"AIGA's purpose is to further excellence in design as a broadly defined discipline, strategic tool for business and cultural force. AIGA is a professional association committed to stimulating thinking about design through the exchange of ideas and information, the encouragement of critical analysis and research and the advancement of education and ethical practice."

AIGA serves designers with five critical functions for a profession:

Information
Communication
Inspiration
Validation
Representation

AIGA is authoritative in promoting and communicating standards for ethical conduct and professional expertise and in collecting and analyzing data about the profession. It is stimulating in its provocative programming on critical issues facing design and in celebration of both effective and innovative design, a source of inspiration for many members. And it is open to new ideas, new professional disciplines and the ever-evolving nature of design.

Through the relationships members develop within the community of designers, the information they share and the standards they develop for the profession, AIGA helps the profession to validate its own ethos and role in business and society. AIGA actively communicates the value of design to the business community and the public.