Jury

Debbie Millman, Design Matters Podcast, SVA & Print Magazine, New York, NY

• Debbie Millman, Founder and Host of the Design Matters Podcast
• Co-founder Graduate Program in Branding at SVA
• Editorial and Creative Director of PRINT Magazine

Named “one of the most influential designers working today” by Graphic Design USA, Debbie Millman is also an author, educator, brand strategist and host of the podcast Design Matters. Debbie is President of Design at Sterling Brands, where she has worked with over 200 of the world’s largest brands. As the founder and host of Design Matters, the first and longest running podcast about design, Millman has interviewed more than 250 design luminaries and cultural commentators. In the ten years since its inception, the show has garnered millions of downloads and a Cooper Hewitt National Design Award. Debbie is the author of six books, including two collections of interviews that have extended the ethos and editorial vision of Design Matters to the printed page: How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer and Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits. In 2009 Debbie co-founded with Steven Heller the world’s first graduate program in branding at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Debbie’s written and visual essays have appeared in publications such as The New York Times, New York Magazine, Print Magazine, Design Observer and Fast Company. Debbie is President Emeritus of AIGA, one of five women to hold the position in the organization’s 100-year history. Currently, Debbie is the former Editorial and Creative Director of Print Magazine, the oldest magazine about design in the United States.

Sean Adams, Acting Chair, Graphic Design at ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena CA

Sean Adams is the Executive Director of the Graphic Design Graduate program at Art Center College of Design, currently serves as Interim Chair of the Graphic Design program, founder of Burning Settlers Cabin weblog, on-screen author for lynda.com/Linked In, and a contributor and serves on the editorial board of Design Observer.

He is the only two-term AIGA national president in the organization’s history. Adams has served on the AIGA national board and was also AIGA Los Angeles president. In 2014, Adams was awarded the AIGA Medal, the highest honor in the profession. He is an AIGA Fellow, and Aspen Design Fellow. He has been recognized by every major competition and publication including; Print, Step, Communication Arts, Graphis AIGA, The Type Directors Club, The British Art Director’s Club, and the New York Art Director’s Club. Adams and AdamsMorioka have been exhibited often, including a solo exhibition at The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Adams is an author of multiple magazine columns, and several best-selling books. He has been cited as one of the forty most important people shaping design internationally in the ID40, and one of the top ten influential designers in the United States. Previously, Adams was a founding partner at AdamsMorioka, whose clients included The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Disney, Mohawk Fine Papers, The Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Richard Meier & Partners, Sundance, and the University of Southern California.

Danny D’Arcy, Jones Knowles Ritchie, Los Angeles CA

Daniel D’Arcy Creative Director Jones Knowles Ritchie Daniel is the Creative Director for Jones Knowles Ritchie in Los Angeles. His job, to make it simple. His goal, inspire others. His penchant for ignoring rules liberated his creativity the day he stole his Dad’s camcorder. After years of shooting juvenile remakes of Hollywood blockbusters, fresh inspiration arrived in the form of skate videos. Here his love for music, film, board-sports and brands collided with his innate creative drive. The Northern California native kept it local, attending Sacramento State University earning his BA in Mass Media Communication. He then moved to Los Angeles, pursuing work as a filmmaker and musician. He produced an independent feature. He recorded a couple of demos. He ran out of money. Searching for a way to be creative and make a paycheck, he returned to school, earning his BS in Graphic Design. Now armed with formal training and a ton of ambition, Daniel worked the boutique design studio circuit before getting his shot in the big leagues. In San Francisco, he worked as a designer at renowned agencies Landor and Turner Duckworth, finally working with brands his grandfather had heard of… Coca-Cola, Miller High Life, Sprite, Coors Light, Skyy Vodka, Oreo and many more. When opportunity knocked, Daniel moved to New York City. In 2014, he joined Jones Knowles Ritchie and served as Design Director for the global brand redesigns of Budweiser, Wheaties, Stella Artois and Kashi. His team made headlines with Budweiser’s disruptive and controversial ‘America’ can. Over time, his fresh strategic approach saw the development of New York’s strategy department, where he promoted his philosophy of purity and simplicity to his team and clients. Daniel has since relocated to Los Angeles to build and lead a creative team on the West Coast. From California, he launched the brand film of Blackened American Whiskey in partnership with Metallica. Most recently, he helped announce to the world that Dunkin’ Donuts is now on a first name basis with their customers. “Danny won a Clio!?” Proclaimed his mother in disbelief. Indeed he did. He has also been recognized by other industry leaders including D&AD, ADC, The One Show, New York Festivals, TDC, Graphis, London International Awards, Communication Arts, Print, Fast Company and more. He also finds time to lecture at Sac State and School of Visual Arts.

