Recap and Photos: Cartoonists Draw Blood - American Red Cross Blood Drive 2018

On October 20, 2018, the Washington, DC chapter of National Cartoonists Society had our sixth annual "Cartoonists Draw Blood" blood drive event with the American Red Cross. 

Thanks to all the cartoonists who donated their time and talents: Eric Gordon and Carolyn Belefski drew during the first shift, then Steve Artley and Joe Sutliff arrived to draw for donors during the second half of the drive. We were also able to showcase our second anthology, Monsters.

Thanks to AIGA DC for reaching out to Cartoonists Draw Blood and asking us to join DC Design Week for the second year in a row.

Thanks to Joe Carabeo for photographing the event and to the folks at Palisades Community Church for providing the venue.

Thanks to our sponsors: Cartoonists Draw Blood, American Red Cross, National Cartoonists Society

I had been great to be a part of this and saving so many lives with cartooning -- a single donation has the potential to save as many as three lives! 

More photos can be found in the gallery on Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/CurlsStudio/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10156695880607381

If you live near NYC, join in for the Manhattan chapter of National Cartoonists Society's first Cartoonists Draw Blood event this Thursday, October 25, 2018 from Noon to 5PM at The King's College, Student Union, 56 Broadway. 

XOXO,

Carolyn

Recap and Photos: Cartoonists Draw Blood - American Red Cross Blood Drive 2017

On October 21, 2017, we had our fifth annual "Cartoonists Draw Blood" blood drive event with the American Red Cross. The event started in 2013 and has been going strong since!

This year we had a change of location because we wanted to be able to do the drive in advance of Halloween (to go with our theme) and there were some logistic date issues early on, but we were able to be hooked up with Palisades Community Church in Washington, DC for this year's event -- and everything worked out great. Thanks to Troy-Jeffery Allen for co-chairing the event with me!

Thanks to all the cartoonists who donated their time and talents: Steve Artley, Carolyn Belefski, and Joe Sutliff were drawing during the full blood drive. Art Hondros and Eric Gordon came to draw for donors during the second half of the drive. We were also able to showcase our first anthology, Trick or Treat.

Thanks to AIGA DC for reaching out to Cartoonists Draw Blood and including us to join DC Design Week.

Thanks to Joe Carabeo for photographing the event.

Thanks to our sponsors: Cartoonists Draw Blood, American Red Cross, National Cartoonists Society

Keep your eyes and ears open for another blood drive next fall.

Thanks to everyone for being a part of this and saving so many lives with cartooning -- in addition to having a great time with us.

More photos can be found in the gallery on Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/CartoonistsDrawBlood/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1534734869940511

XOXO,

Carolyn

Get Out The Vote Gallery open during DC Design Week

A couple years ago, I was asked to be a part of DC Design Week (DCDW) with the "Design & Doodle" workshop. This year I'm involved with DCDW in a different way with DC’s “AIGA’s Get Out the Vote Campaign” (GOTV) poster gallery.

In partnership with the League of Women Voters, AIGA‘s GOTV campaign wields the power of design to motivate the American public to register and turn out to vote in the 2016 general election, as well as local elections to come. The pop-up GOTV gallery during DCDW will showcase posters designed by local creatives, with the occasional appearance of say...a Milton Glaser or Paula Scher piece.

When you’re done perusing the posters, head next door to the DCDW pop-up shop filled with items that were made in DC. Open all week. Main headquarters for DCDW is Washington Project for the Arts (2124 8th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001).

Get Out the Vote Poster Design

Here is the poster I designed for AIGA‘s Get Out the Vote campaign. The mission wields the power of design to motivate the American public to register and turn out to vote in the 2016 general election, as well as local elections to come. This year, in partnership with the League of Women Voters, AIGA civic engagement initiative will Get Out the Vote by presenting an online gallery of original, nonpartisan posters for printing and public distribution. There will also be exhibitions in conjunction with the Republican National Convention (Cleveland, July 18-21), Democratic National Convention (Philadelphia, July 25–28).

Recap: Design & Doodle Workshop

On Wednesday, October 22, 2014, I led the Design & Doodle Workshop during DC Design Week. The event was hosted by AIGA DC, General Assembly, and DC Fem Tech. Only 25 people could attend and the registration sold out in less than a day. Even the wait list was sold out, so I knew the attendees were paying close attention to the design community and that means people are craving this type of creativity. 

