AIGA Design Archives
Encompassing tens of thousands of records and growing, AIGA Design Archives is one of the richest online resources available to those who practice, study and appreciate great design.
AIGA, the professional association for design, is where design professionals exchange ideas and information, participate in critical analysis and research, and advance education and ethical practices. With over 20,000 records, 50,000 images and 300 collections, the AIGA Design Archives is a portal for students, a vast resource for educators and a mecca for designers. The archival selections are colorfully eclectic, featuring posters, book design, information graphics, logotypes, packaging and typography. This online resource brings together almost a century of American design, where visitors can experience the evolution of an art form.
The first iteration of the Design Archives was created by Second Story in 2005. In early 2009, AIGA again collaborated with the studio to re-envision the Web site. The redesign incorporates myriad tools for browsing and offers endless possibilities for discovery. A visitor could search for the designer “Milton Glaser,” display the results in a grid, a list, slide-show or detail view, and then share the records through several social media outlets or deep linking. Within any set of results, faceted filters allow the search to be quickly drilled down to the most relevant. Whether the site is experienced on a wide-screen monitor, or on a small device, the layout will reflow to suit the browser window size.
Press & Awards
- Webvisionary Awards, Finalist, 2010
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“AIGA Relaunches Design Archives Site,” Graphics.com February 18, 2010
“The redesign, by Second Story Interactive Studios, addresses these shortcomings by providing easier and deeper searches, faster results, live filtering, improved navigation, new presentation modes and the ability to share inspiration on social networking sites.”
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“AIGA Design Archives Site Relaunched, Digital Annual Released,” Designtaxi.com February 18, 2010
“Long a source of inspiration for designers, researchers, educators and students around the world, the AIGA Design Archives has just launched with a redesign by Second Story Interactive Studios. While still the largest online collection of design excellence, the upgraded system now features easier and deeper searches, faster results, live filtering, improved navigation, new presentation modes and the ability to share inspiration on social networking sites.”
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“AIGA Relaunches Online Design Archives,” Stephanie Murg, Mediabistro.com February 16, 2010
“Get ready to lose yourself—or at least many, many hours—in design excellence, because AIGA has relaunched its storied design archives. Thanks to a complete overhaul by Second Story Interactive Studios, the faster and more user-friendly site features roughly 20,000 records (and more than double that many images) encompassing design specimens ranging from books and logos to typography and motion graphics.”
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“AIGA Design Archives,” Cultiva Studio February 16, 2010
“Earlier this month AIGA launched their revamped Design Archives. It is a vast archive of 300 different collections and growing. The archive is very flexible in how it can be viewed or searched.”
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“AIGA Archives,” Emsdot.posterous.com February 12, 2010
“The recent design of AIGA's new archive section is pretty ingenious. It's simple interactions and transparent display of data would make Edward Tufte proud.”
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“Case Study: AIGA Design Archives,” Michael Neault, aiga.org February 4, 2010
“AIGA and Second Story have collaborated on the website since it first launched in 2005. Featuring special collections and works from AIGA’s competitions since 1924, designarchives.aiga.org is a growing source of inspiration for designers, researchers, educators, students and the public.”
Credits
- Lead Designer
- Shoam Thomas
- Designer
- Kieran Lynn
- Technology Director
- Thomas Wester
- Developer
- Donald Richardson
- Lead Systems Developer
- David Brewer
- Production Coordinator
- Michael Neault
- Quality Assurance
- Kate Wolf