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DesignSessions: Notes on Design is written by guest authors, designers and editors from the world of design and new media. Posts focus on the commercial application of graphic and web design but our authors are granted liberal creative license and latitude for the topics they select. Authoring for DesignSessions is by invitation only. New authors are added to our masthead each month. Click on the name of any of the guest authors listed below to view his/her complete bio. |
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Johanna Lenander [ Read all posts by Johanna ] Johanna Lenander is a design writer who lives in Brooklyn, NY. She has contributed to magazines like ID, Surface, New York and T: The New York Times Style Magazine. As a Swedish native she is particularly interested in and influenced by Scandinavian design and in 2006 she co-curated and organized "Happy Campers," a collaborative exhibition with Swedish design groups in conjunction with ICFF. On a completely different note, she is also fascinated by the amazing and outrageous creations that are known as Fantasy Hair in the African American hair industry, which are the subject of the book Hair Wars, published by powerHouse books, that she co-authored with her husband, photographer David Yellen. |
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Ken Hanson Ken Hanson is the founder, executive creative director and brand strategist for Hanson Dodge Creative, America’s leading active lifestyle agency. Founded in 1980, Hanson Dodge Creative has 60 employees with an emphasis on Brand Strategy, Design, Marketing and Enterprise Technology. Clients include many of the world’s leading active-lifestyle brands: Trek Bicycle, Burton, Old Town Canoes, Thule, Horizon Fitness, Wolverine, Eureka! Tents, Ocean Kayak, and Necky Kayaks. A self-taught designer, who studied art and economics in college, Ken is the founding director of AIGA Wisconsin, the first organization in Wisconsin to represent Wisconsin designers nationally. In 2001, he was chosen by Graphic Design Magazine as one of the 50 most influential designers in America. When not designing, Ken devotes himself to his other passions: music and photography. In 2002, he showed the critically acclaimed photography exhibit "Graceville" at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. He took up the bass guitar in 2004 and currently plays in two bands, one of which ˆ Longacre ˆ released their debut CD in 2007. |
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Dave Holston [ Read all posts by Dave ] Director of Design The University of Texas at Austin With over 20 years experience in design management, Dave Holston has worked in a variety of organizations including higher education, Fortune 500 companies and small start-ups. Currently, he is the Director of Design at the nation’s second largest university, The University of Texas at Austin, where he is responsible for the development and management of the university‚s brand positioning, brand identity and marketing communications. Over the course of his career he has worked in the areas of public affairs, marketing, advertising, communication planning and design management. His general interests include brand development, strategy formulation, team management and project management. His primary area of interest is in design process, including phases of design research, ideation, concept development, design development and calculating design ROI. Over the last two years he has done extensive research on this topic for an upcoming book that he is working on with a publisher. As a public speaker, he has been a guest lecturer at The University of Texas at Austin, at the 2006 CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Design Institute conference and the 2007 UCDA Design Conference. He recently gave a presentation titled "Design process: a strategic approach" at 2008 HOW Design Conference. This session provided an overview of the design process and its role as a tool for managing the increasing complexity of design. |
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Abigail Smith [ Read all posts by Abigail ] Abigail Smith is an award-winning graphic designer who specializes in web applications and digital environments. Since 2002, she has worked with a host of arts and non-profit organizations from her home base in Brooklyn, NY. In addition to maintaining an international roster of clients, she is currently on contract with the United Nations to develop websites and manage web-related outreach activities. Alongside her professional work, Abigail blogs, photographs, and regularly exhibits her art works in New York area galleries and shows. Past clients and partnerships include: Sharp Solar, Magnum Photos, PBS, UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, US Environmental Protection Agency, Queens Museum of Art, The Green Party. View recent work at: http://www.abigailsmith.net |
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Scott Belsky [ Read all posts by Scott ] Scott Belsky believes that the greatest breakthroughs across all industries are a result of creative people and teams that are especially productive. As such, Scott has committed his professional life to help organize creative individuals, teams, and networks. Scott is the founder of Behance, a company that develops products and services that boost productivity in the Creative Professional Community. |
