletcher Martin, Kel Knaga, David Murga, Dawn Hancock and Mark Rattin, as well as outgoing members, Tiffany Farriss and John Harris.

Richard Zeid presented the Student Enrichment Scholarship to Adam Muran from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Honorable mentions were given to Darren McPherson, also from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Nicole Smiley from Kendall College in Grand Rapids.

"Designers continually have the need to acknowledge each other," said Bart Crosby before presenting the Corporate Design Leadership Award, a newly established form of recognition that the AIGA gives to organizations dedicated to promoting design excellence as meaningful business policy. "Without good clients, we could not be creative. Without great clients we could not be pushed to our full potential. Without extraordinary clients, we could never witness the power of design, " said Crosby. And with these words, the award was given to Gordon Segal, CEO of Crate & Barrel.

During his gracious acceptance, Segal reflected on the time when he and his wife began dreaming of their store. "There must be other young couples like us with good taste but no money," he recalled thinking. He talked about the successful evolution of the brand, tipping his hat to the store clerk who designed their logo and thanking their hard-working graphic design department. His parting words were, "You only do beautiful work slowly and carefully. Don't rush. Stay humble. Stay nervous."

The 2009 AIGA Fellow Award was given to the late Morton Goldsholl. His life and work was researched and presented by Wendy Presley Jacobs and Joseph Michael Essex. The Fellow Award is reserved for distinguished designers who have contributed to the field over the course of a lifetime. Goldsholl began his career in the 1930s, emerging from the Maholy-Nagy-led New Bauhaus program, here in Chicago. Goldsholl worked for more than 40 years. During that time, he created many superior corporate identities and packaging projects, including the 7-Up Uncola campaign. "A whole designer," as he was called, Morton created beautiful graphic solutions for his clients but also went beyond that, even to the point of inventing paint mixing machinery for Martin-Senor. Susan Jackson Keig, who was close to Goldsholl during his lifetime, accepted the award on his behalf.

The annual meeting's presentations came to a profound close with the words of featured speaker, Zoë Ryan. Introduced by Cheryl Towler-Weese as the museum's first Neville Bryan Curator of Design, Ryan's department is the youngest at the Art Institute, but it contains the most objects. Its growing collection boasts furniture, textiles, graphic and industrial design pieces, as well as many other examples of interdisciplinary work. Ryan's goal is to find new ways to present and explain the work of designers, including their processes. She has even begun collecting brand standards manuals for the museum. Ryan discussed how the changing times have promoted designers from being problem-solvers to agents of social progress. To this, she added, "Design must raise the quality of life... and help us understand the world around us." She ended her talk by returning attention to the Modern Wing at the Art Institute, using it as a testament to our being in "a new era for museums," one in which museums are responsible for cataloging contemporary thinking for future generations as well as collecting historical representations.

After final words from Pete Douglas of Lake County Press, the Annual Member Meeting's generous sponsor, the evening concluded with socializing, refreshments and a circuit-bending peformance by Roth Mobot in the garden.

Sponsors: Getty Images, Lake County Press