We’re recruiting for the AIGA Central Coast Board of Directors. Join us!

AIGA CC needs you!

We won’t be coy about this. Central Coast creative professionals: your local AIGA chapter needs you. Our all-volunteer Board of Directors advocates for the value of design (to business, government, and the general public) by connecting creative professionals with the surrounding community. Not all of us are designers. I’ll repeat that: not all of us are designers. Indeed, you don’t have to be a designer to join AIGA.  

Creativity thrives in the 805.

It’s a clever tagline, but we really mean it. Our chapter members hail from everywhere on the Central Coast—from Thousand Oaks to Paso Robles, from Ojai to Oxnard, from Santa Maria to Carpinteria. The AIGA Central Coast board of directors is changing to reflect that as well; by 2022 our goal is to be even more representative of the 805, with board hubs in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo, each led by its own Vice President.

Each position has required duties, but we tailor them to suit that board member’s passions: diversity in design, female leadership, design events, social media, or education to name a few. There’s structure here with ready-made support—local, regional, and national—to accomplish great things in your creative community. We can promise that you’ll get out of it what you put into it.

What do you want to accomplish?

Help shape what happens in your creative community. In a small chapter like ours, a single volunteer can make a big difference. Take ownership of your career as a creative professional by joining or leading a team and setting the agenda together for your creative community. Make your mark by learning new skills that help plan and produce real, beneficial, and fun events or programs. Connect students and emerging designers with seasoned professionals and cross-pollinate that collective creative wisdom!

Design is changing.

…and as the professional design association, AIGA must reflect that. This goes beyond graphics and typography and “creative inspiration.” It even goes beyond UX/UI, industrial/product design, and information architecture. It means all of those things together.

The world is full of seemingly intractable problems, which affect us here locally whether we know it or not. Most of those problems persist because they’ve been designed that way, but designers know that any design can be redesigned. Successful problem-solving demands the kind of collaboration and creative thinking that designers do best.

AIGA is uniquely positioned to help designers solve problems. It’s now easier (and cheaper) than ever to be a member. There are 73 chapters all across the United States, made up of committed members and willing volunteers bursting with ideas and ready-to-use resources.

What’s involved?

Like we said above, you get out of it what you put into it. The time requirements depend on the board position and time of year, but all AIGA CC board members must:

  • Be an AIGA member at the Contributing level ($50/year) or higher
  • Attend a monthly board meeting (thanks to technology, virtual meetings are easier than ever for board members who live all over the Tri-Counties)
  • Attend the annual board retreat, usually in August
  • Attend 75% of AIGA CC events (board members get in free!)

AIGA Santa Barbara welcomes your talent and input! For more detailed descriptions of each position’s responsibilities, or if you have any questions about volunteering, please contact our president at president@centralcoast.aiga.org, or come to our next event. Ready to apply? Fill out the linked form below, with a brief explanation of why you’d like to join the board, and how you would be a great fit for our team:

Apply here!

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