FAQs: About conferences

POLICIES RELATING TO AIGA BIENNIAL DESIGN CONFERENCES

What do registration fees cover and how are they set?
The registration fee for participants includes attendance at all conference general and focused sessions, the Design Fair reception on Thursday night and the closing party on Saturday evening. Coffee will be provided throughout the conference, but you will be on your own for food.

The fees are set to make the experience both memorable and affordable. Typically the per person cost of putting on the conference is about three times the registration fee.

Can we get a discount for group registrations?
You can register as a group, but there are no reduced prices for groups. For a reduced rate, we urge you to register before the early registration deadline of May 16, 2007.

How do you select speakers for the conference?
When the national design conference originated 20 years ago, the conference was an opportunity to bring together people who were passionate about design to share ideas. Over time, we have drawn farther and farther afield in seeking speakers who are inspirational, informative and provocative.

The speakers are selected by a program committee and are offered a modest travel honorarium. Except in highly unusual cases, we have not paid speaking fees. We also try to avoid any presentations that will be self-promotional or promote a specific product. Unlike some professional conferences, we do not offer opportunities for presentations that do not fit into the main theme of the conference as determined by the conference committee. This policy is followed in order to be able to manage the experience and value we offer our participants.

Can I get a one-day pass to the conference?
AIGA offers only full conference registrations to its events. The experience and the pricing for the conference are based on attendees attending the entire conference. Based on experience, we have determined that it is neither economically nor administratively feasible for our small staff to offer partial registrations and to police compliance. It would be unfair to those paying full registration to allow those purchasing a partial registration to allow a means for others to experience the conference by violating the intent of a partial registration.

Do you offer any comp registrations?
We do not offer complimentary registrations to anyone, including board members or chapter leadership. This policy is based on a firm commitment to equity and fairness. We respect our customers who pay for the conference and will not violate their trust.

My spouse will be coming with me, but not attending the conference. Can s/he attend the evening events?
We will offer a guest ticket to the evening events associated with the conference. For economic and administrative reasons, we cannot offer single event tickets; the guest ticket covers all of the related events.

Can I get a press pass for the conference?
AIGA is a nonprofit professional association. Our activities are created for our members, who also support those activities. We have a limited number of press passes for editorial staff on publications who we believe are likely to write a substantive article on the content so that it can be made available to a broader audience. Press who are intrigued by the content are encouraged to attend.

We apply our policies consistently and fairly to avoid situations where designers with limited means are subsidizing participation by others. This is the only way we know to remain fair to our members who support us all year and also pay to attend our conferences. To apply for a press pass, send a proposal to press at aiga dot org. Under no circumstances will non-editorial staff or more than one writer from a single publication receive a press pass.

Are videotapes of speakers from AIGA conferences available?
Because of complicated rights issues, AIGA does not produce videotapes of conference presentations.