AIGA Design Archives & Special Collections
AIGA’s archives and special collections identify, preserve, and make available works of enduring value. Your support makes it possible to increase access to resources, support research, and elevate the diverse and impactful stories of design and designers.
Inspiration
Documenting the Shifting Aesthetics and Sensibilities of the Design Community for More Than a Century
Installation view “AIGA 100: A Century of Design” at Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA). Photo: Bethany Legg Photography, courtesy of MODA (2014).
DonateExplore our collections and discover the rich history of American communication design.
AIGA’s institutional archive serves as the memory of the organization’s extensive history and association with the century’s most influential designers. The bulk of the collection consists of printed records created by and for AIGA, including exhibition catalogues and design annuals documenting the selections from AIGA competitions since 1915; newsletters and journals published by AIGA since 1922; AIGA conference materials produced since 1985; and flat files of prints, posters, publications, and more by AIGA Medalists and AIGA Chapters.
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Due to the ongoing impact of COVID–19, we regret that we are unable to accept visitors at this time.
Resources
FAQs
Because we support copyright and privacy, AIGA is limited to distributing images in the AIGA archives and on its websites. All works are the copyright of their respective owners. Commercial use of any AIGA material will not be permitted unless express written permission is granted. It is your responsibility to obtain the permission from the rights holder. If the requested images are in the archives of AIGA and there are no restrictions to access, they may be shared.
Once shared, all images must be displayed with an appropriate credit line (work title, artist, year, link to where it lives on our website, and AIGA, the professional association for design cited as a source).
Please direct permissions and requests-to-publish to AIGA’s archivist. Requests should be made at least a week in advance of the date needed. A fee may be charged for time and materials. By initiating the request-to-publish, you agrees to these terms and to indemnify and hold AIGA harmless from any and all claims, suits and expenses arising from the use of an image.
In addition to the AIGA Medalist essays, research guides are being compiled to surface related content from articles, books, exhibitions and events, websites and online collections, audio, and video. These research guides are located beneath each essay and are currently available for Saul Bass, Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar, Milton Glaser, Leo Lionni, Herb Lubalin, Herbert Matter, Massimo and Lella Vignelli, and Henry Wolf. Research Guides can be a great information literacy assignment for students and educators? Contact AIGA’s archivist at archives@aiga.org to learn more.
