NEWS

Follow our team throughout the weekend and see their progress.
Or check out highlights from last years event!

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Impact48 2014 Recap - May 17-18th



Impact48 2014 was a whirlwind of creativity, collaboration and teamwork focused on designing for community impact. We couldn't have produced the outstanding results of the weekend without our amazing group of creatives who took the project and hit the ground running from the very beginning.

This year, the task at hand was to rebrand Whitdel Arts, a nonprofit contemporary art gallery in Southwest Detroit that showcases emerging artists, seasoned veterans and anyone in between. They curate unique shows that are thought provoking, engaging and emotive. While Whitdel Arts wanted a polished, consistent brand, the challenge was keeping the integrity of their current logo and branding in mind as the team developed a revamped evolution of their current look. Over twenty logo options were created by our nine designers. Those were culled down to five final designs, which were presented to Whitdel Arts' volunteer Board of Directors during the first evening of the event. While the clients deliberated on which design to move forward with, our creatives were feasting on crepes that were handmade on-site by Torya from Good Girls Go To Paris. To be able to mix this and other Detroit food staples into an otherwise hardworking weekend was a great experience for all!



Throughout the design process and creation of deliverables, which developed over the following day, it was refreshing to see how diligent our creatives worked and teamed together to come up with a brand they were very happy to deliver. The clients were overwhelmed with joy at the final deliverables and the full extent of their new rebrand of the organization. The care and devotion that was given to Whitdel Arts rebranding was wholeheartedly impressive.

At the close of the event, Whitdel Arts was presented with a final logo, a full gamut of logo types, brand guidelines, and color palette that would resonate with their neighborhood. These were then applied to their business cards, stationary, signage, membership brochure, website reskin, social media graphics and more. We and the clients were beside ourselves with excitement because of the amount of work the Impact48 2014 creative team was able to produce in two days.




A special thank you to our sponsors: Team Detroit, DC3, Vitamin T and Atlas Oil. Without professionals and organizations that value design and AIGA Detroit's efforts within the community, this would not be possible. A kind thank you to Little Caesars for their in-kind donation and any of our supporters throughout this process. We greatly thank you.



Finally, again, we would like to extend a HUGE thank you to our creatives! Your time and talents went a long way to help mold a nonprofit organization's branding into something they will value for years to come. Great job to everyone who was involved in this year’s Impact48!


Check out the full photo album for the weekend on our Facebook page!



Impact48 Featured in the May Edition of HOW Magazine - Sunday, March 30, 2014



HOW is one of the leading trade magazines for creativity, design, technology and business in the graphic design industry. In their May 2014 edition, HOW featured an article called "Detroit's Design Renaissance" written by Sarah Whitman. Her words beautifully captured how Detroit's design community is coming together to help redevelop the city, and how the design community is becoming a catalyst for change within Detroit. AIGA Detroit's Impact48 event was featured in this article amongst some creative giants within our community, such as Team Detroit, Signal Return, Skidmore Studio, DC3, Tomorrow Today and LMStudio.


HOW



Be sure to grab a copy of the May edition of HOW in newsstands or download a digital copy to read more about Detroit's design community!!

http://www.howdesign.com/



The Detroit Creative Corridor Center (DC3) to Host 2014 Event - Tuesday, March 25, 2014




dc3



We are happy to announce that The Detroit Creative Corridor Center (DC3) will be hosting our Impact48 event this year on May 17-18. DC3 and their staff have been very generous in offering up their creative space for our volunteers. Partnering with DC3 for this AIGA Detroit community impact event is a natural fit for the event as well as for both organizations involved. Both AIGA Detroit and DC3 align over the goal advance the creative community.


DC3 is a catalyst for growing Detroit's creative economy by connecting and providing assets to businesses and innovators in Detroit’s Creative Corridor and throughout the Detroit metro area. In addition to growing the creative economy, DC3 is well-known for their design-related events, including The Detroit Design Festival, Creative Mornings and Drinks X Design. Therefore, DC3 not only sees the creative sector growth potential, they are helping fuel it with supporting programs and events that create a community as well as an economy for creatives.

