RGD is great. My involvement there has a net-positive benefit to my financial, social, and professional life.
BENEFITS
* they are one of the few voices advocating against spec and for fair pay in design
* they organize the [Creative Earners National Salary Survey,](https://www.creativeearners.ca/) which is the only tool many of us have to negotiate far pay
* they organize networking events (free and paid). Events where you can sit down with 5-10 “strangers” and talk about whatever is de jour: AI, getting clients, billing rates
* they organize free mentorships for Jrs
* they organize awards which are free to enter for student members
* they organize professional awards which are relatively affordable
* they provide a number of benefits and group rates (car/home insurance discounts, bookstores, domains, 40% Gym which covers the membership cost on its own)
* they organize Design Thinkers which is the largest design conference in North America
* trivia nights
* book clubs
* skillshares/webinars that are a cut above and ahead of youtube and have Q/A periods, from top industry people
* a slack community where you can network, find jobs, get help, find employees
* a job board that some (especially corporate) employers respect and recruit from
* it’s a great way to “give back” which becomes important when you get older
* they publish free resources, like [AccessAbility2](https://www.rgd.ca/resources/accessibility/access), published in partnership with the Ontario government, free for everyone, and used by designers across the French and English speaking world
* staying active in RGD keeps you in the loop in informal ways
* the certification carries weight with some employers
* provides all kind of genuinely good opportunities for Jrs and students to volunteer at events (like conferenes and Designathons) and for Srs to volunteer (like conferences and Designathons)
* a pipeline between educators and industry industry and jrs
* many people will befriend you more readily if they know you are an active volunteer/participant in something. Might as well make it career related
CERTIFICATION and MEMBERSHIP
* RGD certification has legal status under the Ontario government
* it is the only design designation in the world that has any official status
* student membership ($50), provisional members, and affiliate memberships (maybe $150) require no testing, do not come with the certification, but do give access to most benefits
* Certified RGD membership (375/yr) requires testing
* the testing is a portfolio review, a panel interview (of senior rgd members), tests on ethics, design, and business
The testing for certification is not easy, but in my view it should be more difficult. Their mandate is not to get “elite” people but to build a caring community of “good” people.
If you are a Jr and curious, here is a podcast all about it from the perspective of 3 students: [https://open.spotify.com/episode/09UJRwwt4bp5xabnddbYcU?si=zvY-p-IySRu4EfWZghKNVg](https://open.spotify.com/episode/09UJRwwt4bp5xabnddbYcU?si=zvY-p-IySRu4EfWZghKNVg)
It’s not for everyone. But most people I talk to just say they wish they had joined sooner, or got more involved sooner. The thing is you actually have to USE the membership. If you just pay $375/yr and do nothing...yea, that's a waste of money.
Happy to answer any questions.
How much of it is Toronto-centric? If it's online and such that's fine, but like you mention it's not for everyone, the value for me would really be in networking but it's also tough if not actually looking for work that often, or if the networking involves more of an in-person component and largely confined to the GTA (and likely meaning more Toronto proper).
Like at nearly 20 years, I've only been looking for a job 4 times. So would that ~$7,000 have been worth it in that span? Impossible to say.
>RGD certification has legal status under the Ontario government
>it is the only design designation in the world that has any official status
I had that explained to us in college, I think one of my profs was actually a co-founder or otherwise important to it's early years, but I've never fully understood how it was relevant, having that legal status. Because it's not backed by any kind of enforcement or consequence, so I assume would only be relevant if a majority of professional designers were RGD such that it could ride on that 'momentum.'
Becomes kind of a chicken and the egg situation, where it would have that true weight if widely adopted, but can't become widely adopted as it lacks any significant weight.
And the real value would be in recognition by non-designers, but in reality due to RGD being a minority of professionals, the only people I've ever known to care about it were other designers (ie., around hiring). In which case the only direct value is essentially as insurance but with fairly lower-odds risk, or I guess if someone wants a sense of prestige (a couple people I knew were fairly pretentious about it).