After introductions, I talked about doodling techniques and showed the attendees some warm up hand exercises to get loose. I have two main hand exercises – one I call finger taps and the other is more wrist based I call CM Punk. Oftentimes, I believe designers are stiff and it's an experience I've had to overcome and am constantly working on. Not only are we sitting at desks for ten hours a day staring at a screen, but we sometimes work under rigid guidelines and dun dun dun... the horrible (not so horrible) grid!

Only one of the attendees had decided to draw digitally, but the others brought their own supplies of drawing tools and paper. After our decision about drawing, I learned that there was some interest in drawing apps, but most people felt like drawing with physical objects was the way to go. I mostly do linework on paper, then scan, and color digitally with a tablet. 

A few years ago I did a project called Sketch Before Sleep where I drew each night for 365 days. All of those sketches were done digitally. I showed a film clip of all the Sketch Before Sleep sketches. I had not shown the film since 2011 at the GV Expo, but it's now available online here.

The two prompts I gave at Design & Doodle were selecting two words from my "Inspiration Owl" and showing the vintage novelty doodle pad from David Jablow's Do It Yourself Doodler Project. Free issues of Magic Bullet #9 and postcards promoting my comic strip "Curls" were given out as well.

The rest of the evening was spent doodling and several of the attendees showed me their sketches and had one-on-one talks with me about their drawing skills. It was great to meet some new faces and also recap with Anthony and Mila from the AIGA board. Thanks to everyone who attended the event.

More photos can be found on the Curls Studio Facebook page.

DC Design Week: Design & Doodle Workshop is Sold Out

The workshop I'm hosting for AIGA DC Design Week sold out in one day! I did announce it on Twitter, but I didn't even get to post a blog entry about it before it sold out. That's a good thing and I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of fresh faces. The wait list is also full, but you can still sign up to be on the wait list.

Thanks to AIGA DC, Rica Rosario, Dian Holton, DC Fem Tech, General Assembly, and everyone else who helped construct DC Design Week.

Here is more info about the event:

Design & Doodle Workshop
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
WeWork Wonder Bread Factory
641 S Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Ever wish you had more time to draw and doodle? Well this is the event for you. AIGA DC, DC Fem Tech and General Assembly are hosting a hands-on illustration workshop led by DC’s own Carolyn Belefski, cartoonist, designer and magic maker. We’ll chat about illustrators that inspire us, get warmed up with a few drawing exercises, then sketch away! So bust out your Micron pens, Prismacolor markers and favorite stylus, and join us for an evening of design and doodling.

Please bring your own doodling supplies, tools and materials—paper, tablet, your call. Drinks and snacks will be provided.

This event is free and open to AIGA DC members and non-members. Registration will open at 12 PM on Wednesday, October 1 and is limited to 25 attendees.

Carolyn Belefski creates and publishes original comics and illustrations, including her comic strip Curls. She became a National Cartoonists Society member in 2012, and is currently serving as a Washington, DC chapter board member. With NCS, she started the annual blood drive, Cartoonists Draw Blood, with the American Red Cross. Her freelance illustration and design clients include Boom! Studios (Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time comic), Clorox, and National Geographic. Carolyn has exhibited at many comic conventions and art fairs on the east coast. Beyond her self-motivated activities, Carolyn works as a professional designer who has contributed to projects for San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame Museum, Air Force Civilian Services, Gannett, and more. You can view Carolyn’s work online at www.curls-studio.com and follow her on Twitter @CarolynBelefski.

Recap: Tall Tales from A Large Man

On Wednesday, January 16, 2013, I attended AIGA DC's event "Tall Tales from A Large Man" with speaker Aaron James Draplin of the Draplin Design Co. I knew going into the event that he would be a dynamic speaker based on all the online hype from AIGA DC and the fact that the event sold out and then they switched venues to open additional seating. People wanted to see this dude talk! He's not your typical designer with thick black glasses and a crisp shirt. He's a big man with a beard who looks like he stepped out of the wilderness. He discussed his upbringing and early design career: hopping around from Detroit, Alaska, Minnesota, and Portland. He started working for other people, then he discovered, "I could make more money after 6PM when I got home than I could going to meetings about meetings." Eventually, he saved his money and went full-time working for himself.

Draplin commented on the current state of design, "Graphic design used to be a trade. Direct marketing garbage. That's our life now. Flickering and flashing online ads. Now we are making garbage all day long." He didn't tell me things I didn't know, it was just the way he delivered the message that was different than most people would have. There was no restraint when he wanted to talk bad about something or someone and we all learned that he hates Republicans. We were reminded this many times throughout the presentation. 