Pum Lefebure, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Design Army, Washington DC

Pum Lefebure is a co-founder and chief creative officer of Design Army in Washington, DC, where she oversees all creative coming through the agency’s doors. An award-winning creative director and savvy business leader, Pum has dreamed up and developed numerous high-profile campaigns worldwide. The Thailand native brings a global sensibility to American design – a creative point of view that draws from different cultures and resonates with diverse audiences.

Guided by an international eye and entrepreneurial edge, Pum has helped expand the agency’s client base and elevate its reputation as a trend-setter. Pum’s hallmark is a distinctive union of the artistic and the commercial. With a rare balance of creativity and strategic thinking, she has proven that good design is the cornerstone of good business. Her work and words of wisdom have been featured in Huffington Post, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, CMO, and Adweek. Pum regularly judges elite design competitions including Cannes Lions, Clio, D&AD and Spikes Asia. She served as the President of the One Show Design jury, AdFest, and London International Awards. Her work has earned a plethora of awards, including D&AD, One Show, ADC, Red Dot, AIGA, SPD, and TDC. She has has been asked to give design lectures from Copenhagen and Cannes to Monterrey and Beijing. Pum excels at establishing the vision behind high-profile campaigns. Skilled in the creation and implementation of corporate identity, branding, conceptual design, she is known for her distinctive art direction. Her clients include the Academy Awards, Adobe, GE, Disney, Bloomingdale’s, Ritz Carlton, PepsiCo, Washington Ballet, Neenah, Smithsonian and Lucas Film. Pum was named as one of Adweek’s Creative100. Graphic Design USA named her as one of the top 50 People to Watch, and she was awarded by the Washington Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business. Pum currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for The One Club in New York.

Richars Meza, IS Creatives Studio & Latin American Design, Peru

Richars Meza is a Peruvian born Spanish creative director and typographer. He founded IS Creative Studio in Madrid in January 2010, where he conceptualizes products and packagings, ad campaigns and catalogs, logos and brand identities, as well as events and installations. Richars Meza studied graphic design and advertising at Toulouse Lautrec Institute and IPP in Lima. He started his career working for the renown graphic design consultancy Studioa/Interbrand, Axis and the largest advertising agency at that time in Peru, Causa/Leo Burnett. He moved to New York City in 1989 to study interactive design and animation at Pratt Institute where he worked for the interactive agency Oven Digital (where he won a Gold Pencil at One Show Interactive 2000), the corporate design firm Siegel Gale, and the advertising & design agency Blue Dingo. After four years in New York City, he moved to Tokyo to work as an Art Director for the interactive studio Insentiv Media, designing art works for Nikon, Mazda, Mitsubishi Electric, Tosoh, Fuji Xerox and Toyota. In 2003 he relocated to Madrid to co found a design company  to be in charge of the creative direction, working for the Spanish film industry and other cultural institutions. Seven years later in 2010, after winning at the European Design Awards and Premios Laus, he began a new phase establishing his own design firm, IS Creative Studio.

