Virtual Event
Happened
Sat, Oct 16th
Virtual Event

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It’s time to submit your most inspirational work for Design Show 2021!

After a year like no other, AIGA Minnesota Design Show is back — and for 2021, we’re featuring an entirely new approach to highlighting Minnesota’s diverse design community.

For this year’s Design Show, teams of “curators” from both inside and outside of the graphic design community will shine a spotlight on unique visions of the power of design.

Submit the pieces that represent your authentic voice and make you most proud. From these entries, our panel of experts will curate a Design Show that will spark your imagination!

  • What: Up to three of your best design pieces from the past two years
  • Submission Fee: Free and Pay-What-You-Can
  • Entry Deadline: October 16, 2021

Virtual Panel Discussions and Design Show: November 10

Save the date for a night of virtual panel discussions with the curators as they reveal their selections for this year’s Design Show.

Mark your calendars for November 10, 2021 to get your first look at all of the selected entries and a virtual celebration of the Minnesota design community. Registration to attend the Design Show will open soon.

 

Meet the Curators

Lindsay Ballant
Lindsay Ballant
Art/Design Director at New Republic

Lindsay Ballant is an art director, designer, and image-maker based in Baltimore who works at the intersection of editorial, political, and activist circles. She was most recently the Design Director for The New Republic, and Art Director of The Baffler, where she ushered in a redesign at both titles. Previous to this, she was Creative Director of Foreign Policy, and has worked at a variety of other news and cultural journalism titles including Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine, and Print magazine. Currently, she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her work has received numerous awards from The Society of Publication Designers, AIGA, American Illustration, Creative Review, ASME, and the Type Director’s Club. She was selected as a Young Gun by the Art Director’s Club in 2009, and has participated in speeches, panel discussions, and interviews about the topics of design, politics, and campaign branding at AIGA, Fast Company, CNN, Vox, Eye on Design, Communication Arts, and 99U. She is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York, New York.

Emmet Byrne
Emmet Byrne
Design Director and Associate Curator of Design, Walker Art

Emmet Byrne is the design director and associate curator of design at the Walker Art Center. He provides creative leadership and strategic direction in visual communication, branding, and publishing, while overseeing Walker's award-winning in-house design studio. His work has been recognized by the NY Times, Wired Magazine, Grafik, Creative Review; featured in the 2nd Istanbul Design Biennial and the 27th Brno Biennial; and his book design has twice won the Core77 award for Visual Communication.

Neebin Southall
Neebinnaukzhik Southall
artist, graphic designer, photographer, and writer
Blue Delliquanti
Blue Delliquanti
comic artist and MCAD adjunct professor

Blue Delliquanti is a comic artist and writer based in Minneapolis, MN. From 2012 to 2020 Blue drew and serialized the Prism Award-winning science fiction comic O Human Star at ohumanstar.com. Blue is also the co-creator of the graphic novel Meal (with Soleil Ho) and their next book Across A Field of Starlight comes out from Random House Graphic in 2022. They teach comics courses at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Kathleen Tso
Kathleen Tso
Co-founder of Banana Magazine and Sr. Brand Communications Manager at Supreme

Kathleen Tso is a Chinese-Taiwanese American born in Texas and living in New York City. She is one of the co-founders of Banana magazine, an annual print publication that celebrates contemporary Asian culture and currently works in brand communications as her full-time job. She first started her career in fashion trend forecasting and transitioned into many different roles including editorial, brand marketing, social media, creative direction, digital strategy, and more. In her free time she enjoys taking walks around downtown Manhattan and collecting tchotchkes.

Tim+Thom
Tim+Thom
Fashion designers and founders of Black Hearts Ball

TIM+THOM is a community forward fashion brand focused on growth and diversity in their industries. As advocates for fashion and the arts, they are committed to strengthening relationships within communities, while engaging their audience through thought provoking creative designs and tailor made tastemaker events.

