AIGA LA Launches New Design-Community Focused Website
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
David Young, 323-660-4377, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
John S. Couch, 310-397-7454, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
AIGA LA Launches New Design-Community Focused Website
Los Angeles, CA—The Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) announces the launch of its new design-community focused Website. http://www.aigalosangeles.org
The new site intends to be the focal point for Los Angeles’ diverse and far-reaching design community. A true resource for area designers, the site features articles, member profiles, tech and business tips, chapter and area event listings, job postings and a variety of other relevant content.
AIGA/LA approached the redesign of the Website with the recognition that the most efficient course for day-to-day community for members is most likely to take place online. This is especially true in Los Angeles—a sprawling city, where members have few opportunities to meet face-to-face. The site enables the chapter to move beyond its physical activities and become a place where members can easily contribute and let their voices be heard. It effectively transports the chapter, and its spirit, online.
A radical new feature is the ability to view the site through different “skins.” Skins can radically change the site’s visual appearance, while keeping the underlying structure intact. Any member can contribute a skin design—resulting in a site which reflects the myriad design sensibilities of the Los Angeles creative community. The skin library already contains of an interesting and eclectic collection of skins, including one created by noted designer Ed Fella, and future skins are under development by, among others, April Greiman, KarlssonWilker, and Karin Fong (Imaginary Forces).
The website is the embodiment of AIGA’s new strategic direction of promoting the value of the design process. This change recognizes that complex problems are usually those defined by a complex context. Throughout the development of the site, design discussions and sketches were made public online. Says Clement Mok, AIGA National President, “The transparency of the development process provides an invaluable lesson on how to build an on-line community. Bravo to the chapter and its leaders to take this bold move.”
Designing a website for a local chapter of a national organization is particularly challenging. Not only must the chapter’s local energy be communicated—but, visitors shouldn’t miss the benefits and activities at the national level. The AIGA Los Angeles website addresses this by seamlessly linking to feature stories, events, and other resources on the national site. If other chapters follow this model, a network of chapter sites with similar features could develop, giving even greater benefit to members, creating community among the chapters, and strengthening the national organization. This is a ideal model for how large organizations and businesses can structure their online presence.
Ric Gref?, AIGA National Executive Director, says “The AIGA Los Angeles chapter website is a model for all communities. It brings to the fore the most critical attributes of a successful site: an immediate sense of substantial and diverse activity, with easy access to in-depth information that keeps members informed, engaged and involved.”
The site is built upon the same technology which powers “blog” websites—a trend sweeping the Internet, whereby people can easily post articles and anyone can post public replies. Using these tools, the AIGA Los Angeles website enables visitors to comment on, and have discussions about, any of the site’s articles and events. This focused form of communication is a very effective means of developing online community, and allowing people to participate in the organization.
Pash, president of AIGA Los Angeles put it best when he said, “Satisfying the expectations, needs, and tastes of a design community as dynamic, diverse, and discerning as ours is here in Los Angeles should, frankly, be a lot harder than this outstanding example of design would suggest.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
David Young, 323-660-4377, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
John S. Couch, 310-397-7454, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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Website Feature List
Events Listings
Listing of upcoming AIGA/LA events, reviews of past events, design related activities around the country, and links to other design-related event sites.
Features
Exclusive articles, interviews, member spotlights, and more. Plus links to interesting features on other AIGA sites.
Quickposts
Informal announcements and links to noteworthy web resources. Submit links that you think would be of interest to our members.
Job Listings
Local job postings and links to other useful job resources.
Comments
Comments are attached to all individual events, features, and webdev activity pages. Newly posted comments are percolated-up—alowing people to easily see what’s new.
Chapter Info
Information about chapter committees, board members, and the advisory board.
Student Groups
Information about local student groups, and contact info.
Mailing Lists
Subscribe/unsubscribe to chapter mailings.
Skinnable
The visual design of the site can change. The Skin Switcher tool allows users to change skins at any time.
Shortcut URL
Can’t remember aigalosangeles.org? Now aigala.org works, too.
iCal Support
Two different calendars so you can subscribe to local and nation-wide events listings.
XML/RSS Feeds
All the site’s major sections have RSS feeds - so you can keep up-to-date using your favorite RSS news reader.
WebDev
Follow, and participate in, the ongoing development of the website.
Dynamic Content
We are using Movable Type as our back-end content management system, which makes updating the site a breeze.
Hosting
We’re pleased to be announcing our new AIGA Los Angeles Website Patron: Media Temple.
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Website Technical Requirements
The site has been designed for modern browsers. Specifically:
- Mac OS 9: Internet Explorer 5+
- Mac OS X: Internet Explorer 5+, Safari, and Mozilla 7
- Windows 9x and XP: Internet Explorer 5+ and Netscape 6+
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About AIGA
The purpose of AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) is to set the national agenda for the role of design in its economic, social, political and cultural contexts. AIGA serves as a hub of thought-leadership and activity for the designing community. The association is committed to stimulating thinking about design through the exchange of ideas and information, the encouragement of critical analysis and research, and the advancement of education and ethical practice.
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This press release is online
as a PDF file:
http://aigalosangeles.org/pr/aigala_website_01.pdf
as text document:
http://aigalosangeles.org/pr/archives/000319.php