RGD’s Year in Review: 2024

This year, saw the culmination of several exciting long-term initiatives, particularly with the launch of a new RGD website and media coverage resulting from a media strategy developed in 2023.

RGD’s 2024 in Numbers


Membership

• 4,508 total Members
• 47 new Certified RGDs
• 115 Committee and Board Members
• 10 Virtual Communities with 458 members
• 48,000 interactions in the RGD's Slack Community with 1,849 participating Members

Communications

• 24 RGD Word e-newsletters sent to 24,107 subscribers
• 43,849 followers across Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube
• 87 jobs posted to the RGD Job Board
• 17,400 downloads of our new DesignThinkers Podcast
• 19 presentations to school groups across Canada and 11 presentations on RGD Certification

Events

• 1,492 attendees at 36 webinars
• 2,875 attendees at DesignThinkers conferences (2,175 in Toronto; 700 in Vancouver)
• 540 attendees at 24 local events in Calgary, Charlottetown, Edmonton, Halifax, Kingston, London, Markham, Moncton, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver
• 271 attendees at an In-House Design Conference (in-person and streaming)
• 50 attendees at a Design Educators Conference
• $12,500 in cash scholarships and free passes to assist 19 Members to attend RGD conferences

Awards

• 54 In-House Design Awards given
• 21 Student Award Winners and 101 Honourable Mentions 
• 8 Trailblazer Award Winners
• $24,000 raised from industry partners to support the Student & Trailblazer Awards

Mentorship

• 106 Mentee/Mentor matches made as part of the RGD’s various Mentorship Programs
• 212 one-on-one portfolio reviews as part of three Virtual Career Weeks

RGD’s 2024 Highlights 

Perhaps more importantly, the RGD continued to advocate on behalf of the profession and raise the profile of graphic design across Canada. In 2024, the RGD:

• Launched a new RGD website.
• Changed the Provisional RGD category name/designation to Associate RGD to better reflect the purpose of this category of Membership.
• Advocated against FIFA World Cup venue poster contest in Vancouver, in collaboration with DesCan, resulting in changes that allowed RGD Members to participate and in Seattle and Toronto’s FIFA contests being more ethical at launch.
• Launched a new XD Advisory Working Group to collaborate with existing RGD Committees to drive initiatives that enhance awareness, learning and connection opportunities for experience design professionals.
• Received media coverage from CTV News Vancouver, Vancouver Sun, Little Black Book and The Dialog. 
• Ratified a new section for the Code of Ethics focused on cultural appropriation.
• Launched a new Project-based Mentorship Program.
• Launched a new DesignThinkers Podcast in celebration of 25 years of the conference, is featured in PRINT’s podcast studio. 
• Organically grew the RGD’s Instagram following by 17% and LinkedIn by 16%.
• Launched a new Creative Earners Survey.
• Developed a new Career Workbook to help Members meet their career goals.
• Resumed more regular local in-person events, including with a series of Design Trivia Nights.
• Launched a new workshop series presented by Eleni Beveratou in 6 cities across Canada.
• Developed a new Career Workbook to help Members meet their career goals.
• Launched a newly-designed DesignThinkers website.
• Received design/branding support from Arcadis (In-House Design Awards), Context Creative (RGD website), Creative Currency (Creative Earners),  Elana Rudick RGD (Certification Sticker), Forge Media (DesignThinkers website), Hambly + Woolley (Student Awards), Whitman Emorson (DesignThinkers), Vancouver Community College Students with creative direction by Sigrid Albert RGD (Design Educators Conference),

Initiatives to look forward to in 2025

• Two new seasons of the DesignThinkers Podcast featuring interviews with 2025 and past speakers.
• Overhaul of the RGD’s Certification Process.
• Celebration of the 25th anniversary of DesignThinkers with the publication of a DesignThinkers book designed by Gilbert Li RGD. 
• Return of the Design Educators Conference to Toronto, hosted by George Brown College.
• Increased useful, relatable and inspiring content across the RGD’s social media channels.
• Launch of the results of our 2024 Creative Earners Survey.
• Increased local events in more cities across Canada.
• Launch of the second edition of our Branding Awards.
• Continuation of the RGD’s media strategy to secure coverage about the Association, its initiatives and the value of the graphic design profession in Canada.
• Reprint of the RGD Handbook bringing the total printed to 23,000.

2025 In-person events (add RGD events to your calendar)

• DesignThinkers Vancouver*, May 13–14
• DesignThinkers Toronto*, October 1–2
• In-House Design Conference* in Toronto and live streaming, June 19
• Design Educators Conference in partnership with George Brown School of Design in Toronto, October 3

2025 virtual events (sign up to receive weekly updates)

• Webinars, beginning January 9
• Virtual Career Weeks, February 5–10, June 17–22 & September 23–28
• Great Canadian Studio Crawl, March 22
• * Live-streaming of both DesignThinkers Conferences & the In-House Design Conference

2025 awards programs 

• Student Awards (Entry deadline: May 23)
• Trailblazer Awards (Entry deadline: May 23)
• Branding Awards (Final entry deadline: June 6)