Upcoming Events
Harold Washington Library Center • Design Tour
Private Tour
Tuesday, May 14, 6 PM
This tour will focus on the 4th and 8th floor collections, with an introduction to the Maker Lab and selections from Special Collections.
Past Programs
A Wildly Incomplete Introduction to Mother Design
Virtual Talk
Thursday, April 11, 3 PM CST
Over the course of an hour, attendees will allow a predetermined sequence of images and videos to wash effortlessly over them, while members of Mother Design narrate.
Social Hour at Dark Matter
Social Hour
Wednesday, April 10, 6 PM CST
A casual social hour at Dark Matter – Star Lounge in Humboldt Park.
Talking Type with Ellen Lupton
An evening of typographic storytelling with Ellen Lupton.
In the Studio with Rick
A conversation with Rick Valicenti and virtual evening of sharing and storytelling.
Faculty Release Party
A celebration of community, design, & the release of our publication, Faculty.
Feminist Designer
Discussing feminist thinking, practice, and methods within design.
On the Personal & the Political of Design
A panel discussion on the realities of doing feminist design.
Design B&B • Interactive Studio Tour
Studio Tour
New year, new perspective: Why do you design?
The Chicago Graphic Design Club meets at the Art Institute
A casual art walk and social hour.
Seeing Anew: A Downtown Chicago Walking Tour
October 7, 11am
Discover the hidden layers of Chicago’s iconic landmarks with a unique walking tour aimed to shift your perspective.
Studio Tour: Firebelly
September 28, 6pm
A studio tour of Firebelly, a socially conscious
creative studio specializing
in strategic design.
Confronting Artificial Intelligence
Panel Discussion & Workshop
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly shifting how designers and creatives approach their craft and processes, but what does this actually mean?
Let’s talk about Emigre
A group discussion about Emigre’s legacy and impact on graphic design.
the chicago graphic design club meets by the lake
Social Hour
An opportunity to connect with other designers, make new friends, and enjoy the warm Chicago weather.
Storytelling Through Design Methods
Lecture & Project Share
Catherine Bianca shared her process designing a modular, multi-channel visual language of design methods found in everyday infrastructures.
Ways of Being
Book Discussion
A virtual group discussion of the book “Ways of Being” by James Bridle.
CGDC X MNML
Tour & Art Show
The Chicago Graphic Design Club tours design studio MNML and co-hosts an art show titled “Chicago’s Tomorrow, Today”.
Graphic Design Is (…) Not Innocent
A virtual group discussion of the book “Graphic Design Is (…) Not Innocent” (2022).
Talk with Michael Ellsworth of Civilization
Lecture & Conversation
“Studio culture, graphic design, and collective action.”
A conversation with Mitch Goldstein
Online Conversation
A conversation with designer, artist, and educator Mitch Goldstein, about all things design.
The New ID
Tour & Discussion
We visit the Institute of Design to tour its 85 Years of Making the Future exhibition and learn how ID’s past and plans for the future informed the creation of their new brand identity system.
Typespace • AR-First Variable Typeface
We welcomed Brooklyn-based designer, artist, researcher, and creative technologist, Rajshree Saraf. She discussed her approach to augmented reality and what it means to rethink the fundamentals of design for a brand new media.
Design Emergency: Building a Better Future
Book Discussion
11/3/2022 | 6:00–7:00p CST
Join us for a virtual group discussion of the book “Design Emergency: Building a Better Future” (2022).
Normal Studio Tour
An in-person tour of Normal, a multidisciplinary graphic design practice based in Chicago, IL.
Tanner Woodford of the Design Museum of Chicago
Tanner Woodford, Founder of the Design Museum of Chicago, shared with us the museum’s history alongside details about their latest exhibition.
Letterform Archive Virtual Private Tour
A special private virtual tour of the Letterform Archive,
How to Be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul
A virtual group discussion of the book, How to Be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul (2010)
One Design Studio Tour
An in-person tour of the Chicago design studio, One Design Company.
Design After Capitalism
Design After Capitalism author, Matthew Wizinsky, talks book alongside interactive workshop.
Field Trip to Starshaped Press
The Chicago Graphic Design Club tours Starshaped Press, a letterpress and design shop in Chicago.
Show Who You Are
A conversation with Carlos Segura exploring meaning and value in design.
Fragile Self • Dissected/Interpreted
Barnbrook Design discusses their new audio/visual project Fragile Self.
Baseline Shift • Book Discussion
A virtual group discussion of the book, Baseline Shift: Untold Stories of Women in Graphic Design History (2021).
NFTs WTF
A conversation with Brian Morris about what the f*** NFTs are and how to get started.
Digital Lab, Latitude, Studio Tour
The Chicago Graphic Design Club takes a trip for an in-person studio tour of the Chicago digital lab, Latitude.
Ancient Futures Reveal Party
Join us for an opportunity to learn about the upcoming graphic novel, Ancient Futures.
The Discipline of Design and the Humanity of Designers
A talk that captures the design impact of a significant, shared cultural experience both for posterity and critical examination.
CAPS LOCK by Ruben Pater
Book Discussion
1/20/2022 | 6–7p CST
Join the Chicago Graphic Design Club to discuss Ruben Pater’s book, CAPS LOCK.
Reframing Design Through Anti-Racism
ChiByDesign design lead, Surbhi Kalra, shares with us what anti-racist design looks like.
Printer’s Row Printing History Walk
A tour focusing on the history of Chicago’s printing industry by exploring Printer’s Row.
Dope Your Life: Creating Ancient Futures
A conversation about the production and collaboration of the upcoming graphic novel series Ancient Futures.
Hot Design Manifesto Summer
An interactive conversation that explored the role manifestos play in our design practices.
Never Enough
BIPOC designers sometimes feel like we have to work twice as hard to prove ourselves, that no matter what we do, it’s never enough.
Evidence of Things Unseen
Observation lies at the core of everything we do—from art to design, science to journalism, politics to poetry to everything in between.
Natural Born Creatives
We’ve made our passion our business. How do we balance that reality with our convictions?
Designing Public Memory: Reimagining Monuments and Memorials
Lauren Meranda talks about her research on monuments, memorials, and the role of the designer in the creation of public memory.
Big Shoulders: Fonts for Chicagoans
Patric talks about the process and technicalities involved in making type for an entire community, from research to equitable representation to design to publishing, in a way that an entire city—government to citizens—can use.
…and the world isn’t flat anymore
Wizinsky shares experiences with integrating different research and design processes into collaborative and community-engaged research and design projects.
The Design of the City of Chicago
Jason Kunesh shares what its like to design for the City of Chicago.
Seven Things Every Designer Needs to Know About Writing
Ellen Lupton shares her own experience as a writer who designs and a designer who writes
The Search for Mies Typography
Chicago design studio shares their research based approach to branding iconic Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Chicago buildings.
Experimenting in Graphic Design
Chicago-based educator, artist, and graphic designer, Jonathan Sangster, shares with us their experimental practice.
The ABC’s of Triangle, Square, Circle: The Bauhaus & Design Theory
The ABC’s of Triangle, Square, Circle: The Bauhaus & Design Theory Edited by Ellen Lupton and J. Abbott Miller Originally published in 1991, Lupton and
Design as Art by Bruno Munari
Design as Art by Bruno Munari Bruno Munari was among the most inspirational designers of all time, described by Picasso as “the new Leonardo.” Munari
