Archive | Together by Design

Oen Hammonds of AIGA Austin and Carlos Estrada of AIGA Detroit: The Silo Busters

What do $5,000 in petty cash, a pyramid that hotel staff had to stop, and moving to a new city have in common? They're all part of how AIGA retreats built a community that still shows up for each other years later.

Podcast Episodes

The First Six Minutes: What a Figma Webinar Reminded Me About Hospitality in Digital Events

Most webinars don’t fail because of bad content. They fail because the first six minutes leave the room on its own.

Event Hosting

Carolyn Colonna and Taylor Nall of AIGA Charlotte: When Your Chapter Programming Strategy is Business in the Front, Party in the Back

Missing those leadership retreat days? Me too. Join our email list at chapter2.media so we can keep reliving the glory days together.

Podcast Episodes

Most Events Are Expensive Mistakes Pretending to Be Strategy

I attended three corporate events in a row where the chat begged for acknowledgment like ghosts in the machine. No one looked. No one cared. This is the story of how we let “content delivery” replace connection... and how to fix it before everyone stops showing up.

Event Programming

From Cleveland to Chicago: How Jenn Visocky O’Grady & Justin Ahrens Built a Design Legacy with AIGA on Pyramids, Posters, and Pizza Costumes

From student chapters to national impact, here’s how two AIGA leaders turned board service into a career-defining friendship (with karaoke).

Podcast Episodes

Beyond Thank Yous: What Community Leaders Really Need

Last week, I watched something that shouldn’t be remarkable: 50+ volunteer leaders getting a night off.

Creative Community

When Love Meets Leadership: Laurel Webster and James Hersick’s Journey from AIGA Blue Ridge to Community Impact

Or: How Refusing to Dance at a Design Conference Led to Marriage, 3,000 Student Competition Entries, and an Air Horn That Didn’t Last Long

Podcast Episodes

Why I Stopped Trusting General Event “Best Practices” and Started Building Community Instead

I watched a student’s prototype crash before presenting—then witnessed the moment that changed everything I knew about virtual events. This isn’t about better production; it’s about the profound difference between building an audience and activating a community.

Creative Community

Room Sharing & Pyramid Schemes: How Kevin Berger & Aaron Shurts Saved AIGA Seattle

Some leaders craft five-year strategic plans. Others accidentally save a chapter through shared hotel rooms, tactical pyramid deployment, and the revolutionary discovery that you can’t recruit members when you’re hemorrhaging money on every single event.

Podcast Episodes

Oen Hammonds of AIGA Austin and Carlos Estrada of AIGA Detroit: The Silo Busters

The First Six Minutes: What a Figma Webinar Reminded Me About Hospitality in Digital Events

Carolyn Colonna and Taylor Nall of AIGA Charlotte: When Your Chapter Programming Strategy is Business in the Front, Party in the Back

Most Events Are Expensive Mistakes Pretending to Be Strategy

From Cleveland to Chicago: How Jenn Visocky O’Grady & Justin Ahrens Built a Design Legacy with AIGA on Pyramids, Posters, and Pizza Costumes

Beyond Thank Yous: What Community Leaders Really Need

When Love Meets Leadership: Laurel Webster and James Hersick’s Journey from AIGA Blue Ridge to Community Impact

Why I Stopped Trusting General Event “Best Practices” and Started Building Community Instead

Room Sharing & Pyramid Schemes: How Kevin Berger & Aaron Shurts Saved AIGA Seattle

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