Ken Lo, Founder, BLOW, Hong Kong

Ken founded BLOW in May 2010 with a mission to help brands stand out from the crowd through simple and impactful design, communicating the core message in a direct and highly effective way. With a passion on craftsmanship in graphic design, Ken places great emphasis on the solid craft skill as well as the design concept on every single piece of his work. His latest personal work, More Hugs by Ken Lo, is the embodiment of Ken’s unique view of the world. An earnest reflection of his own personal history and a humble wish to humankind. Born in 1981. Ken graduated from HKU SPACE Community College with Distinction in Higher Diploma in Visual Communication in 2005. He won the Champion of “Design Student of The Year” presented by Hong Kong Designers Association in the same year. Ken kickstarted his design career in 2004 with CoDesign Ltd. He then joined Alan Chan Design Company in 2006 and left in May 2010 to set up his own design studio BLOW. Ken has over 80 international and local awards on his belt including The One Show, Tokyo Type Directors Club (TDC), International Poster Triennale, HKDA Global Design Awards and more. He was also selected by the Time Out Magazine in 2012 as “The Design Hot 25”- the 25 Hong Kong city’s top talents you need to know! He was the winner of Victoria Harbour Icon Design Competition of which is being used on signage to guide locals and tourists alike in the city. He has been invited by the “How Design Live 2015 – The Dieline Conference” & Wallpaper* Thai Edition, Wallpaper*Design Talk in 2017 to share his design experience in Chicago & Bangkok respectively. In this summer, Ken has invited by Graphics Matters to design 40 More Hugs flags exhibiting in Breda, Netherlands.

Jesse Genet, CEO & Co-Founder of Lumi

Jesse Genet is the CEO and co-founder of Lumi, an online tool that makes it easy for ecommerce brands to order great custom packaging. She launched her first product, Inkodye, from her parent’s Michigan basement when she was 15. She met her co-founder Stephan Ango in 2008 ArtCenter’s Industrial Design program. Together, they lived the challenges of custom packaging first hand, and launched Lumi in 2015 as a streamlined solution to a fragmented packaging supply chain. From the Lumi Dashboard, businesses have the capabilities of an extensive factory network at their fingertips. Lumi handles production of any customized packaging on the ideal equipment in the ideal location. It’s a centralized platform for an efficient, sustainable packaging supply chain.

Silas Amos, Strategist designer, Founder, Silas Amos Ltd

Silas Amos thinks in pictures and aims to talk in plain English. Recent clients he has done this for include HP, Sony, Unilever, Nestle and a bunch of fledgling brands you most likely won’t have heard of yet. He was strategic and creative director for Eve Mattress in the year leading up to its IPO. He’s particularly interested and involved in how tech is opening up the creative role and opportunities for brand design, helping brands to use their design better as communication, media, and as a way to win hearts and minds. He’s been running his own outfit since 2015, and before that was London and NYC strategic director for jkr agency, where he was a founder employee in 1990, rising from cabin boy to a position where he found himself talking a lot.

Brandi Parker, Head of Realization at Pearlfisher New York

Brandi has been solving brand challenges and bringing concepts to life using technical realization for over 15 years. With a thorough understanding of printing across a range of print types and presses, and knowledge of a range of materials, substrates and finishes, she advises Pearlfisher’s designers and clients on the way to producible ideas. Brandi’s passion for the design industry extends to nurturing new talent and she’s currently sharing the importance of Realization as an adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. As the Head of Realization at Pearlfisher New York, Brandi offers innovation grounded in practicality. She challenges designers, clients and her students to think about the end game at the start, and encourages partners not to solve problems based on ease, but aesthetic impact. Brandi brings the noise, the charisma and she’s funny as hell.

Armin Vit, Co-Founder of UnderConsideration

Born and raised in Mexico City, Armin Vit is a graphic designer and writer now living in Bloomington, IN. He is co-founder of UnderConsideration, a graphic design firm generating its own projects, initiatives, and content while taking on limited client work. Although he has written for most well-known design publications he is most recognized for his writing on the blogs that make up the UnderConsideration online network—particularly Brand New, the popular blog for opinions on corporate and brand identity work. Along with his wife and partner, Bryony Gomez-Palacio, Armin has co-authored various books for publishers and for UnderConsideration and has organized multiple design events, including the annual Brand New Conference and bi-monthly Austin Initiative for Graphic Awesomeness speaker series. Previously, Armin worked at the New York office of Pentagram and his professional experience stretches back to 1999. Since then he has become a regular speaker and juror in events and competitions around the world. When not working, he is either out for a run or washing the dishes.