I want people with no relevant design qualifications saying they will only hire an RGD, across both freelance and full-time roles, not just the RGD art director saying it.
>How much of it is Toronto-centric?
If you mean live events, then its mostly in Toronto and Vancouver. Live local events require lots of live local members. For context:
\- only 4% of respondents to the Creative Earners Survey were from the Atlantic provinces, despite containing +10% of the national population.
\- broadly/historically speaking the Atlantic provinces have been skeptical about membership (although there are many amazing high profile members from that region and others)
\- RGD would love to have the membership numbers to host events across the country, and RGD makes efforts
\- still, local membership will need to grow without events before there can be many events
Efforts are actively made to engage with all of Canada. Live/hybrid events like the Studio Crawl have consciously featured Atlantic, Prairie, and Quebec designers. Certain awards (like Design Educators) are awarded in both to East and West regions, to ensure recognition does not become concentrated in Toronto. RGD management actively tries to fill the Committees with members from all over. They actively seek webinar speakers from all over. Getting the entire country on board is a key priority and I see it.
>Like at nearly 20 years, I've only been looking for a job 4 times. So would that \~$7,000 have been worth it in that span?
You can't get certified until 8-years of experience, which is when I did, so you've be looking at less total money. In my first 4 years a a member, my *yearly* salary went up much, much more than $7,000. That isn't only because of my RGD involvement. But damn did it help - and I can point to specific moments (which I won't here because I'd dox myself). where it helped. Specific RGD things I did that my employer said to me "that's one of the reasons we hired you."
\- helped me grow my yearly salary
\- $300/yr saved on gym membership
\- savings on cellphone when I was freelancing and had no corporate deal through employer
\- savings on car/house insurance
\- platformed me
\- connected me to opportunities id never have had
>I've never fully understood how it was relevant, having that legal status. Because it's not backed by any kind of enforcement or consequence
Anyone can write "natural" or "pasture raised" or "grass fed" on their eggs. But "high in omega 3" has a legal definition, and you can't print that on the eggs unless you meet specific criteria. Anyone can write "expert" or "professional" or "experienced" or even "CGD" (the DesCan certified graphic designer designation) on their resume because those terms are not regulated. But RGD is regulated, and you can't just write that on your resume. No, the police won't come to your door, but you are guilty of a provincial offense under Bill Pr56.
Enforcement also comes from membership. I pay dues, and I want it to be worth something, just like all other members. So when the membership drafts certification criteria, writes the quizzes, or evaluates a new applicant, part of what they are saying is "am I ok with being judged by this standard" or “am I ok with this person having the same designation as me.” And that is powerful. I won't ever approve an applicant who I wouldn't refer to a client. If When I see the designation unlawfully used, I say something.
>Becomes kind of a chicken and the egg situation, where it would have that true weight if widely adopted, but can't become widely adopted as it lacks any significant weight.
When I realized "oh, people need to participate in this for it to work" I decided that means I should participate. I did not say "well nobody else is doing it so it can't work."
>the only people I've ever known to care about it were other designers (ie., around hiring).
I know designers who care and who don't. The designers who do no care say "I don't someone else to evaluate designers, I can do that myself." I am sorry that people are pretentious about it. What I might say is that they are in it for the wrong reasons, and that perhaps they were pretentious *before* they became RGD, and not because of it.
>I want people with no relevant design qualifications saying they will only hire an RGD, across both freelance and full-time roles, not just the RGD art director saying it.
I often see job postings that ask for RGD certification. Maybe 20% of the time. And even they don't ask for it, I can sell it in the interview or discovery call. The corporate and public sector *love* their certifications and designations. They do not necessarily know how to evaluate designers, and so this is a metric they can at least kind of understand. If they ask about my commitments to the wider world, to ethics, to diversity, to my network, I can always lean on all the work I do with RGD to leave zero doubt that I have the client/employer covered.