To get a taste of his style, take a listen to his feelings on how America is F*cked (Graphically at least): http://vimeo.com/1465284

The most interesting parts in his presentation were showcasing three projects in more detail with his "tall tales." The first project was an identity design he did for his friend's Cobra Dogs hot dog truck. It was fun to see a designer speak about how much he enjoyed a project. Also comparing it to a more well-known company he designed for and saying he got more out of creating something for a less-known company was refreshing to hear. Especially in DC, where I am often asked where I work as an introductory sentence before asking what my name is.

Draplin also discussed how excited he was to work for Obama on the ARRA and TIGER projects. He showed his logo process and his enthusiasm for our President. I think it is really great that they sought him out to contribute to the country.

The third project was designing an identity for a farm in Illinois. He got to know his client on the phone and they had personal conversations throughout he course of the project. They both agreed the logo design set price at $1,000. After some time, Draplin realized the man he was working with was John Hughes, the legendary Hollywood director of movies such as The Breakfast Club, Uncle Buck, Home Alone, and more. They had a phone relationship and Hughes appreciated that once Draplin discovered who he was he didn't add on an extra 0 to the fee. Hughes had Draplin design business cards for his fictional characters. Then he died. Draplin spoke on the phone with his sons and they said the business cards were given out at the funeral.

We also found out that besides his hate of Republicans, Draplin also dislikes Kid Rock, Toby Keith (he said he had a nose job and I later researched it online and could not find evidence), sandals at a wedding, Guy Fieri, and more. Draplin is definitely a man who wants to preserve good design, pays respect to the past, and knows his culture. He also reminded me not to forget logos that read well when reproduced at a small size. He knows himself and for that I appreciate his quality work and his talk.

MoMA Presentation at AIGA DC

On Thursday, April 5, 2012 I attended August Heffner's presentation "An INitiative Event: Why In-House Designers are Smarter, More Creative and Better Than Everyone Else" hosted by AIGA DC. August is an In-House Designer and Associate Creative Director of Graphic Design and Marketing at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. It was very interesting because the MoMA design team does such great work with some limitations (mostly one typeface and limited, but very bold color palette) and their design encompasses exhibition, display, advertising and promotions to get people to come to the museum. It is best to look at their work in this link to see for yourself, or even better make a trip up to NYC and see for yourself. Here are some tidbits of knowledge I learned at the event that I can share with you:

• MoMA mostly only uses the Franklin Gothic typeface and otherwise creates their own if needed (like Tim Burton's based on his handwriting or the Marina Abramovic typeface)
• Did a rock poster show and used wheat paste to put up the signage, but hired the person who does the wallpaper at The White House to install the display, which I thought was an interesting combo of punk rock and high-class
• Marina Abramovic was at the museum every day for 3 months sitting in a chair
• They do not work on MoMA exhibit book publications
• Summer attendance is typically slow at museums
• In general, most people are afraid of modern art
• Original template design by Paula Scher, Pentagram
• At first many people were upset about the lowercase "o" in their branding, but now they own it
• They silkscreen their walls (no vinyl) so people don't peel the graphics
• Working with the artist estates can be hard because they can't use the art in advertising sometimes, so they have to come up with other solutions to "problems"
• I felt like it's good that they showcase their work online because the museum is constant changing with exhibits and their work doesn't last forever on the walls, everything gets painted over and refurbished after each exhibition
• Team promoted summer exhibits last year with really fun handouts at Times Square - http://momadesignstudio.org/Summer-Campaign-2011
• They are starting to do more with video and online ad campaigns
• Breaking "branding" guidelines – Tim Burton does MoMA logo - http://momadesignstudio.org/Tim-Burton
• Pixel Art they did for exhibition, received 50/50 reaction (some people upset they were re-creating art from art), but they were still able to do it - http://momadesignstudio.org/Talk-to-Me


The photo above is a picture of me at MoMA during the time of Tim Burton's exhibit near the end of 2009. That exhibit was amazing and I just realized now that I never wrote a blog about it during that time. It was probably one of the best exhibits I have been to along with Van Gogh's Van Goghs at National Gallery of Art in 1998. Make sure you check out the Burton exhibit photographs in the link to MoMA's design studio. I really appreciated this event because it renewed my vision for design and also makes me embrace limitations at this time.

