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Updated by Gail Zahtz on Jul 12, 2017
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Gail Zahtz Gail Zahtz
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Design Associations, Organizations, Communities and Tribes

Living Labs is built around theories from over two dozen design related professions, concepts and practices. To make life easier for all, to be functional for any age or ability without compromising beauty, dignity, or independence, we need to include the best of those who create smart spaces, products and experiences. It is not only inclusive in the people meant to be served by all design, it includes a vast array of inter-disciplinary fields, specialties and perspectives. Within this cross-section, here are trade associations to organizations that look at the important questions of what makes great design and how we can make it better.

These are trade associations (many with events, publications and other services from learning to advocacy) that are important to one or more fields of the many design professionals we serve.

50+ Housing Council
The 50+ Housing Council serves the special needs of NAHB members involved in all aspects of 50+ housing, including design, development, finance, ownership, management, and sales and marketing. Browse the resources below to learn more about the 50+ Housing Council.
AAMSE Online | American Association of Multi-Sensory Environments

AAMSE provides the following membership benefits:

  • Special access to exclusive content on the AAMSE.US website, including archived Info Blasts and Newsletters (Click here to see a sample Infoblast.)
  • Advanced Search Tools on the website, so you can find content quicker and easier!
  • Pages of published research in Exceptional Parent
  • A year's subscription to Exceptional Parent at reduced rate
  • Discounts for AAMSE Training programs
  • Membership certificate and AAMSE Code of Ethics will be sent to each member
  • Support for local AAMSE chapters
  • Members listserv for notice of conferences, current research/articles, pending legislation, to local chapters/other members connection

Annual Memberships rates to the following constituencies:

  • Professionals (i.e., doctors, therapist, scientists, teachers, psychologists, nurses, social workers, administrators, etc) Rate = $75
  • Parents/Caregivers/Students = $25
  • Institutions (Hospitals, Non-profits, University, etc.) = $300
  • Corporations (vendors) = $500
ADI - Italian Association for Industrial Design

Official website of ADI Associazione per il Disegno Industriale, from 1956 the Italian association for design.
ADI brings together since 1956 designers, companies, researchers, teachers, critics, journalists around the themes of design: design, consumption, recycling, education. And 'agent of development of industrial design as a cultural and economic phenomenon.

WHAT

Its purpose is to promote and help implement, non-profit, the most appropriate conditions for the design of goods and services, through the cultural debate, the intervention in the institutions, the provision of services.

For the ADI design is the culturally conscious design, the interface between the individual and collective application of the company and the offer of producers.

It intervenes in the design of products, services, visual communication, packaging, interior architecture, and environmental design.

The design is a system that relates the production with users, dealing with research, innovation and engineering, to give functionality, social value, cultural significance to goods and services distributed on the market.

HOW IT WORKS

In Italy:
It brings together more than 1,000 members in the whole national territory, active both in the initiatives of the Milan headquarters and with autonomous events locally.

And 'member of the Council of non-regulated professions of CNEL, the National Council for Economy and Labour, contributing to the development of a legal framework for the public recognition of the profession of designer.
Owns and operates since 1962, the Compasso d'Oro Award, the oldest award in Europe in the design sector. The Fondazione ADI Compasso d'Oro Collection collects objects awarded in the different editions of the award and the related documentation, will ensure its preservation, promotes historical research and in-depth exhibitions.

In the world:
ADI is a founding member of' ICSID International Council of Societies of Industrial Design , the body of the industrial design associations of the countries of the world. It is a founding member of BEDA The Bureau of European Design Associations , the organization that brings together professional associations of industrial design in the countries of Europe. Also a 'member of' ICOGRADA International Council of Graphic Design Associations , the international body that brings together the professional associations of graphics.

ADP | Associació de Dissenyadors Professionals

ADP, Association of Professional Designers is an organization of multidisciplinary designers,

The ADP is a national association of nonprofit, born in Barcelona in 1978. It consists of graphic designers, industrial, interior, companies, institutions and students interested in interact and collaborate to defend the interests of design professionals.

The ADP promotes professional and cultural value of design, aims to encourage daily use in the professional business sector

The make up, graphic designers, industrial, interior, companies, institutions and students interested in relate to and cooperate in defending their professional interests. The exchange between them and the Association enriches the group and help spread the design from a broader perspective.

The ADP has made pluridisciplinareitat one of the characteristics that define it better. Its members pertenyen any of the specialties sector: visual communication, product, theory, pedagogy, or "design management".

