Mission
The AIGA Design Educators Community (DEC) seeks to enhance the abilities of design educators and educational institutions to prepare future designers for excellence in design practice, design theory and design writing at the undergraduate and graduate levels while supporting the fundamental mission of AIGA.
AIGA’s purpose is to further excellence in design as a broadly defined discipline, strategic tool for business and cultural force. AIGA is a professional association committed to stimulating thinking about design through the exchange of ideas and information, the encouragement of critical analysis and research and the advancement of education and ethical practice.
Objectives
AIGA DEC was established in 2004 to support the unique activities and responsibilities of the design educator at the k-12, non-traditional, undergraduate, and post-graduate levels in a wide variety of institutional settings. The goals of this community are to: facilitate communication among design educators; create, foster and promote dialogue; produce design education events such as conferences and competitions; present current research and teaching methods; establish standards for design education; differentiate between design’s various subdisciplines; raise the level of design-driven thinking in schools across the country; and communicate the value of design education to the larger profession.
Subjects of interest to this community span teaching, research and service. They include curriculum and program development, design theory and history, methodology, typography, usability research, and the social roles of designers, as well as tenure, promotion, teaching standards and school accreditation.