AIGA DC Urban Forest Project Interview Films

A few months ago, AIGA DC board members Dian Holton and Kerri Sarembock worked with Joe Carabeo from Astray Productions to produce over 25 interview films based on the artists who took part in The Urban Forest Project. I worked as sound mixer for about half of the interviews.

The Urban Forest Project is a series of unprecedented outdoor exhibitions taking root in cities around the world. This unique environmental, public arts and educational initiative calls on artists, designers and students in each location to employ the idea or form of the tree to make a powerful visual statement on banners that are displayed throughout the community.




Sit back and enjoy causal and spontaneous conversations with the AIGA DC Urban Forest Project artists. You can view all of the films here: http://www.youtube.com/user/AIGAWASHDC

Plus keep an eye out on the streets of DC for the banners in spring of 2011! AIGA DC has set up a Flickr group for UFP DC where you can upload your own photos of the banners: http://www.flickr.com/groups/ufpdc

Here is my Urban Forest Project Submission, which unfortunately did not make the final selection to be produced as street banner: http://curls-studio.blogspot.com/2010/01/urban-forest-project-submission.html

The Urban Forest Project is brought to you by: Downtown DC Business Improvement District, The District Department of Transportation, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, AIGA DC, Worldstudio and USDA Forest Service

AIGA DC Farewell

It was a tough decision to make, but I recently decided to roll off the AIGA DC board of directors. I have served on the board for four years, but my history of AIGA started in 2002 when I was a student member at Virginia Commonwealth University with the Richmond chapter. As a student, I served on the student chapter board. After graduation, I moved up to DC and started volunteering at many AIGA DC events, hoping to catch the board's eye and be elected to the DC chapter at the professional level. It took me two years of volunteering until I got on the board.

AIGA describes itself as: AIGA, the professional association for design, stimulates thinking about design, demonstrates the value of design and empowers the success of designers at each stage of their careers. AIGA’s mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force. Founded in 1914, AIGA remains the oldest and largest professional membership organization for design, and is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational institution.

My first position on the board in 2007 was working with Dian Holton on AIGA 50, our biennial juried exhibition. Here are two blogs where I previously wrote about this position and the event reception at National Postal Museum.

Then a brand new position opened to the board revolving around our Design Continuum Scholarship program, which I held for the next two years. As Continuum Chair, I worked with our Advisory Board, Mira Azarm and Jill Spaeth to create fundraising events and dinners to raise money for the scholarships. Some of these included a summer party, a wine pairing and tasting event at The Art Institute of Washington, a private event with Michael Osborne and more. The position also involved promoting the scholarship to media outlets and schools to let educators and students know about the application process. We also started the Continuum Fund Button Campaign which involved getting original designs from Stanley Hainsworth, The General Design Company, Michael Osborne, David Franek and Nathan Hill for buttons promoting our scholarship opportunities. We have given away five scholarships to young designers.


This past year I attended the Leadership Retreat in Chattanooga, Tennessee and then served as Special Projects Coordinator. AIGA DC will soon be premiering a new blog site. We will let you know when the site is active, but I can tell you Ripe is doing a great job working on designing and programming the site at this very moment. Having a blog where our members can write about design and recap our events is something our community really needed. You can read all my AIGA related blog posts here: http://curls-studio.blogspot.com/search/label/AIGA

Being on the AIGA DC board is a time in my life I will remember forever. The people on the board are awesome and we make a great team. Through the board experience, I learned to organize projects, write press releases, promote the chapter's activities and plan events. I enjoyed meeting many designers in the area and connecting with the community in ways I never imagined.

Next time you go to an event, look around you and take in the effort of people working the event. Someone organized a speaker to travel from New York to speak to you or a sign language interpreter or set-up the registration table or volunteered as an event photographer. It all adds up to create the magic that you aren't supposed to notice, that should be flawless. Many people do not realize this but it's important to stress that no one on the board gets paid. We are all volunteers who devote our time and energy to advancing the design profession. Not just time, but also expenses. It costs me $13.45 to park and commute to each board or committee meeting (each commute to DC). That may not seem like much, but over a year's span that's at least $200. In addition to commuting to meetings, professional membership is $315. AIGA DC board members are very devoted beyond the need of themselves to providing our membership with great resources and events.


The best thing besides working with the people on the AIGA DC board is the ability of seeing results. All too often in my design jobs, I never know what happened to the work I created. As a cartoonist, I work alone when I draw and it takes months to create something and get feedback. I usually only get to speak to people face-to-face at comic conventions. With AIGA a majority of the projects we have work on get instant feedback. For example, we got to give away scholarships or we know when an event sold out. The results are what keep us going.

