Although Des Moines can be a small city compared to the likes of San Francisco, New York, Minneapolis, or other big cities, Des Moines actually has a lot to offer designers, writers, marketers, and developers.

This isn’t an exhaustive list and I’m sure I’m missing a few, but as far as I’m aware of these are active and wonderful groups to get involved with. If you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments below.

• AIGA Iowa-

  • I’ve been involved with AIGA Iowa ever since college. I think it’s one of my favorite designer’s organizations in town and the committee members do a great job. For the past several years they hosted a wonder Women in Design conference and were even able to get Jessica Walsh to come and speak. One of their most popular and dependable events is the monthly Designer Drink up and the follow up is Detour events.

• Creative Drink Time-

  • This is a non-official club but deserves mention because the host does a great job hosting monthly meet ups for designers in town. It’s another great way to casually meet other creatives without it being overwhelming.

• IGDA Des Moines Chapter-

  • The Game Developer’s chapter always hosts cool and fun activities and workshops. If you have an interest in games, this is a really cool group to join. They also are connected to a couple of game developers in town and they have a Game Jam that gets hosted twice a year.

• Experiencing UX Meetup-

  • If you love UX, don’t be surprised that Des Moines has their own chapter. They host monthly meet ups, are connected to the World IA Day conference, and have a bunch of fun workshops and cool people.

• Art Director's Association of Des Moines- 

  • The Art Director’s Association of Des Moines is another long running group like AIGA Iowa.

• Des Moines Social Media Club- 

  • Des Moines has an active Social Media community with a lot of great events and workshops to attend. They’re great to get involved with if you’re interested with social media professionally or personally.

• AAF of Des Moines-

  • The Des Moines chapter of the American Advertising Federation is active and growing. They too have wonderful workshops and events. They also have a great maintained job board listings if you’re looking for a new position.

• Lady Dev-

  • This club of lady developers is a wonderful way to support the community. They host meetings and other events and are an active voice for lady developers in Des Moines. I’m personally a fan of this group because I think we need more women in tech.

• DevOps Des Moines Meetup-

  • Another Developer’s meet up if you’re looking for something that isn’t particularly focused on women. They have meetings and workshops if lots of attendees.

• Des Moines Web Geeks-

  • Another great digital club belonging to Des Moines. If you’re interested in technology.

• FemCity Des Moines- 

  • If you’re a business woman looking to make connections, FemCity is a great organization to be a part of. They have a lot of great members and events and are really willing to help each other out.

• The Iowa Center for Economic Success (Also the Iowa Women's Business Center)- 

  • This organization is another great resource for business women in Iowa. They’re located in a small area in West Des Moines, but they offer a ton of great resources! Tax assistance, business filing, classes, talks, workshops, etc and even one on one coaching and advice. They’re a great resource for the city.

• Des Moines Art Center- 

  • Honestly, who doesn’t love museums?? They have great artist talks and events to attend as well as some really cool sculptures.

• The Art Beacon-

  • This weekly newsletter is a fantastic resource for any creative in Des Moines. They showcase weekly events and opportunities for artists and creatives in Des Moines. If you’re looking to get into the art and creative side, this is a fantastic place to start looking.

• Iowa Arts Council - 

  • They’re more closely related to government funding projects, but they give a lot of assistance and cool events to the Des Moines community.

• MainFrame Studios-

  • MainFrame Studios is a thing of it’s own. On one hand, they are artists lofts that provide a safe place for artists looking for studios. On the other hand, they offer a lot of events to educate and entertain the public about the arts. You can even walk around and look at some of the studios and support more local artists.

• The Des Moines Writer's Connection-

  • Finally, we have a group for writers. Des Moines seems to have several writers clubs in town and a few of the meet at libraries and cafes. Check out this group to get started.

• Honorable Mentions:

  • Des Moines Science Fiction and Fantasy Society

  • Area 515 Makerspace