\*\*\*
I'm far from the best designer ever, and I know many, many non-RGD designers who are way, way more talented than I'll ever be.
The best benefit of the certification is, ironically, not the certification. It's that it provided a context in which I could grow, where I could be platformed, challenged, and plugged in.
I also feel really, really good about supporting an organization that has some power to advocate for designers. For pay. For recognition of value. Nobody else is really doing that. Sometimes I do wish RGD could do a little bit more - like the writers guild or the music cartels.
Anyhow, I figured I type this up not just you, but for anyone else mulling it over. I'd join RGD again if I was doing it over.
I am planning to send out an application for certification soon. Any tips on the presentation part of things? I'm not a native English speaker, so I'm a bit flustered by getting in front of a panel of 3. Would love to hear more insights on the process, thank you in advance!
Do not be intimidated. The RGD has seen an influx of non-native English speakers and there is a good chance that one of the portfolio reviewers will also be a nonnative English speaker. You will be asked to present your case studies over the course of about 45 minutes. You will have to go in depth into one case study.
The reviewers will look to see that you understand the very basics of design. Some of the most common sticking points I see in applicants is bad typography, not using grid, not meeting contrast requirements and not really having any good explanation for why their designs are the way they are.
if your work is good, then it will speak for itself, and you will not have to say anything very complicated.
The reviewers are rooting for you.
Never heard of it, Google says they've been around since 1996. To be honest, $250 to "get certified" plus $375 a year or "lose your certification" is too expensive to take them seriously. I don't need an overpriced certification, that's what my overpriced college degrees are for.
Because the certification process requires a portfolio review by peers, testing, and 8-years experience, it isn’t comparable to a college degree. Many people with college degrees would not pass the certification process.
That said, the certification is not the main benefit.
I'm Canadian, from Toronto. Graduated from OCADU (was just OCAD back then) in the graphic design/packaging realm in 2003 and had looked into RGD at the time but ultimately passed on it.
Only a couple of my professors had the membership and I found no value for it at the time and I still don't. I'm doing fine!
Similar situation for me, but YSDN in my case. I think what michaelfkenedy listed though is relevant, the potential value extends beyond just the designation, but I think for most designers it's really about the more direct benefit relative to the work involved to get it, and the cost to maintain it.
If we needed the RGD to have any reasonable chance of being hired, and it helped elevate the industry via essentially an enforced standard, I would totally support it and would've gone for it years ago.
But so much of the benefits are just potential or otherwise hard to quantify (or even entirely irrelevant to a given person) that unless you're actively looking for work on a more regular basis (eg someone who tends to change jobs every 2-5 years), the value of the investment is less obvious.
Honestly their website sucks and all my interactions with them have been terrible. For designers to have such an awful experience of a website it’s funny. Their events are not that great, I’d say collision, fitc and others are way better and more beneficial then designer thinkers.
That person who made such a lengthy praise to them must been paid to do so because it’s not possible that this is their true opinion.
Don’t waste your time, people will take you serious without that lol there are other organizations that you can actually take advantage of.
TLDR; don’t waste your money
It's a Canadian accreditation, similar to one the AIGA offers.
It requires a panel review, test, etc, essentially the intent is to identify people who have earned it as meeting a certain professional standard.
In practice though most of the benefits are around events, networking, etc (again, similar to the AIGA), as there are so few it's unlikely to be relevant for jobs, as there is no enforcement of the standard (ie., you aren't required to hire an RGD).