I'd like to thank the two past presidents Mira Azarm and Jill Spaeth for their dedicated support and assistance with everything in the past few years. They are truly amazing stars in the world of design. The DC area is much stronger with their positive example of running the chapter.

It is my time to exit and open a slot to a new fresh board member. If you know of someone who has productive energy and time and commitment involved to be on the AIGA DC board, please apply by May 6, 2011. For more information, visit: http://www.aigadc.org/events/2011/05/61301417

I'm excited to use my limited "free time" to take my storytelling and comics work to a new level. I plan on giving more time to my Curls webcomic, other Curls Studio endeavors and taking over the world. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, here I come.

Hourly Comic Day 2011

Less than 24 hours ago I did not know about Hourly Comic Day, but when I arrived at work and logged on to Twitter, many people were tweeting about it (hashtag: #hourlycomicday). Apparently every February 1st is Hourly Comic Day. From what I gather, participants are encouraged to do a comic every hour they are awake. I figured why not try it? Above are the 15 panels I did in 15 hours.

Note: The Hourly Comic is broken up into three parts. Please click on each to read and click on the image if you need to zoom in more.

In addition, today made me wonder - why do cartoonists do this to themselves? Cartooning can be very painful, yet people keep coming up with these challenges. Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy them. I participated in 24 Hour Comics Day in 2008, which we did a full page every hour for 24 hours straight. If you didn't know this by now, cartoonists are crazy!

In all seriousness, this challenge was good because it got me to draw faster and just put it out there. It's not perfect and sometimes that makes my style more loose, which can be interesting. Also I don't even know if I did the challenge correctly. I did one panel every hour as opposed to a full three-panel comic. I don't know if there were any rules to this and I also saw a few online with one panel. Either way I did something today.

Let me know if you have a specific panel you like. I like 1PM and the way I drew my hat at 5PM. What do you like about my Hourly Comic?

AIGA DC - When Lightning Strikes!

AIGA DC is asking people to submit 10 images of inspiration. I have decided to share my submission with you. I have a folder on my computer called "Imagery" and whenever I am having an uncooperative day, I take a moment to recharge by looking at these visuals that inspire me to create.

I am inspired by...


Goats in Trees.


Magic and Criss Angel who teaches me you can do anything you set your mind to.


Meeting Jeff Smith at my first SPX as a volunteer. At this moment, I knew I wanted to take my comics to a higher level.


Burlesque and The Pontani Sisters. Circus performers and sideshow entertainers.


This Fish.


This.


Working hard.


Creating iconic characters and allowing people to have fun.


Taking over the world.


Saving the world and believing in love.

Now what are you inspired by? Let AIGA DC know by submitting your 10 images and coming to When Lightning Strikes! on November 15, 2010.

Help kick off DC Design Week by submitting images of whatever makes you tick, creatively. We're asking you to get your creative juices flowing and show the world what inspires you. It could be a butterfly, things shaped like hearts, the National Cathedral, a big jet airplane... it doesn't matter what, who, or why—we want to see it!

There will be a show-and-tell slideshow presented by noted creatives including Pat Taylor, Antonio Alcalá, Philippa Hughes, John Foster, Judy Kirpich, Ethel Kessler, Carolyn Sewell, Terry Wilson, Richard Brandenburg, and Sam Shelton as special guest MC.

Submission details:

• Submissions should be JPGs with a brief description (25 words or less)
• Send all entries and questions to aigadcinspire@gmail.com
• Include in your email: your NAME and title of your submission
• Maximum one submission per person, 10 images per submission
• Submission should be no more than 10 megabytes
• Deadline for submissions is November 10th, 2010

This is not a competition. It's inspiration!

When Lightning Strikes!
Monday, November 15, 2010
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
RFD – Regional Food and Drink
810 7th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001

This is a free event! Limited street parking may be available in the area. Metro access is via the green, yellow, and red lines at the Gallery Place-Chinatown station, just across 7th street (northern exit).

Special thanks to RFD (Regional Food and Drink) for generously providing the space for this event.

