AIGA Design Monthly

Second Issue - October 2025

September 25, 2025

Welcome Back

October’s here, which can only mean two things: Design Month is in full swing… and Halloween is creeping up fast!

Let’s dive right into this month’s extra special events as well as some spectacularly creepy design work.

Upcoming Events

Design Month Events

Jazz Design Night

Join us, October 2nd from 7-9 pm, in the Recital Hall, room 301, in the Music Building, for a night of designing posters and listening to some sweet jazz!

Here’s a map!

Elisha Zepeda

This month, we’re excited to have an amazing designer for our upcoming Zoom speaker series.

Elisha Zepeda, a book cover designer for Penguin Books, will join us on Oct. 16th from 7-9 pm in room 365.

Halloween Party
And, to wrap up October, we’re having a Halloween party on Oct. 30th. More details coming soon!

Designer Spotlight

Horror Poster Classics

Bill Gold, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1978.

B.D. Fox Company, Fright Night, 1985.

Saul Bass, The Shining, 1980.

For this month’s extra chilling Designer Spotlight, we couldn’t just choose one designer…October is packed with plenty of scary flicks. So, we’re turning the spotlight onto a few of our favorite horror movie posters from Bill Gold, the B.D. Fox Company, and Saul Bass.

We have Bill Gold’s unsettling poster for the 1978 remake of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers, a classic alien film where strange events unfold as people begin to notice their neighbors, friends, and even family are not acting quite as themselves… This poster is gritty and uncanny, and perfectly mirrors the film’s creeping paranoia and otherworldly horror.

Next, we have the incredibly chilling poster for the 1985 film, Fright Night!
A thrilling movie that follows a teen who begins to suspect and uncovers his next-door neighbor’s deadly secrets… The poster wastes no time in setting the tone, highlighting the film’s monstrous makeup effects and nightmarish charm.

Finally, an ultimate classic, Saul Bass’ iconic poster for the 1980 film, The Shining. Where a family settles into a secluded mountain hotel surrounded by snow, the hotel’s eerie history and sinister presence begin to haunt them, unraveling this family into pure madness… This poster quickly and perfectly conveys the horror the family faces.

Student Spotlight

Student Shows

Here are a few competitions happening this month…

Enter the most prestigious design competition for interactive media, the Communication Arts Interactive Competition. Any interactive project created for digital distribution on desktop, interactive installation, handheld device, online service, or the World Wide Web is eligible. Students can submit their interaction design created for school assignments, work as a URL, or as a video.

Deadlines

Final Deadline - October 10th, 2025 - URL $30
Final Deadline - October 10th, 2025 - Video $45

Rising creatives, showcase your creative in the prestigious Graphis New Talent Awards for 2026. Students can submit their innovative work for a chance to win Platinum, Gold, and Silver awards. Enter a single work for $40 or a series (1-7 images) for $80. Share your emerging skills with the creative community today!

Deadlines

Early Bird Deadline - November 4th, 2025
Regular Deadline - December 9th, 2025
Final Deadline - January 13th, 2026

Introduce your work to the world! Enter the most prestigious competition for creativity in illustration, the Communication Arts Illustration Competition. Any illustration first published or produced from January 2025 through January 2026 is eligible. Students can enter single images or a series of their illustrations or animations created for school assignments.