Love. It’s what makes your heart sing. It’s rapturous moments of complete joy where everything seems perfect and the stars are all aligned. If we are creatives, we yearn to design, write, draw or paint with love too . . . but in the course of our days, the creative juju can get lost. We run our businesses, find ourselves more involved with paperwork, administrative tasks and a never-ending stream of meetings. We forget what it’s like to be deeply involved in the process of creation just for the love of it.

Sharing design love is the mission of founder, Troy Monroe, who along with founding members Rich Hollant, Constanza Gowen-Segovia and Brian Grabell created Design is Love.  With a gorgeous site design and welcoming language, Design is Love invites you to help share and shape a unique creative community with heart. But DIL isn’t just a meeting place for designers. If you are a non-profit, Design is Love can help you too by matching your needs and goals with a creative who believes in what you do.

There is an awful lot of talk about design for good.  As designers and creatives we can volunteer our services to any number of worthy causes with the hope of making our world a better place. There are notable organizations such as Design for Democracy, Arts Advocacy, The Living Principles, Design Ignites Change and so many others.  Additionally, much has been written and discussed about the unique thought processes of designers and artists, and how creatives can bring renewed and out-of-the-box problem solving to a number of issues for both private and public concerns. This is all good and true. I support Design for Good . . . but somewhere I think we are missing a link. Somewhere along the line, we have forgotten and neglected the essential elements within ourselves that are required before we can truly give to others. Stress has left it’s mark on all of us.

I receive many notices from art organizations and galleries which masquerade as press releases. Today I received a press release from an fairly well established gallery. The email was without a subject line. There was no content in the body of the email, it wasn’t addressed Dear Lisa or Dear Press Editor, and there was simply an attachment without explanation. This happens a lot. I hit delete.

Sometimes I get two, three or even four emails from the same organization in the course of a week . . . sometimes even within 24 hours. I generally stop reading at this point because they are approaching spam. One of the first things I learned in PR was . . . Don’t piss off the press!  No one benefits from this. As such, I thought it might be time to take a look at the proper way to write and distribute a press release.

Join us for one of the most enjoyable art events in Connecticut coming up June 3, 2010.  Art After Hours sponsored by the Wadsworth Atheneum and the Phoenix Companies presents Justin Lowe – MATRIX 159 from 5-8pm and AIGA CT joins the mix with Bad Ass Movie Night at 8pm with a special screening of the award winning film Herb & Dorothy.

My last experience at the Wadsworth’s Art After Hours was a splendid evening.  Music and cocktails after work amidst an elegant museum setting. Attend a gallery talk, enjoy music and other live performances, take in Justin Lowe/MATRIX 159 and then join AIGA CT in the museum’s art deco theater for the film. Thanks to the Wadsworth, admission to the Arts After Hours reception and BAMN screening is free to AIGA members.

If you have been a visitor here in the last 10 days you might have noticed that things have changed considerably. Not only has Lisa’s Living a Life of Art and Design taken on a new design but the format of the entire site has been upgraded and reformatted from top to bottom. If you came here and found yourself in the mist of changing navigation and posts, I apologize for the shift which might have left you wondering “What the hell is going on here?” Believe me, I worked long and hard to try and make the transition as quick and painless as possible for my readers. So why the change?

I’ve watched this video several times in the past, but it’s something I keep returning to watch.  It speaks to the power of design and I wanted to share with you. Presented by TED – Ideas Worth Spreading.

Many years ago, before even becoming a member, I would visit the website at AIGA.org just to read the articles.  There were brilliant design essays written by Steven Heller, business advice from Tad Crawford, inspiration from Milton Glaser, and resources I could download and put to use immediately.  Today the writing is as strong as ever, the topics are relevant and the site always serves as a starting point for me on the ever evolving industry of design.  Perhaps you have visited that web site as well.  Or perhaps you haven’t even heard of AIGA.

AIGA – The professional association for design, consists of some of the best designers and creative minds in the nation.  It not only embraces graphic design but a host of uniting disciplines such as photography, illustration, web design, programming, and writing. The organization works to promote professional development for designers and creatives at any stage of their career and it serves as a source for inspiration and education for its members and the public on matters of design value, best practices and The Living Principals.

Despite all that, I really couldn’t imagine what membership might bring to me… after all, I was already able to read all those great articles online. I could browse resources.  And if I really wanted to attend an event I’d just pay the extra $10, $20, $50 bucks as a non-member and go to the events that interested me. Finally, at the urging of Fred Caserta, I took the plunge and invested the $300 to become an official card carrying member.

We don’t know who started it. A jab here, a nudge there. But now they’ve gone too far—and there’s only one way to settle the score…

Join us for the very public, live action creative smackdown that will settle this once and for all. We won’t leave until one team is victorious (or at least better than the other one). The creative challenge? You’ll have to be there to find out. Let’s just say it involves happy hour, the finest raw materials and a really, really sort of kick-ass trophy.

This event is pay to play ($10) and free to spectate. Up to 15 players per team. Winning team takes all the loot for their organization’s scholarship fund. Game rules provided on-site before the challenge commences.

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 / 6:00 – until it’s over!

To spectate, RSVP on Facebook.
If you are a member of AIGA CT or the Ad Club of CT and want to join your team, sign up and pay at Eventbrite: http://xtown-aigact-ctadclud.eventbrite.com/

And, don’t forget to . . . BRING IT.

NOTE: This venue has changed.  We are now hosting at:
Nikita’s Bar and Bistro
484 Main Street
Middletown, CT

Visit the AIGA CT website for details