Spotlight on AIGA DC Continuum Scholarship Winners and Proceeds from 2010 Fellow Award Event

Spotlight on Scholarship Winners
AIGA DC has contributed to the education of five students since launching the Continuum Fund in 2007. Here are some updates on our scholarship recipients:

Joseph Cabato
(NVCC Tom Suzuki Scholarship Winner)
While maintaining summa cum laude status, Cabato earned a total of three associate degrees from Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC): Communication Design; Communication Design/Interactive Design; and Fine Arts/Photography. In his ‘downtime’ Cabato redesigned NVCC’s logo and layout for their newspaper, NVCC Fortnightly. Forging ahead, Cabato has been accepted to begin this Fall at American University’s School of Communication for their MFA program: Film and Electronic Media. He looks forward to working on fictional narratives, short-form videos, animation and documentaries.

Alfredo Ramirez
(NVCC Tom Suzuki Scholarship Winner)
Since this scholarship allowed Ramirez to focus solely on school, he admits that he began ‘living and breathing design.’ In addition to excelling in classes, Ramirez received NVCC’s “Best in Interactive” award. He also joined the NVCC Studio, a student-run, donation-based organization that creates designed pieces for local or non-profit organizations and supports scholarship funds for current and future students. Looking ahead, Ramirez has begun taking classes for web and interactive design and plans on completing his remaining classes for an associates degree in the near future.

Sarah Machicado
(AIGA DC Continuum Scholarship Winner – 2009)
During fall semester 2009, Sarah participated on a project through an advanced object design course taught by Inna Alesina and partnered with John Hopkins Children ARE Safe (CARES) Mobile Safety Center to solve the issue of child related accidents that occur in common Baltimore households. In addition, Sarah worked on poster awareness campaign called “It’s All Connected” to illustrate how people’s actions or choices can affect themselves, the community and the environment. Her poster was selected to be displayed in Baltimore’s MTA subway stations. The AIGA DC Continuum Fund made it possible for Sarah to attend a study abroad program with Temple University to La Paz, Bolivia this past summer.

Huong Le
(AIGA DC Continuum Scholarship Winner – 2010)
Huong Le is a student at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore and part of MICA’s Design Coalition, dedicated to helping the citizens of East Baltimore find resources to help sustain services for their community. She works directly with the Men and Families Center to re-strategize their brand identity so they can develop more funding to help those in need. Art education and design thinking have encouraged Huong to pursue her passions. She plans to continue working with design organizations to strategize development for low-income communities like East Baltimore.

Alexis Lovely
(AIGA DC Continuum Scholarship Winner – 2010)
When Alexis looks at a blank canvas, screen or image, the first thing she sees is the potential it has to be something more. She sees a beautiful work of art in the making, or the endless possibilities it has to be an inspiring piece of work through color, a serious message or eye-catching phenomenon. Alexis is freshman in the graphic design program at Howard University and is determined to have others feel an emotion unique to them with anything she designs.

Proceeds from 2010 Fellow Award Event
AIGA DC is excited to report that just under $700.00 was raised at our October 6th Fellow Award Event, which honored Tamera Lawrence and Rodney Williams. 80% of the proceeds from this event were donated to the AIGA DC Continuum Design Scholarship in both of our Fellows’ honor. Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to the cause of design education.

How You Can Become Involved
If you would like more information about AIGA DC's Continuum Fund Scholarship or have questions about donating to AIGA DC's Continuum Fund, please email continuum@aigadc.org or visit www.aigadc.org/continuum.

--
Carolyn Belefski
Special Projects Coordinator, AIGA DC

Recap: Crafty Bastards 2010

Crafty Bastards took place Saturday, October 2, 2010 at the Marie Reed Learning Center in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC. I am thankful for the wonderful weather we had and the amazing turnout of speculators. We were visited by many people including former co-workers, Rob Ullman, practically 75% of the AIGA DC board, Sallie and two members from the improv class I took last summer. It was nice to see all these faces as well as new ones.


We got to debut our new Curls Studio long banner at this event. I only got out of the tent once, but what I saw was fabulous - many great crafters and many unique things. I am excited to get Curls Studio comics out to different audiences by attending events not typical of comic conventions.


The weekend was so busy because we were guests at Capicons the following day... which will be what my next blog post will be about.

You can see more photos of Curls Studio at Crafty Bastards on our Facebook Fan Page. Be sure to "like" us there.

Recap: AIGA Leadership Retreat 2010

A few hours ago I got back from the 2010 AIGA Leadership Retreat in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was such a blast and very motivational!

The annual AIGA Leadership Retreat is an invitation-only event for chapter board members to gather together, share successes of the past year and plan for the future. The event offers an opportunity to hear about what’s happening nationally as well as what other chapters are doing. Delegates from AIGA’s 65 chapters assemble to build leadership skills and community.

