In a joint effort, that was mentioned at the 4th AIGA Advance Summit this summer, CHI and AIGA are teaming up at CHI 2002 to bring attendees a jointly produced forum.

"CHI2002 and AIGA Experience Design would like to invite you to participate in our first co-sponsored event! The FORUM is dedicated to exploring how the knowledge and skills from each community contribute to current thinking and innovations in the world of human-computer interaction and experience design. The FORUM is an independent two-day event and will take place immediately preceding the CHI2002 technical program and does not required attendance at other CHI2002 events.

The FORUM will explore the intersections of the SIGCHI and AIGA design communities, including design and evaluation methods and methodologies, philosophy of design, and design artifacts. The program will include well-known speakers from the design community, panels, and in-depth case studies. The FORUM will offer plenty of opportunities to interact with fellow design practitioners of all kinds."

I think this is a terrific opportunity for the two organizations to recognize their overlaps and differing perspectives on the same realm. We (designers) work with usability people or or often called upon to perform that role and in turn, many CHI attendees are on teams with designers or are making design recommendations. It is important to foster the collaborative relationships and learn from each other as we navigate new media.

I hope that, despite the fact that the event happens before CHI, attendees from both realms attend.