Empowering Creative Talent: Highlights from AIGA Pittsburgh’s Interactive Mentoring Event
AIGA, a long-standing design institution in Pittsburgh, launched a recurring Design Team Chats series intended to bring college students, recent graduates and industry professionals closer together through live mentoring and feedback sessions.
AIGA’s board of directors welcomes participants from diverse backgrounds, inviting up to 25 attendees to each event. These hour-long Zoom sessions offer direct access to AIGA board members and industry professionals, who engage in lively discussions on current industry trends, mentorship, and practical guidance to support students and emerging designers.
The most recent event took place on Thursday, June 26, and Larry Levine, Main Digital Experience and Insights Practice Lead, was invited to participate.
“It was really invigorating to get back involved here in Pittsburgh with a great organization like AIGA,” he said. “We used to participate in more events, but since COVID, we’ve seen them taper off a bit. The board in place now is much more in tune with the market and doing their best to increase engagement and event attendance these days, which the organization and region really benefit from.”
During the Design Team Chats event, each board member and/or industry professional was assigned to a breakout room with no more than five participants. Each attending AIGA member or student had an opportunity to ask questions that covered the following topics:
- Pathway to this profession
- Career Advice
- Open Q & A
- Work / Portfolio Review
- Creative Process / Client Project Overview
“I was able to engage with three different groups of talent, ranging from professors to students still in the program,” Levine said. “It was nice to see a broad range of attendees from locals to graduates who came to Pittsburgh just for college, but moved back to their respective homes (Penn., Va., Ohio, W.Va.). These groups of AIGA members were highly engaged and activated, asking very purposeful questions about me, my time as a designer, and what they could be doing to get ready for a job in the market.”
- Levine was able to provide a wide range of feedback covering topics such as:
- How to expand your skillset through online training
- His personal experience and previous freelance practice
- How to use your skills more broadly to solve problems
- Why he became a designer and what his earlier career looked like
- How he came to be involved in AIGA, previous local experience with AIGA and other organizations
- Portfolio review in real time
Although the session lasted just an hour, it was packed with valuable insights and professional expertise. Main Digital, along with the Experience and Insights Practice, looks forward to continued participation in future events with AIGA and similar organizations. Stay tuned for more updates as we share our experiences and learnings from these collaborations.
Learn more about AIGA and their next event.
About AIGA PGH
Design is a driving force that connects each of us at AIGA. We’re creators and innovators whose canvas isn’t limited by format. AIGA Pittsburgh is part of a national organization that acts on a local level. We’re invested in empowering creatives, from all walks of life and disciplines, in the greater Pittsburgh area.
As the largest community of design advocates, we bring together students, educators, practitioners, enthusiasts, and patrons—across three rivers and 90 neighborhoods—to amplify and give voice to the vision of a collective future. We do this through education, networking, professional, and personal development. We want creativity to be accessible to all who seek it.