Lisa Smith, VP of Brand Design at Chobani

Lisa is an award-winning Creative Director, with over 18 years of experience from small boutiques to larger creative agencies; she’s also worked inside one of the largest museums of art and design in London. Currently she is the VP of Brand Design at Chobani. Building and leading the creative team to reimagine the Chobani brand across all things design and advertising. Prior to Chobani Lisa lead the design team at Wolff Olins New York, focused on creating striking, groundbreaking and commercially successful work that challenged expectations but also had meaningful impact on people. Leading the creative vision for The Met, reinventing identity and user experience for Grubhub and Zocdoc, and disrupting the newspaper industry with the work on USA Today. As well as pushing creativity for many of the New York office’s biggest and boldest clients including Hyatt, Mayo Clinic, Microsoft, Getty Images and Nike Let’s Move Active Schools.

Rachel Doughty, Founder, One Design

Rachel Doughty is the founder and principal of Auckland brand and packaging design agency, One Design, and an experienced industry commentator and judge having adjudicated for both Best and AGDA Awards. She started the business almost 20 years ago, soon after completing a Bachelor of design degree at AUT, and in that time has gained a strong reputation and a raft of industry awards. One Design has forged strong, long-standing relationship with clients of all sizes both local and international, and has helped many local start-ups like 42 Below, Scapegrace, Ecoya, Moa and Crafters Union achieve international success and attention. One Design’s mandate for clients is to build brand equity by designing visual systems which stretch the borders of the visual landscape. The team tackles each creative challenge in a questioning, explorative way, taking a lateral approach to concept development with a high level of craft in the execution.

Christian Eager, Creative Director at Turner Duckworth

Christian spent the first 7 years of his career at Turner Duckworth, working on both branded and own label packaging for global brands. It was this experience that established his love for designing for consumer brands. 

He then went on to co-found Designers Anonymous where he worked with numerous startups, as well as established brands, strengthening their position in the market using strategically creative design. In addition Designers Anonymous also developed a house range of design-lead products from greeting cards to homewares, sold by a variety of retailers including Harrods, Selfridges, The Design Museum and MoMA.

Christian left Designers Anonymous in 2015 to return to Turner Duckworth as a Creative Director.

Christian’s passion for design isn’t confined to office hours, some of these ‘side projects’ have become commercial successes in their own right. He has a range of homeware available in the Tate gallery shop.

Mary Zalla, Global President Consumer Brands & Managing Director, Landor Cincinnati & Chicago

Mary Zalla is global president consumer brands and managing director of the Cincinnati and Chicago offices at Landor. She brings over 20 years of practice and study on creativity, brand strategy, innovation, design, and organizational leadership. Mary has held a number of important positions at Landor including chief executive officer and president of Landor. Throughout her more than 20 years at Landor, Mary has led brand development efforts across virtually every consumer packaged goods category, as well as in pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, travel and leisure, higher education, municipal branding, community activation, and more. Her work has involved the conceptual development of new brands, brand architecture, strategic brand positioning, design and all aspects of visual and verbal brand identity development. Mary’s past and present clients have included Georgia Pacific, Kraft/Heinz, Procter & Gamble, Sara Lee, JBS and S.C. Johnson.

Mary has authored articles on creativity, design and research, and has been quoted in many industry and consumer publications including Adweek and Fast Company. She regularly speaks on these subjects and has presented at the Cannes International Creativity Festival, HOW Design Live, The Hub Brand Experience Symposium, Fast Company’s Innovation Festival and many others. Mary was also the speaker at Northern Kentucky University’s Spring 2013 Commencement. Mary is vice chair on the board of the Cincinnati Museum Center, and also sits on the executive committee. She sits on the NKU Foundation board and is a member of the executive committee, and is a Trustee for Horizon Community Funds. Finally, Mary is a member of the Cincinnati Women’s Executive Forum.