Objectives

  • Defending professional interests of Designers objective
    • Dissemination of practices and rigorous quality professional objective
    • Dissemination and dignity of the profession in the social objective
    • Promotion of the design activity to the business
    • Advice to companies and designers aspects of professional practice design
    • Promote meetings with partners through events nature of professional holiday
    • The ADP promotes the cultural value and design professionals, aims to encourage its use in everyday business to ensure the exercise by the professionalism.

Their tool box for professionals includes:

Policy Recommendations

  • Model code of professional conduct for European designers
  • The Free Pitching on Policy- (Policy speculation)
  • Recommended Guidelines for Design Competitions
  • NACE Codes Fact Sheet

Guidelines and Templates
Documents guides that serve as "checklists" in the development of short papers, planning, calculation of projects and preparation for communication between clients and service providers design. They are designed to be equally useful for both parties, are available to everyone and are public.

  • Selecting the Right Design Agency or Partner
  • The Design Brief template
  • Starting up a design project
  • Pitch Brief template
  • Pitch Guide

Templates for Contracts and Agreements

Models of contracts, agreements, documents and templates exclusively available for ADP members. They are divided into three sections:
1. Business Tools
2. Contracts and Agreements
3. Human Resource Administration

ADP for Accessibilty (@ADPAtweets)

Association of Design Professionals for #Accessibility - #ADPA Not for profit, unfunded, non-partisan org supporting all #inclusive #design

AIAP - associazione italiana design della comunicazione visiva- Italian Association of Visual Communication Design

AIAP is the Italian association of graphic and communications design (not literally translated.)

The AIAP libreria sells some phenomenal books, posters, magazines and other print materials which is incredible for design professionals and enthusiasts.

The News section provides current contests as well as information on recent contests AIAP considered inadequate or insufficient to grant awards including for incomplete documentation, unclear briefs, the jury not explicit or other abnormalities. It's a good read for those looking for otherwise unreported design news.

The Creativity and Innovation Manifesto was presented at the 2009 - a project of the European Union
1.Nurture creativity in a lifelong learning process where theory and practice go hand in hand.
2. Make schools and universities places where students and teachers engage in creative thinking and learning by doing.
3, Transform workplaces into learning sites.
4. Promote a strong, independent and diverse cultural sector that can sustain intercultural dialogue.
5, Promote scientific research to understand the world, improve people's lives and stimulate innovation.
6. Promote design processes, thinking and tools, understanding the needs, emotions, aspirations and abilities of users.
7. Support business innovation that contributes to prosperity and sustainability.

They are linked with the CDPG which is the Culture, Profession and Association which keeps an historical archive of graphic design, The Project Graph Library and the AIAP Gallery.

3

AIGA -

AIGA -

AIGA says that it is the largest professional association of designers in the world. , 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. Their blog for design and designers as at eyeondesign.aiga.org.

A linked site and project is http://celebratedesign.org/ that shows 100 years of design that connects, informs, assists, delights and influences.

General Benefits:

  • AIGA Design Jobs Board- Place a professional job listing for $195, or for $95 if you are a AIGA Sustaining Member or above. Internships and pro bono listings are free.
  • AIGA Membership Directory: This directory includes current AIGA professional, associate and student members. Only professional and associate members are able to indicate their areas of practice, so student members will not be displayed as a result of a search including those criteria. You can search for a member on last name, first name, company, city or state as well as area of practice.
  • Periodic Survey of Design Salaries
  • Webinars produced with AIGA partners and discounted rates for certificate courses and leadership workshops
  • One free month Skillshare plus, discounted rate on annual premium subscription

Enhanced tabbed directory listing includes:

  • your photo,
  • your biography,
  • AIGA member portfolio integration,
  • links to your website;
  • links to your profiles at facebook, flickr, linkedin, and twitter;
  • your contract information;
  • articles you've written for AIGA
  • Conversations you've started on joined on aiga.org

Membership is at the following prices and includes:
Contributing- $50 / year
Students, Just starting, Design Fan who Wants to Support the Design Profession:

