Guest Columnist

Are You Out There?
A view of the Philadelphia graphic design community
by Michele Cooper, 1 Mar 2006

Michele, a West Virginia Wesleyan College graduate, currently holds a position as a Senior Art Director at Paragraph, as well as President of the Philadelphia Chapter of AIGA - www.aigaphilly.org.

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In the early 90s, I went off to college. As a New Jersey native, I was interested in finding a school in an environment different than the suburbs. So, I went to the extreme and found myself in rural West Virginia. Small is one word to describe my alma mater, West Virginia Wesleyan College - small, but strong in community. The type of student that excelled at Wesleyan became interested in the community and embraced the potential of working with others. I could see this in the students who walked by and greeted me strangers, who didnt know me from any other prospective student who were proud of their experience, their choice, and seemed happy to be involved. Being from a more guarded environment, this friendly demeanor was foreign to me. It was the first time I witnessed a sense of community.

Being involved in the student community, made me and those at my rural school strong leaders. The support that you receive from those around you makes you a more secure person. It gives you the confidence to make decisions, give direction, and have an opinion. For instance, auditioning for a play as a non-theater major was nerve wracking. As friends went up to improv scenes, I kept trying to put myself in their shoes. How nervous were they? How did they know what to say? There were some theater majors who I knew from around campus who were glad to see new faces at auditions. They were the people who urged me to take a chance and gave me the courage to get up there and have fun. These leaders in the theater major were spreading out their support and consciously building their community; making it stronger.

Now 10 years later and in completely different surroundings, I am happy to be back in a similar community driven situation. Unlike West Virginia, Philadelphia is larger and less prone to a tight knit community. However, involvement in a professional organization like AIGA and vehicles like Philly Creative Guide, makes participation in the graphic design community much easier. The question I hear the most is from out-of-state AIGA members How do I meet people in the design community? They usually feel somewhat discouraged and explain that its been difficult to find the design community. I encourage them to come to more events, start to see familiar faces, learn something about the industry through the lectures and the conversations at receptions. If they are weary to attend events alone, bring a friend. Graphic design is accessible (and cool to some outside of the field). Therefore, it's easy to convince your friends to see a lecture about the new MTV campaign or learn about a technique. If its a happy hour, use the drink specials to entice a friend to come out and support you.

Lets go back to about 5 years ago I was new to the area. I was that new person. I had moved back to the Philadelphia area after a couple years on the West coast. It is difficult being new to any area (small or large), but its an exciting time to learn and observe. Get involved! I started out by volunteering on the AIGA Philadelphia Education committee. The transition was not instantaneous, but it was rewarding to learn more about the local industry and the different designers as each AIGA event passed. After the first couple years, I felt acclimated to the scene and comfortable having those conversations about what firm worked on what account, what type of work each firm was known for, and placed names with faces.

Community helps us understand our local industry. Going to happy hours you may hear about what firm is hiring, what projects people are working on, and stories (good and bad) about clients and vendors. Those small conversations give us a better understanding of whats happening in our industry around us. This makes you a more informed designer in the community - not to mention a great way to make friends with similar interests and priorities. I hear about how people have met at happy hours or other events and become good friends. Some people end up getting married and others end up being in wedding parties. Either way its nice to meet people with common goals.

Community also builds pride among our peers and creates a healthy competitive atmosphere. Its better to be aware of new standards being set in our industry. When we know how to recognize the bar, well also know how to exceed it, right? Its a constantly changing environment. Hearing about new projects and different ways of approaching work will keep our community sharp and constantly challenging each other.

So, AIGA | the professional organization for graphic designers has always been a beacon of design integrity. We are not only design advocates, we are community advocates. If you visit the AIGA Philadelphia site (http://www.aigaphilly.org), youll find various ways to get involved. There are committees for each Vice President position. These committees meet monthly and plan out programs and initiatives for AIGA Philadelphia. Although most admirable, being involved does not always mean actively contributing time. We are always looking for feedback or you can come out to lectures and happy hours to meet others in the community.

We are stronger as a united front than as individuals or estranged agencies. Theres nothing wrong with sharing your time, your thoughts, and your presence. If anything, it could make you stronger. It will definitely make the Philadelphia design community stronger. The designers and firms are out there to find and get to know. Take the leap - Get out there and be inspired by your community.

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