I just spent 15 minutes this morning reviewing the AIGA Standards of Professional Practice with two questions in mind:

• Are these standards still relevant in this day and age?
• Am I comfortable asking our members to abide by them?

This recap of the Jonathan Barnbrook lecture event was written by Shawna Harch, Communications Committee Member. The event was hosted by the MFA in Applied Craft and Design, and jointly offered through PNCA and Oregon College of Art and Craft. It was supported by PNCA Communication Design Department, AIGA Portland, and Crack Press.

This recap of AIGA Portland's SHIFT 4 event was written by Jane Pellicciotto, sustainability committee member.

Another well-attended SHIFT confirmed that Portlanders are still hungry for engaging presentations on sustainable design thinking—or maybe it was the free beer. Either way, two key themes emerged from the evening. One was collaboration—joining forces to find solutions to today’s problems, together. A twist on the popular saying is called for: “Many hands make green work.” Another theme was the need to approach projects and solutions from a deeper, more meaningful perspective—highlighting the notion that if we’re to be agents of change then we need to design from the heart, if you will.

AIGA Portland is ramping up their volunteer roster in order to create a more dynamic organization, and we need help to make it happen. As you know, AIGA Portland is an all-volunteer organization, so the strength of the design community relies on the support, genius, and sweat from generous folks like you.

We have many exciting things on the horizon including a new website developed by a local interactive company that will host member profiles, design case studies, work showcases, and a blog that is populated by articles from the community.

There have been some recent comments on Twitter about the Portland Chapter of AIGA’s RFP for a Pro-bono website. Most of these comments center around the AIGA Position on Spec Work (http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/position-spec-work).

As the local Sponsorship Chair, I would like to address the concerns I have seen, with the caveat that this is my opinion and doesn’t represent a collective view from the organization, local or national.

I wrote something several months ago about a city of Portland initiative that really got my hackles up. They are basically crowdsourcing the redesign of PortlandOnline.com, but not offering any compensation to the designers (other than the infamous “site credit”). This is particularly offensive to me in the current economic situation many designers now find themselves in.

When Kristin Rogers Brown -- Portland-based art director for the global consulting firm, Oliver Wyman -- began looking for ways to make her company's operations more sustainable, she knew there would be questions.