Blame (Dane) Canada

Arguably the largest global portfolio review, Portfolio Night 8 is right around the corner - May 20th - and many CPS'ers are getting ready. CPS AIGA's own Dane Canada was highlighted as one of Portfolio Night 8's Ready to Shine. Congrats, Dane!

Chicago Design Week is coming!

AIGA Chicago is hosting Design Week 2010, which kicks off with the Peer Proof Show at our very own Portfolio Annex. Word on the street is that the Chicago Portfolio School AIGA chapter is creating a collaborative piece for the event.

For more information on the week's events, visit the AIGA Chicago website.

Small Talk III: Proximity BBDO

As the first event of the quarter, the group headed to Proximity BBDO for the third installment of AIGA Chicago's Small Talk speaker series.

Claudia Richman, Director of Interactive Solutions, told us a little about what makes Proximity Chicago special - namely, that they have the advantage of a larger network of Proximity BBDO (big in Europe!) and the local support of Energy BBDO, their sibling agency. As a digital agency, they are tasked with finding digital solutions for clients, but say that if they're doing their job right, a digital agency should be stepping on the toes of a traditional agency. In other words, big ideas can be online or mobile, but more importantly, should connect with the consumer, no matter the channel.

Kevin Lynch, Creative Lead, then inspired us all with the story of the now famous Art Institute of Chicago Red Cube Project, tremendously successful campaign that charged Chicagoans to connect with the cultural institution in our front yard. The project consisted of hiding 500 red cubes, of all sizes, and charged Chicagoans to register them online and take on an art project. At the end of the day, people really came through - more than 50% of the cubes came back and were registered online. Some followed their art project, invented their own, or traveled around the world. Wish you found a cube? You can still participate by making your own #501!