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Alexander Isley President 
One of the many things I look forward to as a board member is helping those of us on the inside of our profession in our quest to be recognized, understood, and appreciated by those on the outside of it.Alexander Isley’s first design position was at M&Co., where he rose to the position of senior designer. Alex then moved on to be the first full-time art director of Spy magazine. In 1988 he founded Alexander Isley Inc. Alex and his staff of designers have created award-winning graphic, editorial, and environmental design for clients including Giorgio Armani, Nickelodeon, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Texaco, MTV, Toys R Us, BAM and PepsiCo. Alex has been a critic at the Yale School of Art since 1996, and has taught at The Cooper Union and SVA. He was selected as an inaugural member of "The I.D. 40" and lectures extensively around the country. His work is in the permanent collection of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and SFMOMA. Alex is a board member of Creative Connections, an international children’s cultural exchange program. Alex joined AIGA right out of school and has been active in the organization over the years. He has presented his work in “Fresh Dialogue,” has chaired the “1- and 2-Color” show, has moderated or participated in seminars on editorial design, starting one’s own practice, and writing effective proposals. He served as a board member of AIGA/NY from 1988-1990. Alex holds degrees from the N.C. State University College of Design and The Cooper Union School of Art. In preparing for this election he has spent a lot of time shaking hands and kissing babies. Marc Alt 
As a board member my ultimate goal would be to raise the profile and visibility of AIGA. It is difficult, if not impossible, to find a practicing architect in this country today who is not a member of the American Institute of Architects, and many even append the initials A.I.A. to their name. Call me naïve, but I’d like to strive to find a way to instill the same pride of ownership in the AIGA amongst designers. I would also like to help organize increased opportunities for programs that encourage designers to make time in their careers for community service. I’d like to work to remind creative people to be in touch with ways in which they can contribute to causes that are meaningful to them.A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Marc Alt has been a designer, director and producer of media projects for the past ten years in New York City. Working primarily in film, television and hybrid projects, Marc has specialized in helping advertising agencies, design groups, brand strategy firms, television networks and production companies with projects that span the full range of media touch-points. He has helped clients such as Sony Design Center, NBC, Lippincott Mercer, Photonica, Aveda and many others with a wide range of special projects, including multi-channel advertising, product launches, network identities and promotions, and interactive presentations. His work has received awards and recognition from the NY Art Directors Club and BDA. Marc founded Marc Alt & Partners (MAP) in 2005 as a full-service creative agency, network of partners and innovation think-tank. In addition to providing creative services for traditional advertising, multi-channel marketing and special projects, MAP provides networked strategy, research, business intelligence, positioning and mapping through an international group of collaborators, connecting companies and brands with forward insight on global culture and trends. Peter Buchanan-Smith 
I’m interested in making AIGA even more relevant and accessible by offering more glimpses from behind the scenes of the design world and the creative world at large. I hope we can help inform people about what really goes on in the process of design, and how things get done. AIGA events should really feel like “events,” where people walk away with inspiration, opportunity and a new set of tools to face their world. I would like to embrace a very broad and eclectic range of current design, while keeping a steady eye on the past.