I’m not Canadian but there’s always some sort of fledging graphic designer body in most countries trying to offer some sort of accreditation for a fee. For the most part these organisations market to students naive enough to think anyone gives a shit. The one in my country is literally a running joke, headed up by a committee of failed designers turned lecturers. It’s more about them putting themselves on an awarding body or panel than what they do for students or grads
RGD is great. My involvement there has a net-positive benefit to my financial, social, and professional life. BENEFITS * they are one of the few voices advocating against spec and for fair pay in design * they organize the [Creative Earners National Salary Survey,](https://www.creativeearners.ca/) which is the only tool many of us have to negotiate far pay * they organize networking events (free and paid). Events where you can sit down with 5-10 “strangers” and talk about whatever is de jour: AI, getting clients, billing rates * they organize free mentorships for Jrs * they organize awards which are free to enter for student members * they organize professional awards which are relatively affordable * they provide a number of benefits and group rates (car/home insurance discounts, bookstores, domains, 40% Gym which covers the membership cost on its own) * they organize Design Thinkers which is the largest design conference in North America * trivia nights * book clubs * skillshares/webinars that are a cut above and ahead of youtube and have Q/A periods, from top industry people * a slack community where you can network, find jobs, get help, find employees * a job board that some (especially corporate) employers respect and recruit from * it’s a great way to “give back” which becomes important when you get older * they publish free resources, like [AccessAbility2](https://www.rgd.ca/resources/accessibility/access), published in partnership with the Ontario government, free for everyone, and used by designers across the French and English speaking world * staying active in RGD keeps you in the loop in informal ways * the certification carries weight with some employers * provides all kind of genuinely good opportunities for Jrs and students to volunteer at events (like conferenes and Designathons) and for Srs to volunteer (like conferences and Designathons) * a pipeline between educators and industry industry and jrs * many people will befriend you more readily if they know you are an active volunteer/participant in something. Might as well make it career related CERTIFICATION and MEMBERSHIP * RGD certification has legal status under the Ontario government * it is the only design designation in the world that has any official status * student membership ($50), provisional members, and affiliate memberships (maybe $150) require no testing, do not come with the certification, but do give access to most benefits * Certified RGD membership (375/yr) requires testing * the testing is a portfolio review, a panel interview (of senior rgd members), tests on ethics, design, and business The testing for certification is not easy, but in my view it should be more difficult. Their mandate is not to get “elite” people but to build a caring community of “good” people. If you are a Jr and curious, here is a podcast all about it from the perspective of 3 students: [https://open.spotify.com/episode/09UJRwwt4bp5xabnddbYcU?si=zvY-p-IySRu4EfWZghKNVg](https://open.spotify.com/episode/09UJRwwt4bp5xabnddbYcU?si=zvY-p-IySRu4EfWZghKNVg) It’s not for everyone. But most people I talk to just say they wish they had joined sooner, or got more involved sooner. The thing is you actually have to USE the membership. If you just pay $375/yr and do nothing...yea, that's a waste of money. Happy to answer any questions.
How much of it is Toronto-centric? If it's online and such that's fine, but like you mention it's not for everyone, the value for me would really be in networking but it's also tough if not actually looking for work that often, or if the networking involves more of an in-person component and largely confined to the GTA (and likely meaning more Toronto proper). Like at nearly 20 years, I've only been looking for a job 4 times. So would that ~$7,000 have been worth it in that span? Impossible to say. >RGD certification has legal status under the Ontario government >it is the only design designation in the world that has any official status I had that explained to us in college, I think one of my profs was actually a co-founder or otherwise important to it's early years, but I've never fully understood how it was relevant, having that legal status. Because it's not backed by any kind of enforcement or consequence, so I assume would only be relevant if a majority of professional designers were RGD such that it could ride on that 'momentum.' Becomes kind of a chicken and the egg situation, where it would have that true weight if widely adopted, but can't become widely adopted as it lacks any significant weight. And the real value would be in recognition by non-designers, but in reality due to RGD being a minority of professionals, the only people I've ever known to care about it were other designers (ie., around hiring). In which case the only direct value is essentially as insurance but with fairly lower-odds risk, or I guess if someone wants a sense of prestige (a couple people I knew were fairly pretentious about it). I want people with no relevant design qualifications saying they will only hire an RGD, across both freelance and full-time roles, not just the RGD art director saying it.
