RGD’s Year in Review: 2022
22/12/22
Although our numbers weren’t yet at pre-pandemic levels, it was a huge joy to be back doing in-person events in 2022, and we can’t wait to see more of you both in-person and online in 2023!
RGD’s 2022 in Numbers
Membership
- 4,333 total Members in 2022
- 57 new Certified RGDs
- 140 Committee and Board Members
- 13 Virtual Communities with 310+ members
- 5760+ posts/messages on RGD’s Slack Community
Communications
- 33 RGD Word e-newsletters sent to 23,100 subscribers
- 51,506 followers on social media
- 24 Featured Members
- 194 jobs on the RGD Job Board
Professional Development
- 52 webinars with 2,500 attendees (including 146 guest passes used)
- 530 attendees at virtual conferences (In-House Design Conference and Creative Directions)
- 2,064 attendees at in-person conferences (DesignThinkers and Design Educator Conference)
- $7,500 in cash scholarships for Members to attend RGD conferences
Awards
- 52 So(cial) Good Design Award Winners
- 1 Ultrabold Winner with 6 Finalists ($7,000 in cash prizes)
- 2 Design Educator Award Winners and 3 Honourable Mentions
- 23 Student Award Winners and 86 Honourable Mentions ($15,000 in cash prizes)
- 5 Trailblazer Award Winners ($5,000 in cash prizes)
Mentorship
- 1 Virtual Designathon with 30 students/grads designing for 10 non-profits with 14 mentors
- 74 emerging designers paired with 65 Mentors
- 260 virtual and in-person portfolio reviews
RGD’s 2022 Achievements
Perhaps more importantly, the RGD continued to advocate on behalf of the profession and raise the profile of graphic design across Canada. In 2022, the RGD:
- Launched a new Creative Earners survey in the spring, receiving 3,200 responses and publishing the results in the fall (with over 1,000 downloads of the results so far) and media coverage of the results in Strategy and Applied Arts
- Re-launched DesignThinkers as an in-person event with conferences in Vancouver and Toronto
- Launched a new DesignThinkers website
- Launched a new Certification Mentorship Program to help candidates prepare for RGD Certification
- Developed curriculum/schedule for a two-day Certification Sprint to prepare candidates for the RGD Certification Online Test (plans are for an event in 2023)
- Offered the RGD Certification Application in French and the opportunity for candidates to do their Portfolio Presentation in French
- Developed an Anti-harassment/Discrimination Policy
- Developed Guidelines for Board & Committee Members
- Launched a travelling So(Good) exhibit with stops at public libraries in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Kingston, Halifax and Toronto
- Held in-person, public events in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Halifax and Kingston
- Launched a new Culture Shock Webinar Series, in addition to continuing our popular webinar series for In-House Design, Accessible Design, Signage & Wayfinding and Freshly Certified
- Held our first Design Educators Conference (in-person) since 2018 (in partnership with Emily Carr University of Art + Design)
- Further developed our social media presence, particularly in the area of Reels on Instagram with over 170,000 views in 2022
- Received design/branding support from DDB (DesignThinkers 2022), Nurun (DesignThinkers website), Deloitte (Creative Earners), Morning Workshop (In-House Design Conference), Briteweb RallyRally (SoGood Awards), Meat Studio (Creative Directions), Pixsoul Media (Educators Conference) Subplot (2022 Certification Sticker), Becoming Design Office Ltd. (Student Awards) and B3 Strategy (Ultrabold Awards)
RGD’s 2023: What’s Next
Stay tuned for more information on the exciting new initiatives and returning programs coming up in 2023.
Initiatives Planned
- Launching our new RGD website, in partnership with Context Creative
- Launching an updated new Creative Earners Survey
- Launching a new Awards program for Branding
- Presenting a new virtual event featuring tours of creative studios across Canada
- Launching a new RGD Book Club
- Conducting an awareness campaign to Crown Corporations & Government
- Launching a media strategy to secure more coverage for the RGD
- Combining the Designathon with the Internship Mentorship Program
- Launch 3 new optional sections for the Online Test portion of Certification, covering Signage & Wayfinding, Design Management and Interactive Design
- Reviewing and update the Code of Ethics
2023 Events (add RGD events to your calendar)
- DesignThinkers Vancouver Conference, May 30–31
- DesignThinkers Toronto Conference, November 2–3
2023 Awards Programs
- Student Awards (Entry deadline: May 12)
- Trailblazer Awards (Entry deadline: May 12)
- Branding Awards (Final entry deadline: June 9)
- UltraBold Awards (Entry deadline: June 16)
- Design Educator Awards (Entry deadline: March 31)