Peter Buchanan-Smith is the former art director of The New York Times Op-Ed page. His first book, Speck, won the I.D. Magazine Design Distinction Award. In October 2004, he co-released a book and CD made in collaboration with the legendary rock band Wilco. Peter’s design for the packaging of Wilco’s recent album, “A Ghost Is Born,” won him his first Grammy award. In January 2005 Peter left PictureBox, Inc. to become the creative director of Paper Magazine. Along with this, Peter continues to work on various book and music packaging projects including Maira Kalman’s illustrated version of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. Donna David 
I have seen many phases of design education over the years, starting with my own traditional “Bestine/ Presstype/ Rapidograph” undergraduate years through to my recent digital “on mouseUp()” graduate work and 15 years teaching experience. I would like to work with educators and student groups to find out what’s working in our classrooms, what needs change and what’s next. I am committed to high standards for schools, students and professionals. This position will allow me to give a voice to student and faculty members on matters of education and mentoring.Donna David is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Design department at the FIT/SUNY. She teaches graphic design for print and interactive projects. As a consultant, her projects range from interactive media, print and architectural signage. Her work has been featured in Print Magazine and The Art Director’s Club Annual. She holds a BS in Industrial Design from the Ohio State University and a MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design. In her spare time, she creates cross-stitch renditions of anti-aliased letterforms, in 8 shades of yarn, and reads science fiction. Barbara deWilde 
“It’s not what you’re like [that’s important], it’s what you like.”* The AIGA is a group of strangers who all like the same stuff: graphic design. As a member of its board, I would like to help the AIGA continue in its mission to sift through the cultural free-for-all that is New York City and locate great inspiration for its members.* Nick Hornby, High Fidelity Barbara de Wilde is currently the principle designer of her own studio. For the last four years she was the design director of Martha Stewart Living magazine. Following the successful launch of Martha Stewart Baby and Martha Stewart Holiday she began working with The Hoefler Type Foundry to develop two new fonts for the flagship magazine. The redesign of the magazine launched in the fall of 2002. Prior to her work for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, deWilde worked as a graphic designer in book publishing and music packaging. Her work for the Knopf publishing group, as well as Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, Scribner, Little Brown and others has been rejected by some of the finest literary minds in the country. Selections of her work that survived have been included in the Cooper Hewitt/National Design Museum, AIGA “50 Books/50 Covers” show, “365: AIGA Year In Design,” the Art Director’s Club, Society of Publication Designers, ASME, and in various trade magazines and books on design. Alan Dye 
Learning about carpentry as a kid in my Dad᾿s basement taught me more about being a graphic designer than I could ever imagine. I became a designer because I love the fact that each new day brings with it a chance to learn something new, often times from unexpected sources. As a member of the board, I would like to bring some people into the conversation from places and professions that might not fit the usual profile, but might help inspire and challenge each of us.Alan Dye has managed the overall brand aesthetic for award-winning lifestyle brands kate spade and JACK SPADE since February 2004. Previously, Alan was Design Director and Partner at Ogilvy and Mather’s Brand Integration Group (B.I.G.) where he worked with Motorola, Miller Brewing company, Levi’s, and Times Square, NYC. Prior to joining Ogilvy, Dye spent four years at Landor Associate’s New York office doing brand identity work for clients including Delta Airlines, Pepsi Cola, and MADD. He has also done independent design work for the National Basketball Association, Madstone Films, Balmori Associates, and the PUSH design conference. Alan’s work has been recognized by several design shows and magazines, including Communications Arts, Print, I.D., AIGA, and Graphis. Last year, he spoke at the AIGA New York chapter “Fresh Dialogue” event, and he was selected by Print Magazine as one of their New Visual Artist’s in the annual “20 Under 30” issue. Alan is an avid painter, illustrator, and basketball player and lives with his wife in Hoboken, New Jersey. Debbie Millman 
Being on the board of the New York chapter of the AIGA is an honor that I take very seriously and joyfully. I hope to bring inspiring, educational and fun events that are inclusive - bringing together ideas and energy from the various shapers of our culture. I would like to think that I can help grow the chapter and raise money for the organization to allow for further initatives. I would also like to continue working with the AIGA Mentorship program and the High School of Art and Design, developing challenging and enjoyable programming and truly making a difference to todays design students.Debbie Millman has been in the design business for the last 20 years fulfilling her dream of working in branding and furthering the meaning, purpose and stature of brands in our culture. Debbie is a Managing Partner and President of the New York office of Sterling Group, one of the country’s leading brand