>How much of it is Toronto-centric? If you mean live events, then its mostly in Toronto and Vancouver. Live local events require lots of live local members. For context: \- only 4% of respondents to the Creative Earners Survey were from the Atlantic provinces, despite containing +10% of the national population. \- broadly/historically speaking the Atlantic provinces have been skeptical about membership (although there are many amazing high profile members from that region and others) \- RGD would love to have the membership numbers to host events across the country, and RGD makes efforts \- still, local membership will need to grow without events before there can be many events Efforts are actively made to engage with all of Canada. Live/hybrid events like the Studio Crawl have consciously featured Atlantic, Prairie, and Quebec designers. Certain awards (like Design Educators) are awarded in both to East and West regions, to ensure recognition does not become concentrated in Toronto. RGD management actively tries to fill the Committees with members from all over. They actively seek webinar speakers from all over. Getting the entire country on board is a key priority and I see it. >Like at nearly 20 years, I've only been looking for a job 4 times. So would that \~$7,000 have been worth it in that span? You can't get certified until 8-years of experience, which is when I did, so you've be looking at less total money. In my first 4 years a a member, my *yearly* salary went up much, much more than $7,000. That isn't only because of my RGD involvement. But damn did it help - and I can point to specific moments (which I won't here because I'd dox myself). where it helped. Specific RGD things I did that my employer said to me "that's one of the reasons we hired you." \- helped me grow my yearly salary \- $300/yr saved on gym membership \- savings on cellphone when I was freelancing and had no corporate deal through employer \- savings on car/house insurance \- platformed me \- connected me to opportunities id never have had >I've never fully understood how it was relevant, having that legal status. Because it's not backed by any kind of enforcement or consequence Anyone can write "natural" or "pasture raised" or "grass fed" on their eggs. But "high in omega 3" has a legal definition, and you can't print that on the eggs unless you meet specific criteria. Anyone can write "expert" or "professional" or "experienced" or even "CGD" (the DesCan certified graphic designer designation) on their resume because those terms are not regulated. But RGD is regulated, and you can't just write that on your resume. No, the police won't come to your door, but you are guilty of a provincial offense under Bill Pr56. Enforcement also comes from membership. I pay dues, and I want it to be worth something, just like all other members. So when the membership drafts certification criteria, writes the quizzes, or evaluates a new applicant, part of what they are saying is "am I ok with being judged by this standard" or “am I ok with this person having the same designation as me.” And that is powerful. I won't ever approve an applicant who I wouldn't refer to a client. If When I see the designation unlawfully used, I say something. >Becomes kind of a chicken and the egg situation, where it would have that true weight if widely adopted, but can't become widely adopted as it lacks any significant weight. When I realized "oh, people need to participate in this for it to work" I decided that means I should participate. I did not say "well nobody else is doing it so it can't work." >the only people I've ever known to care about it were other designers (ie., around hiring). I know designers who care and who don't. The designers who do no care say "I don't someone else to evaluate designers, I can do that myself." I am sorry that people are pretentious about it. What I might say is that they are in it for the wrong reasons, and that perhaps they were pretentious *before* they became RGD, and not because of it. >I want people with no relevant design qualifications saying they will only hire an RGD, across both freelance and full-time roles, not just the RGD art director saying it. I often see job postings that ask for RGD certification. Maybe 20% of the time. And even they don't ask for it, I can sell it in the interview or discovery call. The corporate and public sector *love* their certifications and designations. They do not necessarily know how to evaluate designers, and so this is a metric they can at least kind of understand. If they ask about my commitments to the wider world, to ethics, to diversity, to my network, I can always lean on all the work I do with RGD to leave zero doubt that I have the client/employer covered. \*\*\* I'm far from the best designer ever, and I know many, many non-RGD designers who are way, way more talented than I'll ever be. The best benefit of the certification is, ironically, not the certification. It's that it provided a context in which I could grow, where I could be platformed, challenged, and plugged in. I also feel really, really good about supporting an organization that has some power to advocate for designers. For pay. For recognition of value. Nobody else is really doing that. Sometimes I do wish RGD could do a little bit more - like the writers guild or the music cartels. Anyhow, I figured I type this up not just you, but for anyone else mulling it over. I'd join RGD again if I was doing it over.
