Why do we want an AIGA chapter in Fresno? What problem does it solve? Is there another way to solve the problem?

I think AIGA is a fantastic organization. While living in San Francisco and Austin, I was a member. I recently re-joined the organization. Both of the SF and Austin chapters have great events. My favorite is the week-long Design Ranch outside of Austin. It's worth going to.

If we do indeed have critical mass in Fresno -- or even the greater Central San Joaquin Valley -- and can pull off consistent quality events like they do in other regions, then I think AIGA would be fantastic. I'm just not convinced we are there yet. I may be wrong. I hope I'm wrong. I just don't think we can do this twice. If we commit and don't pull it off in a world-class fashion, then it hurts our image as a region. If we do pull it off, whoohoo! That would be fabulous. But I’m not sure it’s worth the risk of doing it in a less than stellar way.

Getting traction with the Fresno Design Alliance has been slow and steady, but I think there is still growth opportunities with the FDA before we graduate to the AIGA.

Honestly, I’m not sure it’s time for an AIGA. I really think the FDA needs to thrive first, then that rolls over into an AIGA chapter.


But really what I want to understand is "Why?" Why do we want an AIGA chapter now? What is the problem that the AIGA chapter is solving? Can we solve that same problem with the FDA first in order to gain momentum?

Just some thoughts.