Note to Self: Lessons From 20 Years as a Woman in Design
By Gabrielle Holleran I’m a lifelong Pittsburgher, wife of 20 years, mom of two, and a natural-born designer. As a kid, I spent hours completely absorbed in drawing, painting, and crafting. No deadlines. No audience. Just the drive to create. That same instinct later...
Cleetus with a ‘C’ as in Creative
By Mairead Clements “Cleetus with a ‘C’ as in Creative.” For Pittsburgh-based copywriter turned graphic designer Francis Cleetus, this phrase isn’t just a clever introduction—it’s a philosophy. Creativity, for him, has always been more than making something look good....
Confessions of a Creative Professional: A Conversation with Joshua Sager
By Mairead Clements For more than 25 years, Pittsburgh-based creative professional Joshua Sager has built a career defined not by one discipline, but by a curiosity that spans animation, software development, teaching, and entrepreneurship. Today, he runs a technical...
Designing Between Systems and Stories: A Journey to Purposeful Creativity
By Anusha Singh Some of us don’t fit neatly into one box, and we’re not supposed to. Creativity lives in the spaces between, and that’s where I’ve always felt most at home. I’m a digital marketing strategist, designer, and copywriter with roots in both creative...
Forged in Steel: How Pittsburgh’s Complex Industries Shape Modern Designers
By Ben Joos Image source: Hybrid approach using Unsplash, Recraft AI, and composing it all in Figma. Key Takeaways Complexity breeds growth for a designer Become exaptive, able to adapt skills to solve new kinds of problems Pittsburgh is a hub for complex design and a...
My Journey Through Design, Education, and Social Impact.
By Edwin Kavuma From Kampala to Pittsburgh, my journey as a designer has been anything but ordinary. I’m Edwin Kavuma, a Ugandan-born creative driven by purpose, resilience,\and a deep passion for graphic design. In May 2025, I graduated from La Roche...
How Bellevue Forward Uses Good Design to Build Community Connection
By RJ Thompson, Founding Chairperson, Bellevue Forward When we kicked off Bellevue Forward, the mission was simple: help our little town grow and thrive. But we knew from the jump that big ideas alone wouldn’t cut it. People need to feel connected to those ideas. And...
AIGA Pittsburgh Board Meeting Recap: May 2025
As AIGA Pittsburgh looks ahead to the 2025–2026 season, our April and May board meetings focused on grounding our vision in pragmatic action, while building momentum through strategic partnerships and new programming. With several new board members joining us from...
2025 President’s Address to the Design Community
2025 President’s Address to the Design Community
Recap: CCAC Portfolio Review
CCAC portfolio review was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who came out to help and review and to all the students who shared their work. We ended the evening with a talk from Paul Haggerty, a Pittsburgh native and seasoned graphic design professional with over...