Clark Goolsby, Chief Creative Officer, Chase Design Group

Over the last twenty years Clark has worked with a wide range of brands – from startups to large global corporations. His ability to apply strategic thinking to brand challenges has led to breakthrough creative solutions that have driven measurable results. An insight-driven creative strategist and an innate creative leader, Clark recognizes the value of design, and the lasting cultural and financial impacts it has for products and organizations. Throughout his career Clark has managed diverse teams working across all facets of design. From concept to final execution he has successfully navigated the intricacies of global brand design and rollout, while developing and inspiring creative talent. In 2010, Clark launched Chase Design Group’s New York office. It has thrived under his leadership quickly growing into a successful team working with a variety of national and international clients. Not only has the work done by Clark and his team resonated with consumers, it has also been widely recognized by the design community including: Communication Arts, Print Magazine, GDUSA, The Pentawards, The Telly Awards, The Addy Awards, and many others. Outside of Chase Design Group, Clark has enjoyed a successful career in fine arts. His paintings and sculptures have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. In 2016, his work was short-listed for a permanent installation in New York City. Current and previous clients include: Anheuser-Busch, Animal Planet, CVS Pharmacy, The CW Network, Califia Farms, Cranium, Discovery Channel, Disney, Kind, MTV, Mattel, Mr. Clean, Nestlé, Nickelodeon, Pfizer, P&G, Sam Adams, Solid Gold Pet Foods, Stila Cosmetics, SuperShuttle, Target, and X2 Energy.

Joshua Breidenbach, Creative Director and Co-Founder, Rice Creative

Joshua is creative director, and co-founder of Rice Creative, the Vietnam based brand consultancy. Rice has gained an international reputation through developing effective solutions for South East Asia based brands such as Marou Chocolate, as well as award-winning work for international brands, Coca-cola and UNICEF, and UBER. Rice continues to bring deliver unique work through new businesses, while ensuring established global brands situate in a new market such as Vietnam with relevance. Rice has received accolades from the Dieline, Red Dot, Pentawards, A’Design, Graphis, Type Directors Club, Brand New. Rice has been featured in publications such as Monocle, Wallpaper* UK, BRAIN Japan, IdN, and UC quarterly, the Dieline as well as books from Taschen, Gestalten, Victionary, and Counter-Print.

Marie-Thérèse Cassidy, Executive Creative Director, FutureBrand

MT is the Executive Creative Director of Consumer at FutureBrand. She joined the London team in 2014. Geordie by birth, French by name and Scottish by training, the Glasgow School of Art graduate landed in London over 20 years ago to pursue her passion for building an emotional connection with consumers through exceptional creative thinking and beautiful craft. Today she permeates borders and disciplines throughout the FutureBrand global network collaborating with multiple teams around the world. During her career, MT has established a track record for success and built an impressive design portfolio, working with some of the world’s leading brands for companies including Unilever, Diageo, PepsiCo, P&G, Mondelez, AB InBev & Coca Cola. At FutureBrand she leads many of the firm’s most prestigious projects, recently working on Nepresso, Nestle Skin Health, Godiva, Danone and ABInbev.

Leigh Chandler, Creative Director & Partner, Vault49

Leigh Chandler is an award-winning Creative Director at ideas-led brand design agency Vault49 in New York, an agency of artists, designers, builders, thinkers and makers, where a passion for craft is woven throughout the creative process. She values powerful ideas that are beautifully crafted and believes that successful work needs to balance the project objectives and strategic underpinning with beautiful executions. She has extensive experience mentoring artists, illustrators, typographers and brand designers with a focus on ensuring an emotional engagement, which lies at the heart of what Vault49 is. Not only is Leigh a champion of aspiring talent, but she has helped to hone Vault49’s collaborative way of working across disciplines. Originally from the UK, she is a uniquely multi-disciplined creative director, with a diverse background in retail and branded environments, visual identity, brand worlds, packaging and brand activation, which includes working with her current clients Diageo and Pepsico, among many others.

Isabella Rodrigues, Owner & Creative Director Sweety & Co

Isabela Rodrigues was born in São Lourenço do Sul, in southern Brazil and from an early age immersed in design and its fields. At 15 she studied industrial design and since then has never stopped. After 10 years in digital design, decided to devote her efforts to what she was always passionate, packaging design. Today at 34 years old, owner of the studio Sweety & Co, located in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Isabela dedicates her time and energy doing things that make a more pleasant and colorful world.

Esther Li, Senior Graphic Designer, JKR

Esther Li is a New York-based, Boston bred designer, currently at Jones Knowles Ritchie. Over the past seven years, Esther has been specializing in branding and packaging design at agencies around the city including Collins, Sagmeister & Walsh, and RoAndCo. She has worked with a range of clients such as Target, Chobani, Dunkin’, and most recently led the redesign of Dieline.