American Society of Architectural Illustrators

Name

American Society of Architectural Illustrators

Legal name

American Society of Architectural Illustrators

Website

https://asai.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Graphic Design Services (54143)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAAAGAA

Visual Arts (Drawing, Painting, Illustration)

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Personal Enrichment & Hobby Learning (Arts, Crafts, Music, Cooking)

SECONDARYEDAGAGAH

Architecture, Construction & Building Codes Reference (Design, BIM, Safety Codes)

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Professional & Technical Reference Publishing

Keywords

• Architectural illustration
• Professional society
• Art competitions
• Membership organization
• Architecture visualization

Headquarters

HQ city

St. George

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: ASAI generates revenue through annual membership dues from professional illustrators, architects, designers, teachers, students, and corporations engaged in architectural illustration.
2. Competition Entry Fees: The annual Architecture in Perspective (AIP) competition likely involves entry fees from members submitting their work for judging and recognition.
3. Conference and Event Revenue: Revenue from the annual conference, with AIP 40 scheduled for Washington D.C. October 7-9, 2026.
4. Publication Sales: Sale of commemorative Architecture in Perspective catalogs and other publications.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ASAI is a nonprofit professional membership organization for architectural illustrators, architects, designers, and students that delivers tiered individual and organizational memberships, a juried annual art competition across 22 categories, the "Architecture in Perspective" catalog of selected works, an annual members-only conference, and a public-facing "Find an Illustrator" directory that connects potential clients with member illustrators worldwide.

Product overview

ASAI operates as a single unified membership organization offering multiple interconnected services. The core offering is the Architecture in Perspective (AIP) Competition combined with an annual Conference. Supporting services include a Members Directory (Find an Illustrator), Award Winner Gallery, and an online Shop for publications and catalogs. The organization provides networking, education, and recognition for architectural illustrators through these integrated programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ASAI Individual Membership Annual membership for individual architectural illustrators, architects, and designers providing professional affiliation, eligibility to enter the juried competition at reduced fees, member gallery listings, access to the annual conference, and inclusion in the Find an Illustrator directory.
• ASAI Student Membership Discounted annual membership for students enrolled in architecture, illustration, or design programs, providing portfolio exposure, competition access, and entry into the professional community.
• ASAI Sustaining/Corporate Membership Annual membership for architecture firms, design studios, and consultancies that wish to support the architectural illustration profession and gain visibility with member illustrators.
• Juried Annual Art Competition An annual juried competition spanning 22 categories for architectural illustrations, with selected works published in the Architecture in Perspective catalog. Open to members and non-members (at different fee levels).
• Architecture in Perspective Catalog Annual printed catalog featuring the selected works from the juried competition, distributed to members and sold publicly as a reference of architectural illustration excellence.
• ASAI Annual Conference

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• 3D AwardsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partnership for cross-promotion of architectural visualization awards and events.
• WorldVizFestminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partnership for world visualization festival promotion and visibility.
• CG ConnectminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partnership through Chaos, connecting ASAI with the CG Connect community for architectural visualization.
• PureblinkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated a Fortnite multiplayer game using ASAI's virtual headquarters as a backdrop, allowing players to explore the Hall of Fame and learn about Hugh Ferriss Memorial Award winners through a trivia game.
• Nikken SekkeicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJapanese architectural firm that hosts ASAI board members for lectures and presentations. Tom Gastel (Past President) works at Nikken Sekkei's Architectural Illustration Studio in Tokyo. Masaaki Yamada serves as ASAI Delegate for Asia based at Nikken Sekkei.
• The Right Angle JournalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecial thanks sponsor; Gordon Grice serves as ASAI Delegate for Canada and is associated with The Right Angle Journal.
• KilographminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDesign and visualization firm; AIP 39 Hugh Ferriss Memorial Prize winner featured on ASAI homepage.
• ArchVisionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor and supporter of the Studio Tim Fu Workshop at the AIP 39 Tokyo Conference.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• National Council of Architectural Registration Boards: A nonprofit organization that supports licensure and credentialing of architects in the US. NCARB is structurally a membership-based nonprofit in the architecture ecosystem but is regulatory in nature rather than creative — relevant context for ASAI's positioning within the broader architecture nonprofit landscape.

Emerging players

• CGSociety: An online community for computer graphics artists, including architectural visualization. CGSociety offers awards (CGTalk), galleries, and forums — a digital-native community that competes for the same illustrators' attention and online presence as ASAI.
• CGarchitect (Chaos): An online community and awards platform for architectural visualization professionals. CGarchitect serves an overlapping audience (architectural illustrators/renderers) with a digital-first, awards-and-content model — a closer content competitor to ASAI's competition than a structural peer.

Broad incumbents

• Architectural Association (AA School): The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London has a globally recognized illustration program and publishes 'AA Files.' While primarily an educational institution rather than a membership society, AA overlaps ASAI in promoting architectural drawing and illustration as a discipline.
• American Institute of Architects: The dominant US professional society for architects with a much larger membership base, broader scope, and significantly greater resources. AIA is the umbrella incumbent of which ASAI is a specialty sub-association; many ASAI members also hold AIA membership.
• Royal Institute of British Architects: The UK's national professional body for architects with a chartered membership model, awards programs, and publications. RIBA is the international structural analog to AIA and the dominant European counterpart to ASAI's specialty membership model.

Direct peers

• Society of Architectural Historians: A similarly structured nonprofit professional membership society focused on a specialized architecture sub-discipline (architectural history). SAH mirrors ASAI's model of small staff, annual conferences, member directory, and awards — making it the closest organizational analog for comparison.
• American Society of Interior Designers: A US-based nonprofit professional society for interior designers with a similar membership organization structure, conferences, awards programs, and directory offerings — directly comparable to ASAI in organizational form even though the design sub-discipline differs.
• Industrial Designers Society of America: A nonprofit professional membership society for industrial designers with comparable annual conferences, awards programs, and member services. IDSA operates the same society-as-curator model that ASAI applies to architectural illustration, providing a useful structural benchmark.

Regional players

• Royal Architectural Institute of Canada: Canada's national professional architectural association, serving the same market as ASAI's Canadian delegate (Gordon Grice). RAIC is a regional incumbent whose membership overlaps ASAI's potential member base in Canada.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AmericanSocietyofArchitecturalIllustrators
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-society-of-architectural-illustrators
• Instagraminstagram.com/asai_hq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about American Society of Architectural Illustrators