Current Title: Creative Director
Organization: The Design Center for the USA TODAY Network
Country: United States of America
Twitter: @ryanwesley29
LinkedIn
SND Statement
SND cannot survive on nostalgia. Our traditional pool of potential members dwindles more and more every year, and those potential members themselves face hurdles to joining and attending events. Expanding our pool of potential members is critical. We must successfully engage and connect with the larger design community – a community that mostly lives outside of the news-design establishment that forms our foundation. Branding SND as the premier professional organization for multi-platform publication design, product building, and emerging technologies is a key step toward our success.
As a design leader, I take a digital-first mentality. But, my team also bridges the gap between digital and print platforms. We help traditional print designers learn and grow on digital design. We don’t forget print, but we don’t let it hold back digital growth. SND faces the same challenges today. I have experience successfully working on that balancing act.
SND means a lot to me, and it probably means a lot to you. It’s helped shape and guide my career. I’ve also made numerous friends for life. One of my proudest (and most stressful) professional achievements was serving as site chair for the 2013 Annual Workshop in Louisville. I organized volunteers, curated the speaker lineup and sessions, attended board meetings, worked with sponsors, and forged partnerships. It was my first back-stage glimpse at SND. I cherished that experience, and have been waiting for the right time to fully re-engage with that level of commitment to the organization. I’m ready for the challenge.
While nostalgia alone can’t carry us into the future, we can’t forget the spirit of our past. The love so many of us have for this organization has kept the Society’s heart beating. That love and spirit was a product of a fantastic, well-connected community where members frequently engaged with each other and learned together. It’s a crucial ingredient to building a successful future for SND. If we can increase the value of membership, grow and market our expertise to new audiences, lower the barrier to joining SND and attending its events, and create and foster a community for our members to connect, we’ll develop a steady stream of new talent and leadership that can sustain SND well into the future.
Bio
Ryan Hildebrandt is a Senior Manager of Digital and Print Design at The Design Center for the USA TODAY Network. His team art directs and designs enterprise and special projects across digital and print platforms for USA TODAY and dozens of Gannett newsrooms across the country. An SND member since 2006, Ryan served as site chair for SND’s 2013 Annual Workshop in Louisville, Ky.