Ken Hanson, CEO of Hanson Dodge Creative and founding director of AIGA Milwaukee, has been named one of three 2014 AIGA Wisconsin Fellows. Hanson, along with Christine Mau of Kimberly-Clark and Amy Decker of Dig Design, will be honored this Wednesday, June 25, at the inaugural AIGA Wisconsin Fellow Reception.
The Fellow award is the highest honor that an AIGA chapter can bestow upon its members. The award program recognizes designers who have made a significant contribution to raising the standards of excellence within their respective design communities. This is the first time in its six-year history that the Wisconsin chapter of the AIGA will recognize Fellow award winners at its annual member celebration.
“AIGA Wisconsin has such a wealth of talent to choose from that selecting just three candidates to make up the inaugural class of Fellows was extremely difficult,” AIGA Wisconsin President Chris Klein said. “Everyone who is being recognized this year has played a huge role in where this chapter has come from and where it is going.”
A passionate designer and critically acclaimed photographer, Hanson has dedicated his life to building a more powerful role for designers in a complex and technology-fueled world. Combining creativity with technology, Hanson helps his clients build sustainable and authentic relationships with their customers.
“AIGA has been a constant force in my life, reminding me that design is both noble and powerful,” Hanson said. “It is an honor to have been selected by my peers to receive this prestigious award.”
Along with being named an AIGA Fellow, Hanson has also been chosen as AIGA Wisconsin’s 100th anniversary liaison, a role in which he is leading the chapter in a pair of groundbreaking design initiatives — Greater Together, a program that focuses the power of design to help solve Milwaukee’s segregation crisis, and Futura Extra Bold, a crowdsourced multi-media event that will challenge designers to create a bolder future. Learn more at www.wisconsin.aiga.org.
ABOUT AIGA
Founded in 1914 as the American Institute of Graphic Arts, AIGA remains the oldest and largest professional membership organization for design and is now known simply as “AIGA, the professional association for design.” With 68 chapters and more than 25,000 members, AIGA advances design as a professional craft, strategic advantage and vital cultural force. We bring together practitioners, enthusiasts and patrons to amplify the voice of design and create the vision for a collective future. We define global standards and ethical practices, guide design education, inspire designers and the public, enhance professional development, and make powerful tools and resources accessible to all. For more information, visit www.AIGA.org.