  • Participate in chapter activities and connect to your community
  • Find or list a job or internship on designjobs.aiga.org
  • Develop new skills with online tutorials and workshops
  • Pay less for local and national events and competitions
  • Your work featured in the AIGA network on Behance
  • Your name out there with a member profile on aiga.org
  • A $50 tax deduction
  • Volunteer at events to lend a hand, get more discounts
  • Contribute to chapter activities
  • Event discounts for local chapter events, lectures, networking events, and regional workshops, national conferences
  • Save 25% on entry fees to national AIGA competitions
  • Free access to customized legal documents on your phone and online at shake for a year, plus a 50% discounted rate for year two.
  • Newsletters: Communique monthly. Can opt in at My AIGA for The monthly newsletter for emerging designers "The Buzz", or INform, a quarterly newsletter for in-house creatives

Supporting at $150 / year also includes
Junior designer, few years experience, dedicated fan, an educator with limited means:

  • Proof with a brand new AIGA membership card
  • Discounts on things you need like Apple products and accessories, complimentary shipping and engraving
  • 20% discount on a selection of high-performing, Mac-compatible LG UltraWide desktop monitors
  • 30% off classes at CreativeLive "the world's largest live streaming education site"
  • "Deep discounts" on new as well as rare and out of print books about design, art, architecture and photography from major publishers at the Designers and Books Online Book Fair including: AMMO Books: 50 percent Applied Research + Design: 50 percent Carnegie Hill Books: 10 percent (rare and out-of-print) DoppelHouse Press: 40 percent F.A. Bernett: 10 percent (rare and out-of-print) Gestalten: 35 percent Goff Books: 50 percent Lars Muller Publishers: 35 percent Laurence King Publishing: 50 percent MIT Press: 40 percent Modernism 101 (rare and out-of-print): 10 percent ORO Editions: 50 percent Paintbox Press: 20 percent Prestel Publishing: 35 percent Princeton Architectural Press: 50 percent Schiffer Publishing: 35 percent Wolfsonian-Florida International University: 40 percent
    • 10% off MOO products. New customers get 20% off first order.
  • Special rates on select FedEx shipments and FedEx Office and copy services
  • Lynda.com discounted subscriptions
  • Discounted subscriptions to Communication Arts, Design Bureau, Dwell, HOW and Print as well as discounts on design books.
  • Through a partnership with F+W Media's Design Community, AIGA members are eligible for discounts on select events and services. http://www.fwcommunity.com/
  • A $150 tax deduction
  • Serve your chapter by serving on the chapter board

Sustaining at $250 / year also includes
Average of 5-15 years in the field:

  • A reduced rate to AIGA & Yale’s “Business Perspectives for Creative Leaders”
  • Find help with discounted rates to post on designjobs.aiga.org
  • A $250 tax deduction
  • Share what inspires you on aiga.org and eyeondesign.aiga.org
  • Vote on national issues
  • Make a difference with design initiatives like Design for Good, Mentoring, The Living Principles, Design K-12, and Design for Democracy
  • Quicken Loans Mortgage Insiders Program providers members with a mortgage process and $300 cash back on a closed loan.
  • 5% discount on Hartville Pet Insurance (10% on multiple pets). Hartville reimburses up to 90% of covered vet costs after a $100 annual deductible per pet.

Leader at $500 / year also includes
15-25 Years in the Field:

  • Your name in lights on aiga.org
  • A personal thank you from your chapter’s board
  • A $500 tax deduction
  • Advocate locally for design in your community
  • Connect with students by starting a student group
  • Share your expertise on your chapter’s advisory boards
  • Receive recognition through national competitions & events

Trustee at $2,500 a year is also

  • Propose and coordinate events or speakers at national conferences and activities
  • Serve all members by serving on the national board
  • Go to bat for the profession. Advocate for design to have increased value in the national discourse and beyond
  • Be an inspiration for all AIGA members

Their member portfolios is in sync with members' Adobe's Behance account to showcase their work. The following creative fields are included:

  • advertising
  • animation
  • architecture
  • art direction
  • automotive design
  • branding
  • calligraphy
  • cartooning
  • character design
  • cinematography
  • computer animation
  • copywriting
  • costume design
  • crafts
  • creative direction
  • culinary arts
  • digital art
  • digital photography
  • directing
  • drawing
  • editorial design
  • engineering
  • entrepreneurship
  • exhibition design
  • fashion
  • fashion styling
  • film
  • fine arts
  • furniture design
  • game design
  • graffiti
  • graphic design
  • icon design
  • illustration
  • industrial design
  • information architecture
  • interaction design
  • interior design
  • jewelry design
  • journalism
  • landscape design
  • makeup arts (MUA)
  • motion graphics
  • music
  • packaging
  • painting
  • pattern design
  • performing arts
  • photography
  • photojournalism
  • print design
  • product design
  • programming
  • retouching
  • sculpting
  • set design
  • sound design
  • storyboarding
  • street art
  • textile design
  • toy design
  • typography
  • UI/UX
  • visual effects
  • web design
  • web development
  • writing
American Planning Association

American Planning Association- making great communities happen.

