Boston’s Best Groups For Digital Professionals

As a Boston-based digital agency, we have access to great conferences, events, and groups that offer opportunities locally for networking and professional development. Our calendar has been full lately with An Event Apart in Boston and the MITX What’s Next Awards where our work with Northeastern University School of Law was a finalist in the education category. With so many resources to chose from for design and development professionals in Boston, we’ve narrowed them to a group that has been particularly helpful to us as we’ve made our way as strategists, designers, developers, and digital marketers.

For Boston Web Designers

AIGA Boston
AIGA’s mission is to advance design as a professional craft, strategic advantage and vital cultural force. They bring together design practitioners, enthusiasts, and patrons while helping “define global standards and ethical practices, guide design education, enhance professional development, and make powerful tools and resources accessible to all.”

IxDA Boston
Boston IxDA gathers a vibrant community of local professionals who design interactive systems, services, and products. They organize workshops for those interested in interaction design and invite both practitioners and knowledge seekers alike.

UXPA Boston
With more than 1,800 members, the Boston Chapter of the User Experience Professionals’ Association joins people with individual and professional interests in usability, user experience design, and related fields. They hold UX events throughout the year, including an annual conference.

For Boston Web Developers

Boston Front End Developers
While there are plenty of groups around for specific languages (PHO, Ruby, Javascript), there’s no group in Boston dedicated to the discussion of experience-based best practices. This meetup group fills the gap for experience front-end developers who want to learn about the technical details and best practices of current and next generation technologies.

Boston Web Design (and Dev)
Don’t let the name fool you – this meetup group offers events not only for web designers, but also for web developers. They’ve been around since 2003 and hold events regularly.

The Boston Drupal Entrepreneurs
This group is new on the Boston scene and is geared toward people interested in learning, teaching, and sharing all things Drupal in a context that strongly fosters innovation and entrepreneurship. They organize social and networking events as well as teaching sessions.

For Boston Digital Professionals

MITX
The Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange is dedicated to creating opportunities for businesses and individuals to connect, grow, and thrive. They provide programming designed to explore leading edge trends, networking opportunities, and professional development. BIMA, the Boston Interactive Marketing Association, is affiliated with MITX and unites those committed to the advancement of digital media in an educational and social setting.

The Ad Club
The Ad Club is a trade organization for the New England marketing & communications industry. Focused on networking, education, professional development, advocacy, and diversity, The Ad Club explores new media and the digital landscape.

AMA Boston
The Boston Chapter of the American Marketing Association is the fourth largest AMA chapter in the country. It connects the local marketing community by offering networking opportunities, engagement with industry experts, and educational programs.