The three-day leadership retreat for AIGA board members has a different theme each year. In 2010, we ENGAGE.


In the beginning it was a little rough for the six AIGA DC board members who went went to the retreat, as we had our AIGA 50 reception the night before and many of us packed our clothes after the reception and then left for Dulles airport where we were all to meet at 4:30 AM. I got about 45 minutes of sleep. Now we all know I am used to not sleeping, but 45 minutes is hardly even a nap. Either way, we still managed to party like rock stars.

The small group discussions I attended were: Utilizing Social Media (Kevin Berger, AIGA Seattle; Dawn Zidonis, AIGA Cleveland), Creating Digital Content (Roy Levitt, AIGA Metro North; Doug Grimmett, AIGA Atlanta), and Communications Strategy (Jane Naillon, AIGA Idaho; Matt Muñoz, AIGA Raleigh; Alison Davis, AIGA Nashville; Charles Carpenter, AIGA Colorado).

I also signed up for the Friday lunch Social Programming (with Wes McWhorter, AIGA New Orleans) and the Saturday lunch Gain Presentation Follow-Up (with Kenna Kay - unfortunately Stanley Hainsworth was not able to make the lunch).


What I liked about the retreat was the experience of meeting people from all over the United States who are passionate about what they do. I truly enjoyed learning about what the other chapters were up to and meeting people. I talked so much I even lost my voice. Many of the people there were super smart design leaders who have so much to offer. It was amazing to have so many amazing people in one room and it was great to hear Richard Grefé and Debbie Millman talk about the design industry.

There was not much time to really see Chattanooga. I would have liked to see more of the trains, but the Leadership Retreat is not really a vacation anyway. When we did get out we went to Hair of the Dog Pub and played darts with people from Salt Lake City, Jacksonville, Charlotte, Indianapolis, and Cleveland. We also stopped by Leo Handmade Gallery which had vintage fashions, zines, vegan cookbooks, silkscreen posters and more.


I am impressed with the way the retreat was presented and all the great people I got to meet. It is an honor to represent the Washington, DC chapter at the retreat. Thank you AIGA.

To see more photos, visit my Facebook page or see the AIGA DC Flickr page (tag 'aigaretreat2010'). Plus keep updated about the retreat on Twitter by using the #aigaretreat hashtag.

--
Carolyn Belefski
Continuum Chair, AIGA DC

Nathan Hill - AIGA DC Continuum Fund Button Campaign

It may not seem like much, but $5 can make a difference. That’s the premise behind the Continuum Fund Button Campaign, which provides a doorway into the fund for those AIGA DC members and friends who may not yet be financially able to join the Continuum Circle. In addition, these buttons will help raise awareness to our general membership of our Continuum Fund. A steady rotation of industry heavies have contributed designs over the past year, including Stanley Hainsworth, The General Design Company, Michael Osborne and last year’s AIGA Fellow Award recipient David Franek.

The newest set is designed by last year’s Show Off winner, Nathan Hill, a 2009 graduate of Corcoran College of Art + Design. Over the past several years Nathan has designed for both boutique studios and large design agencies in the DC area. Fueled by his addiction to design and passion for design education, Nathan recently started his own studio. He says, "a great friend once told me that design is an ever-learning process. It’s a simple notion, but it’s stuck with me and continues to shape how I approach design."


At Wednesday's 2010 AIGA 50 Awards Show we will premiere Nathan's button set to the public. AIGA DC has made 50 sets of the buttons and they will be available tonight at the suggested minimum donation of $5.

The AIGA DC's Continuum Fund Button Campaign helps DC metro area students pursue a graphic design degree. All proceeds go to AIGA DC’s Continuum Fund Scholarship, which allows young people from minority and economically disadvantaged backgrounds not only to realize their artistic dreams, but also to give back to their communities.

If you would like more information about AIGA DC's Continuum Fund Scholarship or have questions about donating to AIGA DC's Continuum Fund, please email continuum@aigadc.org or visit www.aigadc.org/continuum.

