Meet Cindy Dampier, IIDA’s Chief Marketing Officer

Oct 10, 2022 By IIDA HQ

A lifelong writer with an eye for design and storytelling, we welcome a new face to the IIDA HQ team

By IIDA HQ Oct 10, 2022

Published in Articles

IIDA welcomes Cindy Dampier as IIDA’s Chief Marketing Officer—a new role that brings together our content and marketing teams as a powerhouse creative group responsible for public facing communications and programming. With a background in journalism, she joins us from IIDA’s longtime PR partner where she has helped to shape the way we tell the IIDA story, and participated in many of IIDA’s programs including NeoCon and Design Your World.

Tell us about your professional background and connection to IIDA? What will you be doing in your role?

I like to tell people that I’ve been a writer all my life—I’ve definitely always been a storyteller. I started my career as a journalist, and worked as a writer and editor at the Chicago Tribune and People magazine, and then moved on to lead the content team at Jo Communications creating storylines for clients in the design and architecture world. Story and voice are definitely a big part of what I’ll be doing at IIDA; the team I lead here is essentially the public face and voice of our organization, letting people know about everything we do, telling the amazing stories of our members, and communicating with our design industry community.

What excites you about this role and what is your vision for the future of IIDA?

I love creative work and am always excited to be a part of shaping a great story, and I believe IIDA has a fascinating and important story to tell. The IIDA I see in the future is incredibly relevant, through work that advocates for and uplifts the design industry; actively creates opportunity and inclusion for the next generation of designers; and is completely immersed in shaping what’s next.

As a global network of design professionals, what is the importance of membership at this particular moment?

I’ve learned from my own career experiences how important community can be — to our career satisfaction as well as our career opportunities and growth. IIDA offers members a vibrant community and unparalleled access to the constantly evolving, of-the-moment insights of the top minds in the world of design. From the completely practical, to the incredibly inspirational, IIDA has it all.

You’ve had a professional relationship with IIDA for some time now, what projects, programs, and achievements have you most enjoyed/been inspired by/excited to have more direct involvement with?

It has been an honor to be a part of IIDA programs such as Design Your World, which brings the work of inclusion and greater diversity in the industry to a grassroots level, reaching young people where they are and sharing a program that can spark their dreams and ambitions. I can’t think of anything better than that!

What motivates and inspires you?

I’m motivated by creative collaboration, purposeful work, and any opportunity to make something cool or tell a story that leaves people spellbound. To put it in more concrete terms, I’m inspired by the people around me, both those I know and those I meet as I move through the world.

What are you passionate about in your personal life?

My personal life centers around my family, and all the things that go into the life of a sorta quirky group of people who love dogs, hiking, music, cooking, books, and art.

What is your relationship to design?

I’ve loved design since I was very young, when I would go to the public library and check out stacks of design books, poring over the pages. Later, I became a design editor at the Chicago Tribune, and worked with clients in the design and architecture sphere. I’m always fascinated by how well-designed objects and environments affect everything from our moods to our interactions to how easily we get through dinner prep.

What do you do for fun or to unwind?

As a family, we’re into hiking and camping adventures. But you can usually find me chilling out while cooking dinner or in my tiny garden, listening to music, a podcast, or an audiobook. Recommendations: Alice Coltrane’s album “Journey in Satchidananda”; Patrick Radden Keefe’s book “Empire of Pain”; and the podcasts You’re Wrong About and our insightful CEO’s Skill Set with Cheryl Durst.