identity firms. She has been there for nine years and has had the distinct fortune of working with such amazing clients as Burger King, Hershey, Kraft, MTV, Nike, Star Wars, the National Basketball Association and Pepperidge Farm. She has also worked with Emmis Broadcasting’s Hot 97, where, since 1992, she has helped transform the image of the radio station from a dance music format to the vibrant, hip-hop station it currently is. Debbie frequently writes, lectures and teaches on the virtues of brands and authenticity. She worked on the board of AIGA special interest group, The Center for Brand Experience, from 1999-2002, and in 2003 attended the AIGA/Harvard Business School program “Business Perspectives for Design Leaders.” Currently, she has been mentoring a student from the High School of Art and Design in the AIGA Mentorship Program and is an author for Speak Up. She believes that the condition of brand reflects the condition of our culture and is bound and determined to further the causes of brand consultants everywhere. Victor Newman 
As a member of the AIGA board I would like to help develop a sense of ownership and commitment in the broadcast design community towards AIGA. I would also like to help cultivate fellowship, collaboration, and leadership within the organization. Most importantly I intend to help build a connection between the generation of young designers that have never been exposed to AIGA and the design professionals that hold a wealth of knowledge and experience.Victor Newman is co-founder and Creative Director of Freestyle Collective. Freestyle Collective is a collaborative design and production studio recognized for its unique artistic sensibility. Specializing in exploratory and experimental design, Freestyle Collective delivers creative advertising, promotion and branding solutions to a broad range of commercial, broadcast and corporate clients. Before launching FSC in 2001, Victor held the Senior Designer post at Manhattan Transfer, where his clients included SCI FI Channel, HBO, ESPN, CBS Sports, USA Network, CNET, TNT, VH1 and Nickelodeon. Among his many accolades are numerous BDA, Telly and Emmy awards. Joan Raspo 
I’m looking forward to collaborating with designers from a wide range of disciplines. The AIGA is a compelling organization for just that reason - the variety and breadth of its members. Organizing events that help to broaden the scope of what we imagine design to be, will be an invigorating challenge; one that I anticipate with genuine excitement.Joan Raspo is a director at Curious Pictures, a diversified entertainment company located in New York. She has created commercials, network branding and a television sitcom during her tenure there. Joan joined Curious in 1998 fresh out of VH-1 where she served as Design Director for the network. Combining live action and graphics is Joan’s forte as her projects for clients like Target, Reebok, USA Networks, Showtime, The Gap, and Oxygen prove. In 2000, Joan co-created and directed the animated sitcom “Avenue Amy” which aired on Oxygen for two seasons. “Avenue Amy” has been included in over 30 national and international film festivals and won the Audience Award at Resfest 2001. Her work has been featured in AIGA annuals, Wired, Entertainment Weekly and ID magazine. The Broadcast Design Association has awarded her work for a handful of networks many times over the past 10 years. Her penchant for teaching has led to a gig in the Graduate Studies program at Parson’s as well as speaking engagements at NYU, The Savannah College of Art & Design, and California College of Arts (formerly CCAC). Helene Silverman 
As a practitioner of the ancient art of print design, I will be trying to sneak into the AIGA a serving of the less-exalted in design; the everyday-designed world, the slowly disappearing, overlooked minutiae that makes me happy. Silkscreened or hand-painted grocery signs, one-color flexography, engraved lumberyard letterhead - work without design credits. These are a few of my favorite things.After a stint as senior designer at Mademoiselle magazine, Helene was design director of Metropolis magazine from 1985 to 1989, for which she received a Gold medal from the Society of Publication Designers. She was a founding member of Hello Studio, a design co-op formed in 1989. Clients have included Abrams, Random House, Hyperion, Penguin, Chronicle books; Atlantic, Elektra, Luaka Bop, Sony and Warner Bros records; The New York Times, Time Warner, Funny Garbage, Meigher Communications, Hearst, Rolling Stone, Disney, Marvel, MTV, and McCann Erickson among others. She has been the design director for the Red Hot Organization, an AIDS fundraising group, since 1990, producing projects incorporating music, film, tv, internet and CD-ROMs. She was the director of a music video for They Might Be Giants in 1989. A visiting faculty member at Yale University Graduate Design Program from 1996-98, her work was included in US Design, 1975-2000, at the Denver Art Museum, and is in the permanent collection of the museum. Jody Sutter 
