AIGA, the professional association for design, is committed to furthering excellence in design as a broadly-defined discipline, strategic tool for business and cultural force. AIGA is the place design professionals turn to first to exchange ideas and information, participate in critical analysis and research and advance education and ethical practice.

AIGA sets the national agenda for the role of design in its economic, social, political, cultural and creative contexts. AIGA is the oldest and largest membership association for professionals engaged in the discipline, practice and culture of designing. Founded as the American Institute of Graphic Arts in 1914 as a small, exclusive club, AIGA now represents more than 16,000 designers through national activities and local programs developed by 55 chapters and more than 150 student groups.

AIGA supports the interests of professionals, educators and students who are engaged in the process of designing, regardless of where they are in the arc of their careers. The disciplines represented in the profession range from book and type design through the traditional communication design disciplines to the newer disciplines of interaction design, experience design and motion graphics. In addition, AIGA supports the interests of those involved in designing from other disciplines, professions and business who share designers’ commitment to advancing understanding of the value of design.

Through the relationships members develop within the community of designers, the information they share and the standards they develop for the profession, AIGA helps the profession to validate its own ethos and role in business and society. AIGA actively communicates the value of design to the business community and the public. AIGA serves as a hub of thought-leadership and activity for the designing community. The association is committed to stimulating thinking about design through conferences, competitions, exhibitions, publications and websites. AIGA inspires, educates and informs designers, helping them to realize their talents and to advocate the value of design among the media, the business community, public agencies and the general public. While AIGA was created to advance the design profession, its members now place a higher priority on AIGA’s work in communicating the value of design to audiences outside the profession.

Join AIGA

Want to become an AIGA-UWM member? All you need to do is go to the AIGA website using the link below. Be sure to have a copy of a dated bursar's receipt or current student ID to verify your UWM student status. Joining online is $20 cheaper than via mail or fax!

www.aiga.org/content.cfm/join