American Society of Interior Designers - ASID

ASID members have the training and expertise to manage all the details of your project. They know the importance of listening to your ideas and understanding your needs. From consultation to planning to the finishing touches, they can help you every step of the way, explaining your choices and adding value to your budget.

American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) | asla.org

Landscape architecture encompasses the analysis, planning, deign, management and stewardship of the natural and built environments.

Association of Independent Architectural Photographers AIAP Photographer

Connect with the most talented and respected architectural photographers in the business. Find and hire an architectural photographer in your area. Book online.

Connecting photography buyers with the world's most talented and respected Architectural Photographers since 2001.

Find A Photographer Directory
links you directly to the websites of individual photographers where you can preview their beautiful online portfolios and contact them directly for pricing and booking.

Photographers can join the AIAP for as little as $55 with our new membership options.

Association Typographique Internationale

ATypI, Association Typographique Internationale, is the global forum and focal point for the type and typography communities and business. Members include type designers, type publishers, graphic and typographic designers. They have members in over 40 nations and almost 20 countries have their own country delegates. Membership starts at $110.

ATypI provides a structure for the type community to meet and act together. They work to:

  • preserve the culture, tradition, and history of type and typography
  • promote contemporary digital fonts
  • encourage outstanding typography and typographic design
  • campaign for the protection of typeface designs
  • influence legislators around the world
  • run conferences
  • Every four or five years, ATypI awards the Prix Charles Peignot for Excellence in Type Design to a designer under the age of 35 who has made an outstanding contribution to type design.
BEDA: The Bureau of European Design Associations

BEDA exists to ensure permanent liaison between its Members and the authorities of the European Union in order to communicate and promote the value of design and innovation to the European economy.

BEDA today

Today, BEDA boasts 46 members from 25 member states in Europe. Members can be design promotion centers and other publicly funded organisations that promote design nationally or regionally as well as professional and trade associations for designers from across Europe. Those professional associations represent some 400,000 designers from across Europe in every discipline of work from industrial design and interiors to digital design and branding. BEDA is a not-for-profit organisation funded in its entirety by its members. It is run by a board of directors elected by its membership every two years. It also elects a President and Vice President every two years. BEDA is headquartered in Brussels.

The history of BEDA
BEDA was founded in 1969 when there was little knowledge and poor awareness of the impact that designers could have in business. BEDA brought together the professional design associations from across Europe, typically providing signposting to information about the design industry, which was very young at that time. It also helped to promote the case for design in business.

How has the membership of BEDA changed over the years?
Initially, membership was open to design industry associations only, although from all categories of designers, as well as educational institutions. Geographically there was a focus on the EU. In time, membership was extended to design centers and countries outside the EU but within the “geographical limits of Europe." As a consequence of this, the association changed its name from Bureau of European Designers’ Association to Bureau of European Design Associations, seemingly a small change but in context, a major one. The promotional organisations with their unique background, competencies and political expertise at national and regional levels, quickly started to address political agendas. This proved to be relevant and important not only to the design profession, but to the overall understanding of the potential for design as a tool for change.

How has BEDA's strategy changed over the years?
As things improved in general for the design profession, BEDA started to look at how the it could influence the political agenda. It wanted to create increased awareness of the importance of design as a business tool. It wanted politicians to understand that design can be an enabler for change and improve competitiveness for European industry. It wanted an improved life for European citizens.

Has BEDA been successful? Yes. As a result of years of successful lobbying in Brussles, today, design is part of the innovation policy for Europe called Innovation Union 2020.

BEDA continues to be deeply involved in the shaping of policy for Europe. They will also promote design as a tool for industrial and societal innovation, something much needed today and in the future.

BNO - Association of Dutch Designers (interdisciplinary)

In an increasingly digitised society, boundaries between disciplines are fading while new disciplines emerge, and once distant domains are becoming increasingly entwined. The creative industry has been designated a top sector: the design discipline has become indispensable, with designers playing a crucial role in tackling the many issues tied to sustainability, health and social provisions.

