The Arctic Chapter holds portfolio reviews two times a year. Reviews are handled anonymously and confidentially by a rotating team of standards officers, made up of professional members of the Chapter.

Commercially printed work is accepted, and web and new media designers may submit electronic media and web URLs. Do not mount brochures or information pieces.

Portfolio pieces are judged on five main areas:

• Strategy: Appropriateness of concept, meets objectives: client’s & audiences needs, perceived goals and objectives, desired outcome, skill ability to define the concept and objectives.
   
• Typography: Appropriateness font, weight, size, emotion, skill hierarchy, readability and legibility, interpretation; craftsmanship kerning, leading, use of grid, etc.
   
• Use of imagery: Appropriateness supports the concept, choice of illustration, photography or typographic approach, skill placement, colour, size, technical ability, craftsmanship high level of execution.
   
• Implementation: Appropriateness size, format, paper, inks, varnishes, die-cuts, embossing, bindery, skill marriage of materials to concept, craftsmanship spelling, layout, format, print quality.
   
• Presentation: Appropriateness materials used, labelling, skill, diversity of work, craftsmanship, cleanliness of presentation, etc.

Your portfolio must achieve an average score in each area. If a portfolio does not receive an average score, you are contacted by the GDC membership chair to discuss how to improve your portfolio. You are able to re-submit for a future review. The chair is the only person who knows the identity of the applicant in this process.

The Arctic Chapter is now in its fifth year of existence in the North. As it has been the case since the beginning, most of our membership is based in the Northwest Territories, but we are proud to have branched out to include Nunavut in the past year. We are currently in campaign mode, contacting potential members in the Yukon. If you're reading this from the Yukon, contact us; we'd love to answer any questions you have and welcome you on board.

Coming up in the next couple of weeks, we'll be holding our annual general meeting. Due to the vast territory we cover and the huge distances between us, we have decided this year to hold out meeting through IM using Skype – is it a first for the GDC? We're not sure, but hey, you have to do what you have to do. For those members participating in the meeting, we will be contacting you soon with information about the time and "place" and other particulars.

For a number of years now, the Arctic Chapter has been sponsored by Coast Paper out of Edmonton so we'd like to thank Coast for their continued support and look forward to working with them in the future.

Congratulations are also in order to GDC national and Tétro Design for coming through with a great new site. We're looking forward to the new features and easy access to chapter news.

Here's to another great year!

Cheers,

Arctic Chapter Execs