San Diego Designers Selected for the New PIA Expo

The Printing Industries Association of San Diego (PIA/SD), the largest local association serving the San Diego printing and graphic arts industry, has selected the designer firm and theme of the 2011 PIA Expo. ideaworks advertising will be the lead designer for the print elements, as well as the lead in designing the web presence. Located in Carlsbad, ideaworks will work with PIA/SD, to develop all creative elements of the PIA Expo promotional campaign. The theme of this year’s event will be “The Power of Partners,” which emphasizes the powerful partnership between print, web, mobile, social media, marketing, and interactive media within the world of graphics and communications. The PIA Expo will run February 21-25, 2011 with a full week of seminars, expo, tours, and celebration of print and media communications.

Ideaworks advertising, LLC is a small yet solid agency founded by partners Sean Ashcraft and Kristin Barret. In business since 2003, ideaworks has gained a reputation for offering carbonated creative and brainy marketing. They were excited to accept the challenge of designing the materials for PIA Expo 2011. Sean said, “Being asked to design the PIA Expo materials this year validated our thought that we can hang with the cool design kids. As a philosophy, our company is proud to go the extra mile for clients – and leave the ego behind. We’ve always dug our '70s Duotron pinball machine with its retro-futuristic robots, and now we’re creating our own metaphorically fun and fantastic "bots" for the design community to see. It's really inspiring to design pieces that will be seen by our peers and hopefully motivate them to attend the newly concepted print expo. And of course it is fun to design characters that are individual and creative … like us!”

The official theme of the 2011 PIA Expo is “The Power of Partners.” The world of marketing has drastically been changed due to new technology – and today’s savvy marketer is partnering print with non-traditional media to create campaigns that reach the masses. PIA/SD is combining the multiple facets of marketing, design and advertising to create a cohesive resource for San Diego graphic arts & communication professionals.

The PIA Expo Trade Show will be held Thursday, February 24, 2011, at the San Diego Convention Center and is expected to draw over 1,500 attendees. The week also includes tours of the U.S. Postal Office, The Union-Tribune, and concludes with a celebration cocktail party. Additionally, tours of local print and finishing plants in San Diego will be given throughout the week. In addition, PIA/SD will also partner on education session with the San Diego Ad Club, Mail Systems Management Association and other professional communication groups.

For more information on the new PIA Expo, exhibitor information, or sponsorship opportunities, call PIA/SD at (858) 571-6555 or visit our websites at www.piasd.org.