The Association of Dutch Designers (Beroepsorganisatie Nederlandse Ontwerpers, BNO) stands in the midst of this evolving world. As the principal representative of the design sector in the Netherlands, it unites designers of all shapes and sizes. They are independent designers as well as design agencies, along with thousands of creative professionals. Virtually all design disciplines are represented in BNO, making it a unique organisation worldwide.

What does BNO do?

BNO supports designers and design agencies in their professional practice. By investing in public information, regulation, research and education, BNO represents the collective interests of the design community and contributes to improving the design infrastructure in the Netherlands and Europe.

Advice and enquiries

Every designer from time to time encounters questions of a business or legal nature. These can concern topical issues such as copyright and intellectual property, or can be about briefings, pitches, selecting a design agency, financial matters. For advice and enquiries, members as well as their clients can call on BNO's legal and business advisers.

Education and development

BNO works with relevant education institutes to help prepare students for professional practice, in part by offering guest lessons. The BNO Academy offers designers the opportunity to further pursue their professional development. With a view to tomorrow's practice, BNO offers training courses and other activities regarding the content of the discipline and entrepreneurial skills. In addition to group trainings there are individual coaching pathways and mentoring programmes offered for and by members. Design agencies can sign up for courses that are tailored to their daily practice.

Information and inspiration

BNO organises seminars, master classes and events. Through diverse publications it probes and discusses important social trends and developments in design. The website serves as a guide and source of information, and as a shared platform for designers, agencies and clients. BNO furthermore publishes the quarterly journal Dutch Designers Magazine Dude, devoted to exploring design practices from a wide variety of perspectives.

Networking and collaboration

BNO's member designers, together with related members such as design managers, jointly represent a gold mine of skills and experience. To encourage mutual interaction and to operate more visibly, regional platforms across the country organise activities where designers of all disciplines can meet to network, to collaborate, to inspire and learn from each other.

Market exploration and trailblazing
BNO plays a pivotal role in promoting design domestically and internationally. BNO informs its members about international entrepreneurship, is involved in the presentation of Dutch designers at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, and works closely with international parties that can help highlight Dutch design. Additionally, there is the Starters International Business coaching programme (SIB) to help designers and design agencies pursue their international ambitions.

Representation and lobby

Jointly with relevant national and international organisations, BNO fulfils the indispensable role of tabling issues related to regulations, pitches and tenders, good business practices, copyright and intellectual property rights.

Promotion and public information

BNO informs various parties about the potency and potential of the design discipline. In this way it promotes its members, their work and their added value, and furnishes clients with information on the commissioning and design process.

Research and benchmarking

Every year, BNO publishes the 'Branchemonitor' report with information on industry-wide turnover, corporate results, markets, personnel and costs. The goal is to offer an overview of the size and significance of the design sector, and simultaneously to give the member designers and agencies a means of comparing their own operational management with that of others. BNO also contributes to various other studies that are important to understanding and developing the design discipline.

Corporate Design Foundation

Corporate Design Foundation is a non-profit education and research organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life and the effectiveness of organizations through design

Design that Matters

Design that Matters works with the best social enterprises and superstar volunteers to design new products and services for the poor in developing countries.

Fashion Industry Association

Join the worldwide network of fashion industry professionals and gatherings from all over the world

IAAP International Association of Accessibility Professionals - technology

The International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) is a membership-based organization for individuals and organizations that are focused on accessibility or are in the process of building their accessibility skills and strategies. The objective of this association is to help accessibility professionals develop and advance their careers and to help organizations integrate accessibility into their products and infrastructure.

The mission of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) is to define, promote and improve the accessibility profession globally through networking, education and certification in order to enable the creation of accessible products, content and services. A general history is the group starting meeting about the fall of 2013, founding members like Microsoft's Chief Accessibility Officer Rob Sinclair started working in Nov/Dec and the group launched officially in March of 2014 with 29 founding organizations. They held their first conference in 2015. Their first testing for certification was February 2016.

By accessibility the IAAP defines it both in language generally accepted for all accessibility: "Accessibility is about providing access to information for everyone, regardless of age or ability, so that each individual can realize their full potential." but then narrows the focus by saying that, "Accessibility professionals are subject matter experts who understand the need for inclusion and address these needs through technology"

By no means is this is a criticism, but a clarification for our users. Clearly the issues of roadblocks due to language in this greater field is worthy of its own discussion, so we'll leave this at the understanding that IAAP is an international association for accessibility in technology and explain more of what they do.

