Established in 1951 and headquartered in Baden, Switzerland, AGI is widely regarded as the preeminent member-based community of international graphic and communications designers.

"I'm in awe of the impact AGI members have had on the industry, and the world at large. These are individuals I've looked up to for a long time," says Samarskaya. "It's an incredible privilege to be part of this community and I'm looking forward to connecting and working with everyone there."

Believing that graphic design is fundamental to how we communicate, educate and inform, the organisation promotes design in:
  • education
  • publishing, and
  • lectures.

It hosts the annual AGI Congress and AGI Open each year.

According to the association, membership is prestigious and extremely limited, with prospects invited to present work to the annual new member jury on the basis of quality and reputation.

The current list is at 507 members representing 46 countries. Members range from single practitioners to partners in global agencies, with leadership experience in everything from branding to:
  • self-publishing
  • design writing
  • way-finding
  • image-making
  • animation
  • typography, and
  • experience design.

Since its founding, AGI members have included creative visionaries such as:
  • Kiyoshi Awazu
  • Saul Bass
  • Gail Bichler
  • Irma Boom
  • Margaret Calvert
  • Matthew Carter
  • Muriel Cooper
  • Roger Excoffon
  • Jessica Helfand
  • Bruno Munari
  • Paul Rand, and
  • Paula Scher.

According to the brand, Samarskaya is an accomplished brand strategist, designer and type director. She joined TDC, part of The One Club for Creativity, earlier in 2022 in the newly-created role of managing director, the first in the organisation's 76-year history.

She has since worked closely with TDC director Carol Wahler and the organisation's advisory board to reposition and transform the long-running nonprofit to be more diverse, accessible and relevant to today's type community and broader audiences.

Samarskaya has:
  • overseen the relaunch of the Ascenders competition
  • managed the expansion of the TDC69 competition
  • introduced global pricing discounts
  • co-curated Ezhishin, the first-ever conference dedicated to Native North American typography, and
  • doubled the number of dedicated scholarships offered by the organisation.

Before joining TDC, Samarskaya ran her own studio Samarskaya & Partners. She is also an active educator, designing and facilitating courses at leading universities worldwide.

For more information, visit www.oneclub.org. You can also follow The One Club of Creativity on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.