To find out more about DC3, visit http://www.detroitcreativecorridorcenter.com.



THE INFORMATION CENTER ANNUAL GALA - Thursday, October 10, 2013





The Impact48 volunteers were invited to The Information Center's annual fundraising gala where we were surprised with a special award. The News Herald of Downriver posted an article about The Information Center and mentioned our Impact48 project. Here is a recap:

This year's Community Partner Award Recipient was AIGA Detroit. AIGA is the professional association for the design industry. AIGA Detroit designers made a big impact for The Information Center in April when 25 AIGA designers from companies and institutes such as General Motors, Team Detroit, Atlas Oil, Avfuel, Mars Advertising, Mott Community College, Little Caesars Enterprise, Inc. College for Creative Studies and more volunteered their time to create a complimentary brand identity for their chosen nonprofit, The Information Center.

As a result, The Information Center was presented with a new logo and fresh graphics to help leverage their look for years to come.

"We're very appreciative of the support we receive from our community," said Edward D'Angelo, president and chief operating officer of The Information Center.

Check out The Information Center's Video

Check out The News Herald Article



DAY TWO - Sunday, April 21, 2013



     

Volunteers arrived early the next morning to breakfast goodies donated by Java Hutt. With the coffee kicking and the creative sparks flying, the Information Center, Inc., met with our designers to go over the progress of their brand identity. The Information Center representatives were blown away with the design process and the progress our creative volunteers made the day before.

As morning became afternoon, our volunteers worked diligently and enthusiastically all day, stopping for a meal from Bucharest Grill with clients before jumping back into the project at hand. The team of designers pulled together and worked well managing their time to produce deliverables in time for the final presentation. At the final presentation, The Information Center representatives were overjoyed about their new brand identity. It was such a pleasure working with this amazing non-profit organization. They were present throughout the weekend and were full of gratitude for the services we provided to them. We were also overjoyed. Watching their faces light up with excitement brought tears to our eyes. It was a truly heartwarming experience for everyone involved. We can not thank the volunteers enough for donating their precious free time and their amazing talents. None of this would have been possible without them.


























View Day Two Photos



DAY ONE - Saturday, April 20, 2013



     

Bright and early our talented creatives arrived at D:Hive and are ready to hit the ground running on the project.

We unveiled the identity of the non-profit organization at that morning's first meeting, which had been kept a secret up until this point. We were happy to announce we would be working with The Information Center. The Information Center, Inc., is a private, non-profit organization that provides information and referral and senior services to residents of southeast Michigan, with the objective to connect people with the human service resources that fit their individual needs.

Creatives then met with the non-profit client for the first time and asked questions to better grasp the nature of the branding project. After the client meeting, volunteers split into three groups and creative brainstorming began! Each group was tasked with developing at least one branding identity to present to the client.

The teams comprised of members representing all various skill levels worked well together. Among them were a few student volunteers who jumped right in and brought a refreshing point of view to the table.

This weekend wasn't only about providing a service to the client, but it was also about how designers work together as a team to complete a large task in such a small time frame. Work time came full speed! Towards 5 o'clock the teams had to make their final touches and present their ideas to the client.

After the presentations, CEO Edward D'Angelo of The Information Center stated: "This is like Christmas, but I have all these toys, and I can't keep them all." Congratulations, to the team led by Jaime Pescia whose branding identity was chosen by the non-profit. While the client and team leaders decided on what deliverables were to be created the next day, dinner was served and donated by Amici's Gourmet Pizza. Then the entire team regrouped to discuss how to divide up the remaining materials needed to create a successful brand identity and started getting to work!

Day One was a huge success.

 

View Day One Photos

A special thank you to all our sponsors:

Team Detroit

Vitamin-T

Neenah Paper

Greening Detroit

Amici's Gourmet Pizza

LM Studio

Zingerman's

Olga's Kitchen of Detroit

Java Hutt

Chef Richard King

Jennifer King Studios

Arbor Oakland Group

Singer & Associates CPA