Nancy Ariza
Nancy Ariza
Associate Curator of Learning and Engagement at Minnesota Museum of American Art

Nancy Ariza is a Latinx printmaker, educator, and museum professional. Her artwork explores multigenerational relationships, storytelling, and memory through prints and installation. Outside of her artist practice, Nancy has been developing and facilitating educational arts programming throughout the state of Minnesota since 2012. She is currently the Associate Curator of Learning and Engagement at the Minnesota Museum of American Art and adjunct faculty at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Nancy has also taught at Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Minnesota Center for Books Arts, Walker Art Center, East Side Arts Council, and more. She holds a BA in Art History and a BFA in Printmaking from Minnesota State University, Mankato and is an MA candidate at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, specializing in culturally responsive teaching.

Types of Entries and Entry Categories

Up to three designs printed or produced between July 2019 and July 2021 are eligible for submission.

  • Single Entry: A single, stand-alone piece.
  • Campaign Entry: A series of conceptually related pieces, judged as a group.
  • Student Entry: Work completed while enrolled as a full-time undergraduate or graduate student at an accredited institution during the eligible time period.

Categories

  1. Print (annual reports, brochures, catalogs, direct mail, invitations & announcements, etc.)
  2. Interactive (websites, apps, tablet design, kiosks, interactive exhibits, etc.)
  3. Motion Graphics (broadcast graphics, film titles, music videos, animation, video graphics)
  4. Publications (editorial, books, magazines, covers & jackets, etc.)
  5. Branding (stationery/business systems, identity marks, etc.)
  6. Environmental Graphics (signage/wayfinding, outdoor advertising, trade show exhibits, retail environments etc.)
  7. Packaging (consumer goods, CDs and DVDs, etc.)
  8. Advertising (print or digital)
  9. Posters
  10. Illustration & Infographics
  11. Miscellaneous (invitations/announcements, illustration, apparel, photography, typeface design, etc.)
  12. Campaign (a series of conceptually related pieces covering one or more categories, judged as a group)

Categories are provided to help assist in the submission process and do not represent the full range of design work accepted for consideration. Submit your entry based on the category that most closely describes it.

Eligibility

Individuals and businesses in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Manitoba may enter. Entrants need not be AIGA Minnesota members, however, members get a discount for both entry fees and event admission (where applicable). New members are eligible for the discounted member rate, but must join prior to submitting entries. Visit aiga.org/join for more information on becoming an AIGA member.

To avoid duplicated entries, work from a campaign or series may be entered as individual pieces or as a unit, but not both. Logos are the exception: they may be submitted individually and also appear in materials submitted in other categories.

Each designer may submit up to three entries. Other team members are encouraged to submit additional designs under their own names.

Note that submitters must have been part of the design team (or be submitting on behalf of the design team). While we value the work of non-design creatives, Design Show is limited to the people who performed the design work. Thank you for your understanding.

Entry Fees

In an effort to make this year’s Design Show the most accessible and inclusive ever, entry fees are priced on a pay-what-you-can basis. Regardless of your ability to pay, we want all designers to submit their most inspirational work. If you are able to help support AIGA Minnesota’s work for the design community, we recommend the following contributions.

  • Single Entry: $50 members, $80 non-members
  • Campaign Entry: $80 members, $110 non-members
  • Student Entry (single or campaign): $20 members, $40 non-members

Event Sponsors

Co-Sponsors

Contributing Sponsors

2021 AIGA Minnesota Design Show Volunteers

AIGA Minnesota sincerely appreciates the support of our dedicated volunteers who have contributed to this year’s Design Show.

Committee Chair: Brock Ray

Committee Members

  • Heather Antonovich
  • William Evans
  • Ludvik Herrera
  • John Mindiola
  • Yeng Moua
  • Maren Nelson
  • Tim Nichols
  • Ryan Ouradnik
  • Mykl Roventine
  • Emily Shern
  • Denise Shouse
  • Maryam Yazdi

About Design Show

The AIGA Minnesota Design Show highlights the most exceptional design work being produced in the Upper Midwest and showcases the power of design in today’s culture. This competition is independently judged by leading design professionals from across the country and is structured around the entry’s ability to solve the problem of communicating both design’s effectiveness and aesthetic appeal. Selected entries are presented at the Design Show’s opening reception.

Need inspiration for your entries? View past Design Show Award Winners here. Follow @aigamn for up-to-date information. Questions? Email [email protected] for more information.