Li’l Robin (formerly Anke Stohlmann Design) recently completed a project I thought you might be interested in. I was delighted that we had the opportunity to design the invitation and event program for The Alpha Workshops’ 2009 Alpha Awards, an honor given to members of the design community and others whose work has touched the HIV/AIDS community.

Working closely with The Alpha Workshops staff and board was a particular pleasure. The organization and its initiatives are a wonderful example of design serving people not only in the final product but also in the process of making that brings people together and offers something of beauty into the world.

Our design for the 2009 Alpha Awards plays off of the organization’s existing identity with its custom drawn letterforms, and a signature Alpha Workshops-designed wallpaper, Sunflower, with its layered, handcrafted look and joyous feel. In the end, we felt that the design matched the spirit of the organization, its participants, a stellar event and the inspiring honorees. Ken Wampler, Alpha Workshops’ Executive Director, agreed saying, “We loved the final designs and feel they really added to the spirit of the event.”

Following on the heels of our work with Kenneth Cole’s Awearness Foundation, this project marks a continuation of my firm’s commitment to design that matters.

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The Alpha Workshops is the only not-for-profit organization in the country that trains and employs people living with HIV/AIDS to work in the decorative arts field. Alpha has been an industry pioneer since its founding in 1995, both in developing a unique training curriculum and in creating a flexible, supportive workplace responsive to the medical, financial and emotional needs of people living with a chronic illness. Alpha Workshops runs a highly regarded design studio, staffed completely by our graduates, and is well-known as a valuable resource for decorators looking for handcrafted wallpapers, on-site custom painting and decorative finishes and lamps and tables made to order.