In the mid1980’s, I was a young designer fortunate to be working in San Francisco, considered a center for great design at the time. That’s where I was first introduced to AIGA. I remember looking through the yearly annuals and began noticing that amazing work coming out out of Minneapolis, rivaling that being produced in San Francisco and NYC. Through circumstance I found myself needing to move from Northern California to icy cold Minnesota, My San Francisco friends thought I was a little nuts, but I went excited at the possibility of becoming part of the vibrant Twin Cities design community.

AIGA/MN was invaluable to me. My first introduction to the local firms and designers was through an AIGA/MN sponsored office tour. It started with a fun lunch at Nikki’s Bar and Grill where I got to meet other young designers. Then it proceeded to offices like McCool and Company, Hall/Kelley, the Duffy Group, Peter Seitz and Associates, Yamamoto/Moss and others. I’d seen the work from these offices in the AIGA annuals and was surprised to have such access. That was true of the AIGA/MN organization in general. I felt very welcome. It was easy to get involved and feel part of the community quickly. I started co-editing the AIGA/MN newsletter about a year after joining the chapter. The connections made through that experience contributed greatly to my career and the happy design life I had during my ten years in Minneapolis.

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