As someone who is focused more on the business aspects of creative services rather than the creative process itself, I add an important dimension to an organization that is committed to the professional development of designers. In my role at OMD, I also offer an important connection to the more “traditional” world of advertising. One of the goals of my tenure would be to provide exposure to the principles and methodologies that larger creative agencies employ to manage their clients and market their clients’ brands. I look forward to bringing a unique business sense to the board of the NY Chapter of AIGA.Jody Sutter is the Director of Business Development for OMD East. Owned by Omnicom, OMD is one of the largest media buying and planning agencies in the world. During her 15-year career as a business development professional, she has fashioned and guided growth strategies for an extensive range of creatively-driven marketing and communications companies. Jody has run sales and business development functions at Carbone Smolan Agency, building key categories of business that led to new business wins from Morgan Stanley, Christie’s, and Montblanc, among others. Previously, she worked at R/GA Digital Studios, forging R/GA’s highly successful partnership with PBS and Intel on the Frank Lloyd Wright broadband interactive television project, which garnered an I.D Magazine Silver Award for excellence in design. Jody has also helped to establish a successful model for selling online advertising sponsorships at iVillage for clients like Quaker Oats, JC Penney and PBS. Ethan Trask 
I would like to be part of making AIGA an even greater participant in a global conversation; seeing it use its strong resources in the design community to help promote positive change for the world at large.Ethan Trask would probably be a chemist if he hadn’t met illustrator Cindy Wheeler at twelve and been introduced to the magical book of Pantone. Ten years later, having completely forgotten all about Cindy Wheeler, he graduated with a BA in English and got a job on a construction site. Fortunately in his next job as a production assistant at Random House he met Gillian Simon, who was kind enough to stay late and teach him quark. His eyes had been opened. The whole world became graphic design. Years later, having worked at Simon and Schuster, Bureau, Beehive, Out Magazine, Visionaire, and Lloyd + co., he and Joshua Liberson founded helicopter, a small design studio now located deep in the East Village. They work on a variety of projects including; music packaging, theater posters, books, magazines, and branding systems. Their clients range from Capitol Records, Time Inc., Nike, Bloomsbury and DreamWorks to small Not-for-Profits and avant-garde dance troupes. Helicopter has been nominated for a Grammy and their work is featured in the AIGA 365. Alice Twemlow 
I believe that intelligent and rigorous criticism elevates the standard not only of design discourse but also of design practice. I’d like to help create forums that produce new and challenging thinking about design, for the curators, critics, writers, and educators as well as the designers in our community. AIGA’s New York chapter has proved itself as a vital and viable design organization in its own right and I would like to work to increase the reach of its voice to the international design community. I also advocate parties.Alice Twemlow consults on matters relating to design, visual culture and their histories. As a design critic, she contributes to design periodicals including Architect’s Newspaper, Baseline, Communication Arts, Eye, Graphis, I.D. Magazine, Metropolis, Print, Step, and Typographic. She is the author of Style City: New York (Thames and Hudson, 2003,) a guest critic at Yale’s MFA graphic design program and a senior lecturer in the History of Graphic Design and Critical Thinking at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Currently she is also guest program director of the GraficEurope Conference that will take place in Berlin in October 2004. Alice has an MA in design history from a program run jointly by the Royal College of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. She was program director and then editor at AIGA for four and a half years, during which time she was responsible for eight national design conferences. James Victore 
I think that graphic design is a big wooden club with nails in it. I’d like to promote this idea and help the AIGA to grow stronger, more prominent and maybe even a bit scary.James Victore in a self-taught, independent designer. Victore’s work ranges from promotional and advertising design to publishing and an occasional poster. His clients include Moet Chandon, Amnesty International, the School of Visual Arts, The New York Times, Starbucks, The Lower East Side Tenement Museum and Portfolio Center. His work has been exhibited in solo gallery shows from Austin, Texas to Prague and Osaka and is in the permanent collections of the Palais du Louvre, Paris; the Library of Congress, Washington, DC and the Heritage Museum in Hong Kong. He teaches graphic design at the School of Visual Arts in New York. But his best work to date is his son, Luca. Armin Vit 
If I had to make a list — which I don’t have to — of things I would like to do during these two years of boardship they would be, in no particular order: make somebody happy, piss someone off, ruffle some feathers, feather some ruffles, give props, relinquish given props, spice it, slice it and sweeten it up, make new friends, foes and acquaintances and, if possible, talk about graphic design here and there.
Born and raised in Mexico City, Armin Vit is a graphic designer and writer now living in Brooklyn, New York. He has written for AIGA’s VOICE, Emigre, Eye, HOW and STEP magazines among others. His work has been published in numerous publications around the world and has garnered a few awards. He is a former faculty member of Portfolio Center and has lectured on topics ranging from typography to branding in locations ranging from San Diego to Berlin. He is co-founder of UnderConsideration and founder of the (in)famous Speak Up. Currently, he spends his daytime working at Pentagram. Feisty behind the keyboard, Armin remains timid at heart. |
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