Membership starts at $185 for the professional member. a number of larger memberships include multiple members within an organization, others that are smaller are self explanatory like students and developing country.

Of note, the IAAP had some significant founding members, many of whom are platinum, gold and silver sponsors now including: Adobe, Deque Systems, IBM, Microsoft, Barclays Bank, Comcast, AT&T, Funka Nu AB, NetCentric Technologies, Scotiabank, SSB BART Group, Wells Fargo. Ability Magazine is their media partner.

All individual memberships include:

  • Member discounts on applicable fee-based IAAP activities such as webinars, conference registrations, sponsorships, exhibit space, and more
  • Access to IAAP Connections, IAAP's exclusive member online communities, resources and discussion forums to collaborate with other professionals around the world
  • Eligible to participate in committees and task forces
  • Access to publication subscriptions
  • Eligible to display IAAP Member Logo
  • Access to the IAAP Career Center to view job opportunities or receive discounts for job postings
  • Free one-year digital subscription to ABILITY Magazine
  • IAAP Connections: members can join existing conversations, start their own and/or blog
  • Upload resources to libraries

Additional Resources include:

  • "Accessibility Now News" email newsletter features curated news clips related to the accessibility industry
  • "Community Update" provides news and updates on IAAP via an email newsletter

Education

  • Webinars
  • Accessibility Curriculum
  • IAAP Certification
  • Professional Development
  • Organizational Development

*Other features include *

ico-D International Council of Design leading creatively

A world body for design. ico-D, International Council of Design, promotes design excellence and upholds the importance of design as a key medium for progressive social change, with members in over 65 countries.

Membership is made up of organizations that advance the discipline of design. Members work with a community of non-members who join in a high level dialogue about design's leading role in society, culture and the economy.

'Platform Meetings’ were created by Icograda at the 25 General Assembly in 2013 as a way to give Members a format through which they could connect with each other. Platforms gather Members at one place and time, every year, to explore common challenges and action for change.

Another initiative- the IDMN: The International Design Media Network brings the world's design media together into a single online community. The network consists of IDMN participants and bona fide design publications and media. This branch of the ico-D network is dedicated to establishing and promoting standards and ethics in design journalism. It is also a forum for sharing ideas and information, and is becoming a meaningful resource for the most forward-thinking practices in design.

Projects include:
Adobe Design Achievement Awards
Celebrates student achievements reflecting powerful convergence of technology and the creative arts. The competition which showcases individual and group projects created with industry-leading Adobe creative software - honors the most talented and promising student graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, animators, digital filmmakers, game developers and computer artists from the world's top institutions of higher education.

Adobe ico-D Mentorship Programme

Endorsement Program for design award competitions, exhibitions and conferences
Each year, ico-D endorses a select group of international activities that advance our objective to promote the value of design. Endorsed events demonstrate that they enhance the standards of design, ethics and professional practice. For design awards, exhibitions and conferences, an ico-D endorsement is recognition that it has been organized to meet international best practice guidelines.

Communication Design, Interdisciplinary and Graphic Design Research
This is an international, peer-reviewed publication which aims to develop and critically examine the emerging discourses in research related to contemporary communication and graphic design practice, education and methods as well as their history, theory and criticism. It features theoretical, historical and applied research in communication design, exploring both analogue and digital forms. Areas of emphasis include: craft and critical practice, pedagogy and curriculum development, typography and image-making, book arts and publishing, information visualisation and digital spaces, sustainability and social design, politics and popular culture.

World Design DayWorld Design Day (WDD) is an opportunity to recognize the value of design and its capacity for change in the world -- and to celebrate the birthday of ico-D!

The goal of WDD is to challenge designers to reflect deeply on the well-being of people within their local environments, and to find innovative solutions to local needs by using design as a vehicle to honor diversity, transcend borders, and improve quality of life. Marking the anniversary of ico-D’s establishment on 27 April 1963, participants worldwide are invited to gather, innovate, and live out a moment of design by organizing public events and initiatives on 27 April of each year.

IFDA International Furnishings and Design Association

The International Furnishings and Design Association is a worldwide professional alliance of leaders representing the diverse industries that constitute the universe of residential and commercial furnishings and design.