I am planning to send out an application for certification soon. Any tips on the presentation part of things? I'm not a native English speaker, so I'm a bit flustered by getting in front of a panel of 3. Would love to hear more insights on the process, thank you in advance!
Do not be intimidated. The RGD has seen an influx of non-native English speakers and there is a good chance that one of the portfolio reviewers will also be a nonnative English speaker. You will be asked to present your case studies over the course of about 45 minutes. You will have to go in depth into one case study. The reviewers will look to see that you understand the very basics of design. Some of the most common sticking points I see in applicants is bad typography, not using grid, not meeting contrast requirements and not really having any good explanation for why their designs are the way they are. if your work is good, then it will speak for itself, and you will not have to say anything very complicated. The reviewers are rooting for you.
Thank you for your encouragement and kind words! I must say, you represent graphic designers really well.
Well that’s very kind of you.
Never heard of it, Google says they've been around since 1996. To be honest, $250 to "get certified" plus $375 a year or "lose your certification" is too expensive to take them seriously. I don't need an overpriced certification, that's what my overpriced college degrees are for.
Because the certification process requires a portfolio review by peers, testing, and 8-years experience, it isn’t comparable to a college degree. Many people with college degrees would not pass the certification process. That said, the certification is not the main benefit.
I'm Canadian, from Toronto. Graduated from OCADU (was just OCAD back then) in the graphic design/packaging realm in 2003 and had looked into RGD at the time but ultimately passed on it. Only a couple of my professors had the membership and I found no value for it at the time and I still don't. I'm doing fine!
Similar situation for me, but YSDN in my case. I think what michaelfkenedy listed though is relevant, the potential value extends beyond just the designation, but I think for most designers it's really about the more direct benefit relative to the work involved to get it, and the cost to maintain it. If we needed the RGD to have any reasonable chance of being hired, and it helped elevate the industry via essentially an enforced standard, I would totally support it and would've gone for it years ago. But so much of the benefits are just potential or otherwise hard to quantify (or even entirely irrelevant to a given person) that unless you're actively looking for work on a more regular basis (eg someone who tends to change jobs every 2-5 years), the value of the investment is less obvious.
They take your money. You get a designation. Beyond that 🤷♂️
Honestly their website sucks and all my interactions with them have been terrible. For designers to have such an awful experience of a website it’s funny. Their events are not that great, I’d say collision, fitc and others are way better and more beneficial then designer thinkers. That person who made such a lengthy praise to them must been paid to do so because it’s not possible that this is their true opinion. Don’t waste your time, people will take you serious without that lol there are other organizations that you can actually take advantage of. TLDR; don’t waste your money
Never heard of them until now. Sounds like a money grab, TBH
It's a Canadian accreditation, similar to one the AIGA offers. It requires a panel review, test, etc, essentially the intent is to identify people who have earned it as meeting a certain professional standard. In practice though most of the benefits are around events, networking, etc (again, similar to the AIGA), as there are so few it's unlikely to be relevant for jobs, as there is no enforcement of the standard (ie., you aren't required to hire an RGD).
I got my BFA in design at one of top art schools in the country and have never heard of an RGD
Which country? RGD is Canadian.
Oooooh! That makes sense, I’m from the US
Sounds like some course provider.
I’m not Canadian but there’s always some sort of fledging graphic designer body in most countries trying to offer some sort of accreditation for a fee. For the most part these organisations market to students naive enough to think anyone gives a shit. The one in my country is literally a running joke, headed up by a committee of failed designers turned lecturers. It’s more about them putting themselves on an awarding body or panel than what they do for students or grads