AIGA Baltimore Brand Identity Refresh

The Baltimore chapter has served the design community for 36 years, but the world and the design industry have changed drastically over the past decade.

AIGA National logo with the adjacent tagline that says "the professional association for design"

Background

The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is an organization that holds over 70 chapters within the United States. The Baltimore chapter is the sole representative of Maryland and has been around for over 25 years.

Brand Survey

To ground these discussions, we consolidated feedback from members and non-members alike. A public survey provided invaluable insights, and the overwhelming responses became the foundation for the rebrand.

The Brand Survey Instagram graphic from AIGA Baltimore with a blue-to-pink city gradient background and white text reading ‘Make your voice heard! Take our brand survey!’ The AIGA BMORE logo appears at the bottom.

Brand Survey

To ground these discussions, we consolidated feedback from members and non-members alike. A public survey provided invaluable insights, and the overwhelming responses became the foundation for the rebrand.

Brand Survey

To ground these discussions, we consolidated feedback from members and non-members alike. A public survey provided invaluable insights, and the overwhelming responses became the foundation for the rebrand.

Horizontal bar chart showing AIGA Baltimore social media usage survey results. Instagram and LinkedIn are tied for highest use with 10 responses each (58.8%), followed by Facebook with 3 responses (17.6%), Twitter with 2 responses (11.8%), and 1 response indicating no platforms (5.9%)
Pie chart displaying survey responses to ‘Do you follow AIGA Baltimore on social media?’ 82.4% of respondents selected Yes, while 17.6% selected No.

Even though I serve on the board of the Baltimore chapter, it was necessary to be critical of the pernicious aspects of our organization. From responses, our team realized there was a problem.

“…it’s a waste of money.”

“I have failed to see myself represented on the board or in the events.”

“AIGA hasn’t been able to establish a relationship with creatives of color. Whether intentional or not, I think it speaks volumes.”

Ideation Phase

I developed the project brief to establish clarity from the start. We outlined our core objectives, primary audiences, and key competitors in the local design and creative community. This framework guided conversations with our design, web development, and communications teams, helping everyone understand not only what we were creating but also why.

Once our team defined our strategy, we aligned on visual direction, tone, and rollout priorities. We stressed making a refreshed brand feel purposeful and distinctly Baltimore.

Unapologetically Urban 

Our rebrand committee settled on Unapologetically Urban to reflect Baltimore’s bold, authentic nature. We started by drafting a mood board inspired by street culture, experimental typography, and bold colors.
Digital mood board featuring Baltimore landmarks, street art murals with bold hand-drawn typography, colorful city textures, and skyline photography capturing the energy and character of Baltimore.

Imapct

Website usage

  • Membership joins

  • Email performance

  • Social growth

  • event attendance rsvp before and after refresh

Deliverables

The UI/UX design was created by our president and brought to life by the development team. As communications lead, I oversaw messaging and wrote the website copy, ensuring clarity and consistency across all pages.
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