
2 minute read
The Only Official AIGA Student Group in New Mexico
By David Deal and Brad Hamann
In 2014, AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) celebrated its 100th anniversary. Organized in 1914, AIGA currently has more than 25,000 members in 70 chapters and more than 200 student groups nationwide. One of those student groups is AIGA/ENMU. In fact, the ENMU Department of Art hosts the only official AIGA student group in New Mexico.
In order to be an official Student Group you need to maintain a membership of at least 10 students. Sometimes it’s difficult for enough students to consistently afford the membership to keep the group official. To help alleviate this problem, two assistant art professors, David Deal and Department of Chair Brad Hamann established a scholarship to help cover student memberships.
David says “We feel that it’s important for our graphic design students to have a connection through membership with the AIGA national group and the state chapter. This membership affords them access to AIGA’s hosted portfolio site, job and internship listings, design conferences and competitions, professional development opportunities, and the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design.”

Students and Assistant Professor Brad Hamann listen to graphic designers from Fossil Watch discuss different aspects of package design.
On campus, the AIGA/ ENMU Student Group has volunteered with the Portales Arts Council, a local art organization, sponsored trips to Lubbock for the First Friday Art Trail and an annual trip to Dallas to visit graphic design studios, advertising agencies and corporate in-house design departments to meet and network with design industry professionals.
After the first Dallas trip, design student Hannah Spearman commented, “Overall, the trip to Dallas made all that I have been studying more tangible and real. It allowed us all to see what the graphic design world has to offer outside the college classroom. I feel as though we all came back to Portales inspired and filled with a new level of determination!”
Alessandra Hoskins (BFA 14), past president of AIGA/ENMU said “AIGA kept me actively engaged in graphic design and taught me a lot about teamwork and real world problem solving. It definitely helped to instill a sense of confidence in myself that wasn’t there before.”
Alessandra recently moved to New York City and got her graphic design career off to a start with her first design job. Now that’s what we call “Student Success.”