AIGA Election Design Fellowship program renewed in Oregon and expanded to Washington

NEW YORK, November 18, 2008. The State of Oregon, under chief election official John Lindback, has renewed its commitment to clear, accessible and effective design for elections and all of its interactions with citizens by selecting Amy Vainieri as its 2008 AIGA Election Design Fellow. She is only the second designer to hold this position (the first was 2007 AIGA Election Design Fellow Matthew Goodrich). While completing her MFA in graphic design at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, Vainieri explored visual branding in use by presidential candidates as well as alternatives for neutral communication of candidate positions to voters. She looks forward to using this knowledge, as well as her experience working for an Atlanta-based design firm, to assist the State in deepening its use of AIGA Design for Democracy’s national ballot and election design guidelines.

AIGA is also pleased to announce the expansion of its Election Design Fellowship program to the State of Washington, where chief election official Nick Handy has asserted design as a priority. As in Oregon, Design for Democracy will recruit for and support this position, which it helped to define and create. Applications for the new annual position will be accepted through December 5, 2008. View the job details at AIGA Design Jobs—AIGA Election Design Fellow for Washington State, or download a PDF of the job posting.

Other states interested in having professional designers improve their election and other citizen-facing materials should contact Design for Democracy.

About AIGA Design for Democracy

Established in 1998, AIGA Design for Democracy applies design tools and thinking to increase civic participation by making interactions between the U.S. government and its citizens more understandable, efficient and trustworthy. Independent, pragmatic and committed to the public good, Design for Democracy collaborates with researchers, designers and policy-makers in service of public sector clients on a nonprofit basis and AIGA’s goal of “demonstrating the value of design by doing valuable things.”

AIGA Design for Democracy began to focus on election design in the wake of the 2000 presidential election, developing solutions for subsequent elections in Illinois and Oregon, as well as election design guidelines for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Design for Democracy began work with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission in 2005, resulting in the establishment of national election design guidelines in 2007. Design for Democracy continues work with national organizations and local election jurisdictions to support designers, election officials, equipment providers and legislators in their use of these guidelines.

About AIGA

AIGA, the professional association for design, is the premier place for design—to discover it, discuss it, understand it, appreciate it, be inspired by it.

AIGA’s mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force. AIGA stimulates thinking about design through journals, conferences, competitions and exhibitions; demonstrates the value of design to business, the public and government officials; and empowers the success of designers at each stage of their careers by providing invaluable educational and social resources.

Founded in 1914, AIGA remains the oldest and largest professional membership organization for design. AIGA now represents more than 22,000 design professionals, educators and students through national activities and local programs developed by 62 chapters and 240 student groups. AIGA is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational institution.

For further information, please contact:
Jessica Friedman Hewitt
Managing director, AIGA Design for Democracy
AIGA | the professional association for design
Tel 212 710 3126 Fax 212 807 1799