Founded in 1947, members are executives of companies that manufacture, distribute, design, write about or sell floor coverings, lighting, decorative fabrics, accessories and building products. Others are engaged in graphic, residential and contract design, education, publishing, licensing, marketing and communications.

Membership Benefits

  • New! Access to the IFDA Member Marketing Toolkit, your comprehensive go to-resource for marketing inspiration (Available to Professional and Associate Members)
  • A listing in the Find An Expert directory on ifda.com where professionals and consumers can locate you and obtain information about the products and services that you provide to the furnishings and design industry (Available only to Professional and Associate Members)
  • Access to the exclusive members’ only website content
  • Opportunity to join IFDA's Speakers Bureau
  • Membership in the IFDA Educational Foundation, the philanthropic arm of IFDA
  • Access to Network, IFDA’s Association-wide quarterly newsletter and your IFDA chapter newsletter
  • Receive an Industry Pass to the semi-annual High Point Markets upon showing your current IFDA membership card\
  • Receive a Buyers Pass to the semi-annual High Point Markets upon showing your current IFDA membership card, EIN or Tax ID number and your business card
  • Use of the IFDA official logo and window stickers
  • Opportunities for leadership within the international board of directors, your chapter and committees
  • The opportunity to become an IFDA Fellow (FIFDA), a program which recognizes members’ commitment to IFDA as well as civic, educational and industry contributions
  • Discounts on GEICO auto, homeowner, condo and other insurance policies
  • Complimentary subscription to Window Fashion Vision magazine
  • Discounts on car rental services through the Hertz Membership Program
  • 15% discount on purchases at teleflora.com

Professional Membership- $350 / year

Associate Membership (first two years after graduation) $150 / year

Student Membership- $45 / year

Industrial Designers Society of America - IDSA

The Industrial Designers Society of America promotes the practice and education of Industrial Design.
Industrial Design (ID) is the professional service of creating products and systems that optimize function, value and appearance for the mutual benefit of user and manufacturer.

Industrial designers develop products and systems through collection analysis and synthesis of data guided by the special requirements of their client and manufacturer. They prepare clear and concise recommendations through drawings, models and descriptions. Industrial designers improve as well as create, and they often work within multi-disciplinary groups that include management, marketing, engineering and manufacturing specialists

Benefits of IDSA Membership
Exclusive benefits for all members- Professional and Affiliate Membership $375 / year
Young Professional Membership (within 5 years of graduation) $125 for year 1, $250 years 2-5

  • Authorization to use the IDSA Member Appellation
  • Member Directory online access
  • Public listing on the Member Profile wall
  • Membership in Professional Chapters
  • Membership in Special Interest Sections
  • FREE registration for the Design Voices webinar series (career/professional development)
  • FREE subscription to designBytes, the weekly e-newsletter covering the world of design
  • FREE digital subscription to INNOVATION, the flagship ID quarterly
  • Unrestricted access to the IDSA video gallery
  • DISCOUNTED registration for annual Design District Conference
  • DISCOUNTED registration for annual International Conference
  • DISCOUNTED fees for ad space (link sends e-mail) for your company in print/online publications and conferences
  • DISCOUNTED health and dental insurance via Fractured Atlas and Freelancers Union. Terms vary by state.
  • DISCOUNTED professional liability/E&O (link is external) insurance - John Rowland (link sends e-mail)
  • ELIGIBLE to be recognized through IDSA Awards
  • ACCESS to the Bookshelf, an online store with an ID focus. Look for the Okala guide! NOTE: All purchases are made through the Amazon bookstore. For each total purchase on Amazon, IDSA earns proportional revenue to support our programs and services for members and the industrial design profession.

Professional members only: $375 / year

  • ELIGIBLE to vote in all matters brought before the membership, including elections
  • ELIGIBLE to hold office at the local (chapter) and national (board, section, committee) levels
  • All issues of INNOVATION in print format

Student members only: $95 / year

  • FREE membership in IDSA Student Chapters at Colleges, Universities and Art Schools with ID programs
  • ELIGIBLE to apply for IDSA and Design Foundation Scholarships
  • ELIGIBLE to compete in the IDSA Student Merit Award competition
  • Yearbook issue of INNOVATION in print format

Employers of Professional members:

  • FREE basic listing in the Firm & Vendor Directory. Or, upgrade to a premium (link sends e-mail) listing.
  • Listing in your local Design In gallery online
  • DISCOUNTED fees for ad space (link sends e-mail) for your company in print/online publications and conferences
Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD)

The Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD) is an international non-profit organization committed to advancing the role of design in expanding opportunity and enhancing experience for people of all ages and abilities through excellence in design. Our educational, consulting and design work is very diverse. See our monthly newsletter to learn about current projects.

