Color Blind and AIGA DC Annual Meeting September 25, 2007

By 2050, more than half of Americans are expected to be members of current minorities. In contrast, a recent survey of AIGA members finds that 2 percent are black, 4 percent Hispanic/Latino, 6 percent Asian/Pacific Islander and 2 percent other. The design profession is still overwhelmingly homogenous in its racial composition. What can we do as a community to bring these unheard voices into the profession and stay relevant in the 21st century?

Join us as we kick off AIGA DC's programming year with Color Blind, the opening program in an ongoing discussion about diversity within the design community. Color Blind will feature a panel of African American designers who will share their personal experiences. During this session, we will explore issues important to minority designers, why diversity is important to the design community, and how our community can work towards greater inclusion of diverse voices.

Panelists include:
Alex Bostic, Virginia Commonwealth University
Ebony Kenney, Roberson Design
Leon Lawrence, USA Weekend magazine
Genji Sampson, Council for Advancement and Support of Education

The panel will be moderated by Dr. Psyche Williams Forson, University of Maryland.

If we don’t actively seek to reflect the changing racial and ethnic composition of our society, the design profession may well find itself marginalized in a whole new way. Diversity is an issue that all designers need to be concerned with in terms of the future of the profession.

Official Website: http://www.aigadc.org/events/details.cfm?eventid=418