The (SDGQ) is the provincial

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

association in the Canadian province of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Its stated aim is to advance the profession of graphic design in Quebec and to help its members develop both professionally and financially. Its activities include professional development, co-organizing the Grafika design awards competition, lobbying, and the DGA certification program. The SDGQ has a reconciliatory role in the debate on graphic design certification in Canada.

History

The history of the SDGQ can be traced back to 1972 when Quebec graphic designers, Georges Beaupré and Roger Lafortune, formed a committee to found the (SGQ). However, SGQ was not officially founded until 1974 when the new association was incorporated. In 1995 the SGQ replaced the word “” (graphic designers or graphic artists) in its name with “” (graphic designers), changing its name to (SDGQ). On June 14, 2011, during its annual general meeting, the SDGQ officially launched its certification program for graphic designers in Quebec. In 2013 the SDGQ adopted a new visual identity, replacing its existing “dg”

wordmark A wordmark or word mark is a text-only statement of the name of a product, service, company, organization, or institution which is used for purposes of identification and branding. A wordmark can be an actual word (e.g., Apple), a made-up term ...

with a new “SDGQ” wordmark.

Certification

SDGQ members working in the field of graphic design who have accumulated a minimum of 7 years of combined professional experience and education in graphic design can apply to be certified. Candidates are required to submit their portfolios to a panel of three DGA-certified judges for an anonymous review. During the review, the candidate’s work is evaluated according to three criteria, namely, pertinence, responsibility, and creativity. Certified members are accredited with a , DGA. DGAs are required to follow SDGQ’s code of ethics. There is a procedure in place to investigate DGAs who are accused of violating the code of ethics; violators can receive penalties up to and including having their DGA titles revoked. A plan to align the DGA and RGD certifications was announced in 2012, and the written examination portion of the process was set to harmonize within 5 years. The DGA title is considered by the Association of Registered Graphic Designers to be the French equivalent of its RGD title.

Affiliations

SDGQ is a member of

Icograda The International Council of Design (ICoD; formerly known as ico-D, International Council of Communication Design or Icograda, which was formerly an initialism for International Council of Graphic Design Associations) is an international organis ...

, the (CIDQ), Mission Design, and the (CICQ). It also has formal partnerships with the

Society of Graphic Designers of Canada Design Professionals of Canada (or DesCan, formerly known as the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, or GDC) is Canadaʼs national certification body for graphic and communication design and since 1956 has established standards for design pro ...

, the

Association of Registered Graphic Designers The Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD or simply RGD; formerly ARGD/ON is a non-profit, self-regulatoryprofessional design association with over 3,000 members. It serves graphic design professionals, managers, educators and student ...

of Ontario, and Infopress, a publishing company.

Publications

SDGQ has published two books, the ' (the graphic designer’s guide to management and professional practice) for graphic designers in Quebec, and ' (becoming a graphic designer: a guide to graphic design education in Quebec). SDGQ also publishes a blog called ', which has entered a period of hiatus since 2011.

Notes

References