Archive | Together by Design

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

Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should: The Problem With Messy Webinars

Just because your webinar platform can do everything doesn't mean it should. After years of hosting virtual events, I've learned that sometimes the most powerful choice is deciding what to leave out.

Livestreaming

Cheers & Tiers: When AIGA Jacksonville’s Karen & Varick Accidentally Engineered the Perfect Chapter Culture & Had No Idea They Were Doing It

Some leaders plan their legacy. Others stumble into it with a cooler full of beer, a can of Pringles, and an unshakeable belief that work should be fun.

Podcast Episodes

Webinars Aren’t Just Events. They’re Long Sales Conversations.

And most companies are having them all wrong.

Event Programming

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

Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should: The Problem With Messy Webinars

Cheers & Tiers: When AIGA Jacksonville’s Karen & Varick Accidentally Engineered the Perfect Chapter Culture & Had No Idea They Were Doing It

Webinars Aren’t Just Events. They’re Long Sales Conversations.

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