Cheers & Tiers: When AIGA Legends Gather, a chat with Mike Joosse

Mike Joosse, Group Studio Director of Brand Design at VML, shares how attending a record-breaking ten AIGA leadership retreats shaped his approach to creative community-building and design leadership. From volunteer to chapter president to national director, his AIGA experiences have become the blueprint for his current role connecting design professionals across the country.

Author

Rachel Elnar
April 13, 2025

There are certain conversations that make you feel like you’ve stumbled into a secret society meeting—complete with inside jokes, shared memories, and tales of legendary after-parties that may or may not have cleaned out an entire hotel bar in Omaha. Our recent chat with Mike Joosse, Group Studio Director of Brand Design at VML, was exactly that kind of delightful reunion.

For those uninitiated in the world of AIGA (that’s the Professional Organization of Design for you non-design folks), Mike is something of a legend. With a record-breaking attendance at TEN leadership retreats (San Francisco, Miami, Omaha, Portland, Chattanooga, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Denver, Grand Rapids, and Dallas, for those keeping score), Mike has seen it all—from human pyramids in zoo exhibit halls to sunrise gatherings that left everyone feeling “just awful” the next morning.

“I’ve gone on record saying that AIGA is responsible for almost every job I’ve ever gotten,” Mike told us, a sentiment that resonated deeply. “It absolutely changed my life. I’ve made the closest friends I’ve ever had.”

Mike’s AIGA journey spans an impressive arc: from a fresh-faced 21-year-old whose boss at Kinetik (the legendary Sam Shelton) essentially mandated AIGA DC involvement, to volunteer, to board member, to chapter president in North Carolina, to the first-ever Director of Chapter Development for the national organization, to Vice President of AIGA Chicago. If there were an AIGA bingo card, Mike would have a blackout.

But what struck me most during our conversation wasn’t just Mike’s impressive resume—it was how he’s carried the community-building lessons from AIGA into every aspect of his professional life. As he described his current role at VML, where he manages a team of 41 designers scattered across the country, I couldn’t help but notice how he’s essentially recreated the AIGA leadership retreat model: connecting people who might never physically be in the same room, fostering a sense of belonging, and creating space for people to share parts of themselves beyond their work.

The conversation took several delightful detours into AIGA lore, including:

  • The origin story of the infamous human pyramids (Lauren Langfitt, Omaha Zoo, tall ceilings—Mike “despised them” but they persisted for years)

  • AIGA Philadelphia chapter’s legendary hotel room gatherings where Mike finally let loose after planning his final retreat

  • The “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs” framework he learned from Ric Grefé, which Mike still uses to understand why people join communities

Erik and I found ourselves nodding along, occasionally jumping in with “I was there too!” moments—like true AIGA reunion buddies. At one point, I confessed I didn’t join AIGA until my 40s, proving Mike’s point that the organization welcomes people at all stages of their careers.

What makes Mike’s story special is how he’s carried the AIGA ethos with him everywhere. From VSA Partners to teaching 500 UX/UI students at Designation, to his current team at VML, Mike has built his career around being the person who knows “everything about everybody”—a human Rolodex connecting people and facilitating knowledge-sharing.

“It’s my job to know everything about them and be able to anticipate their needs, prepare them for the next step in their career because AIGA helped me do that for myself,” he explained.

As someone who’s shared the AIGA experience (albeit with fewer human pyramids on my resume), I couldn’t help but feel a renewed appreciation for the organization that brought design professionals together in hotel hallways, zoo exhibitions, and yes, occasionally depleted hotel bars.

In a world that increasingly connects us digitally, Mike’s story reminds us of the magic that happens when you put people in a room together—or when you work to create that same sense of connection across digital spaces. And if you happen to find yourself at a design event without your name badge, just know that somewhere, Denise Wood is looking for you.

Want to hear more stories like Mike’s? Subscribe to Cheers & Tiers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll have more episodes featuring your friends and your favorite design leaders, sharing their journeys, challenges, and triumphs.

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