I hope to see you Wednesday at the Arts Club of Washington. Please pick up a button set or two to support the Continuum Fund Scholarship. Here is some more information about the event:

WHAT: 2010 AIGA 50 Awards Show
WHEN: Wednesday, June 2, 2010
TIME: 6:30 PM - Reception and Design Exhibition, 8:00 PM - Program and Awards Presentation
WHERE: Arts Club of Washington
2017 I Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
TICKETS: Members: $15/$25 (at the door), Non-members: $25/$35 (at the door)

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Carolyn Belefski
Continuum Chair, AIGA DC

Design Army donates to AIGA DC Continuum Fund

Owners of Design Army, Pum and Jake Lefebure, have donated 100% of their speaking and judging fees to the AIGA DC Continuum Fund Scholarship in 2009 and 2010. Some of these events include speaking at Design Madison, AIGA Blue Ridge, AIGA West Michigan, AIGA Baltimore, and Columbus Society of Communicating Arts. HOW International, ADDY New Mexico, ADDY Akron, and NORI Awards are all judging events where the money earned was applied to the AIGA DC Continuum Fund Scholarship.

AIGA DC recently connected with Design Army to find out what makes them tick and why they donate to our scholarship fund.

What compelled you to donate your speaking engagement earnings to the AIGA DC Continuum Fund?
Being in DC and seeing the potential of design community and student talents we have I hope that it will better programs and elevate DC even furthter as a creative hub. And we like to give back - AIGA DC Continuum Fund is great place to give.

Why do you enjoy about being a donor to the AIGA DC Continuum Fund?
Seeing a talented designer have the opportunity to be even better - it's a tough market these days and every/any advantage will be needed to make it.

What would you say to someone thinking about donating to the fund? Why should someone donate?
Why not? If you are going to give why not give to a good cause you are passionate about. We get called on by all sorts of organizations and while we do give to some, we will really look each one and how it will or will not impact our daily lives. Design is our life here at Design Army.


The AIGA DC community looks up to Design Army because of their involvement with causes and the opportunities they achieve in the design industry. To know that they care enough to donate 100% of their speaking and judging fees to the AIGA DC Continuum Fund means a lot to the future of design.

If you would like more information about AIGA DC's Continuum Fund Scholarship or have questions about donating to AIGA DC's Continuum Fund, please email continuum@aigadc.org or visit www.aigadc.org/continuum.

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Carolyn Belefski
Continuum Chair, AIGA DC

Urban Forest Project Submission

This spring, The Urban Forest Project, a global public arts and environmental initiative, will plant 100 street banners designed by local designers and students in downtown Washington, DC. Each banner will use the form of, or metaphor for, a tree to make powerful visual statements about the environment. Together they’ll create a forest of thoughtful images in the heart of the nation’s capitol. Once the banners come down from the light poles, the artwork will be repurposed into tote bags for purchase. Proceeds from the sales of the tote bags will go to non-profit environmental efforts that will aid Washington, DC in being a cleaner, greener and more sustainable city.

The project, conceived by Worldstudio, is being presented in Washington DC in collaboration with: AIGA DC, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Corcoran College of Art + Design.

Here is my statement about the banner I created:

The Washington Monument is the inspiration for my banner design. The shape lends itself to create a lovely tree and represents both the environment and the city of Washington, DC as one visual element. In addition, the variety of leaves evokes a feeling of diversity and community.

AIGA DC Michael Osborne Continuum Event

On Sunday, November 15, 2009, the AIGA DC Continuum Fund held a special meet-and-greet gathering for the Continuum Circle donors with an intimate evening party and presentaion with designer Michael Osborne at Pat Taylor's home in Washington, DC.


We enjoyed lovely hors d'oeuvres and drinks while AIGA DC Advisory Board members Tamera Lawrence and Beth Singer talked about the Continuum Fund. AIGA DC President Jill Spaeth introduced Michael Osborne and he went on to present and give away work from his letterpress company, One Heart Press.


Michael Osborne is also President and Creative Director of the San Francisco-based graphic design firm, Michael Osborne Design. Established in 1981, the firm's work in corporate/brand identity, package design, and print collateral has been recognized by many competitions for outstanding design. MOD's work is on display in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, and the National Postal Museum in Washington, DC. Michael also designed the 2002 and 2004 Love Stamps for the USPS.


To view more images from the Continuum Michael Osborne Event, visit the AIGA DC Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aigadc/sets/72157622855191848

Special thanks goes out to Joe Carabeo of Astray Productions for photographing the event; AIGA DC board members, Ashley Gilmore and James Hobbs for helping with food and wine; AIGA DC board member Genji Sampson for driving Michael Osborne to the event; and former AIGA DC President Mira Azarm for helping with buttons and wine.

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Carolyn Belefski
Continuum Chair, AIGA DC