Interaction Design Association - Homepage | IxDA

We are a global network dedicated to the professional practice of Interaction Design. With the help of more than 60,000 members since 2003, the IxDA network provides an online forum for the discussion of interaction design issues and other opportunities and platforms for people who are passionate about interaction design to gather and advance the discipline.

International Interior Design Association (IIDA)

IIDA strives to create a niche for the most talented and visionary Interior Design professionals, to elevate the profession to the level it warrants, and to lead the way for the next generation of Interior Design innovators.

Member Benefits - Most memberships are $515 / year
IIDA offers Members excellent networking opportunities and tangible benefits for education, inspiration, and professional development.
Membership in IIDA provides access to resources that can help you get ahead in your career. Benefits include subscriptions to leading magazines, tuition reimbursement opportunities, the chance to reach colleagues around the world, as well as reduced fees for exciting chapter initiatives and International events like the Leaders Breakfast series.

Read More

  • Professional and Associate members in the United States receive complimentary magazines and publications that cover technical and theoretical topics in design, as well as community news and events.
  • Perspective, the award-winning and thought-provoking IIDA journal
  • Contract, a leading monthly magazine for the design industry.
  • Interiors & Sources, a leading monthly building industry and interiors publication
  • DesignMatters, a bimonthly electronic newsletter keeping you in the know about IIDA and industry happenings around the globe
  • Spectrum, a weekly e-newsletter of relevant design business news aggregated from around the web and delivered straight to your inbox
  • What Clients Want, Volumes I & II, the first two volumes in a series of books published by IIDA, WCW is a collection of conversations between designers and their clients about how significant projects were conceived, how they have defined culture, demonstrated value, and shifted business models. Available upon request; $10 for shipping and handling

Learn More

  • Tuition reimbursement, access to in-depth knowledge and research, and links to industry leaders and events help you get ahead in the business aspect of design. Member benefits include:
  • Eligibility for a twice annual drawing for NCIDQ tuition reimbursement--this is a complete reimbursement for Associate Members who successfully complete the NCIDQ exam
  • Sustainable Education Fund, offering a twice annual drawing for reimbursement of LEED exam fees for those who have successfully passed the accreditation exam
  • Chapter and regional professional development
  • Local and international IDCEC-approved CEU programs
  • Webinars, take-home CEUs and quick links to educational tools
  • Advocacy for interior design code and licensing initiatives
  • Proactive leadership in gaining governmental recognition for the profession
  • Use of the IIDA professional designation
  • Personalized member logo
  • Access to the IIDA Career Center
  • Networking opportunities through local chapter and international programs
  • Access to the online IIDA Membership Directory

Celebrate More

  • Members receive first notice of special events and registration discounts.
  • Invitations to chapter and regional meetings, special events, and activities
  • Invitation to the IIDA Annual Meeting, where IIDA inducts the new International Board of Directors, celebrates the Titan and Star Award recipients, recognizes chapters for excellence in innovation and member service, and welcomes new members of the College of Fellows
  • Invitation to the IIDA COOL Gala, where IIDA celebrates the annual winners of the Interior Design Competition and the Will Ching Design Competition

Save More

  • Discounts and Incentives for Members Only
  • You have access to a wide range of discounts and special pricing for products and services to support your business, from discounts on books to savings on airline travel. Check back regularly for new additions.
  • Signature Federal Credit Union – great rates for IIDA members on credit cards, checking and savings accounts, mortgages, and auto loans
  • The Working Advantage – movie, theme park, and entertainment discounts
  • Complimentary membership in the Pier 1 Designer Perks Program for Professional and Associate members
  • Special Member pricing for IIDA-sponsored competitions (including Interior Design Competition, Hospitality Design Competition, Will Ching Design Competition, IIDA Global Excellence Awards, etc.)
  • Discounted advertising rates in IIDA publications and on the IIDA Web site
IWA- International Web Association

Founded in 1996, IWA is the industry’s recognized leader in providing educational and certification standards for Web professionals.

  • Stay tuned as we merge our numerous multi-media properties into Living Labs. Lists will be one foundation of the thousands of curated resources, products and services offered for Baby Boomers, pa...

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