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Wayne Geyer [ Read all posts by Wayne ] Wayne Geyer is a creative director and copywriter. His work includes brand development, conceptual thinking and copywriting for advertising and marketing communications. Wayne views his job as that of a “commercial translator.” His tasks are to interpret his clients’ messages, and to make sure the audience understands and responds. Since 1993, Wayne has produced award-winning work for clients in every conceivable industry, including Dr Pepper, American Airlines, Domtar, Motorola, the American Heart Association and the Dallas Cowboys. His work has been recognized by Communication Arts, HOW Magazine, Print, the ADDYs and the Dallas Society of Visual Communications. Wayne is also a part-time advertising instructor, and has appeared as a guest speaker for colleges, professional groups and the 2008 HOW Design Conference. |
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Rick Bennett [ Read all posts by Rick ] Rick Bennett is a senior lecturer at the School of Design Studies at the College of Fine Arts (COFA) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia, where he has worked since migrating from the UK in 1993. His current academic responsibilities include directing research into the Internet and the possibilities it holds for collaboration across distance for [art and design] education and professional practice. In 1998, Rick founded The Omnium Project: [http://omnium.net.au/] an ongoing research initiative investigating online creative collaboration (OCC) and as a result In 2003, was also appointed head of COFA Online: a newly formed academic unit established to design, produce and facilitate a suite of online courses across a range of art and design disciplines. Throughout the last few years, Rick’s work has involved directing numerous global online creative projects including some in collaboration with ICOGRADA (International Council of Graphic Design Associations). He is also currently undertaking his PhD at the University of Sydney, titled ŒDrawing on The Virtual Collective‚: Formalising a Framework for Online Collaborative Creativity (OCC) in the Visual Arts; and a Visiting Design Professor at the DLS-CSB School of Design and Arts in Manila, Philippines. |
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Andy Polaine [ Read all posts by Andy ] In 1995, Andy Polaine co-founded the award-winning new-media collective Antirom in London and worked with clients such as the BBC, Levis Strauss and Co. and The Science Museum as well exhibiting several interactive installations and performances around the world. Andy was also a producer at dotcom giant, Razorfish, in the UK before moving to Australia where he started the interactive department of visual effects company, Animal Logic. He was a Senior Lecturer in Interactive Media at the College of Fine Arts, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, and formerly the Head of the School of Media Arts. His doctoral research examines the underlying language of interactivity through play theory. Now living in Germany, Andy has been a Guest Professor at the Bauhaus University and continues to work as a lecturer (both online and face-to-face), interaction designer and writer. As part of his work with the Omnium Project at UNSW (www.omnium.net.au), he co-convened an online community called The Omnium Creative Network (now ‘Omnium Outreach Projects’) that focuses on social awareness and ethics in creative industries. He has published over 150 articles and papers and regularly speaks at a range of conferences and institutions. As well as this, Andy also finds the time to regularly podcast on the design blog Core77. His blog can be found at: www.polaine.com/playpen |
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Von Glitschka [ Read all posts by Von ] Salem, OR Principal & Illustrative Designer of Glitschka Studios www.glitschka.com Founder of IllustrationClass.com Von has worked in the communication arts industry for over 20 years. He now refers to himself as an “Illustrative Designer.” In 2002, he started Glitschka Studios, a multi-disciplinary creative firm. His work reflects the symbiotic relationship between design and illustration, thus his modus operandi is that of a hired gun for both in-house art departments and medium to large creative agencies working on projects for such clients as Microsoft, Adobe, Pepsi, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Major League Baseball, Hasbro, Bandai Toys, John Wayne Foundation, Allstate Insurance, Disney, Pampers, Kleenex, Lifetime Television and HGTV. His exuberant graphics have garnered numerous design and illustration awards and have appeared in such publications as Communication Arts, Society of Illustrators, Graphis, American Illustration, HOW, and Logo Lounge II, III, and IV. Von is active within the design and illustration communities speaking at various events such as HOW Design Conference, The Illustration Conference, AIGA Events and Adobe MAX. He’s authored “Crumble.Crackle.Burn” a book on textures and “Drip.Dot.Swirl” a book on illustrative patterns. Von also teaches advanced digital illustration at Chemeketa College and operates the web site IllustrationClass.com where visitors can download free tutorials documenting his illustrative design creative process on a variety of diverse project types. Von lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife Rebecca and two up-and-coming artist daughters. |
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Mike Weikert [ Read all posts by Mike ] Mike runs Weikert Design, a small design studio in Baltimore, and Small Roar, a line of graphic baby shirts, with his wife Stephannie. He is also a partner of Piece Studio, a socially focused design initiative, with Bernard Canniffe and Oliver Munday. Previously, he was co-chair of the graphic design department at MICA, creative director at Atlanta-based Iconologic and served as a design consultant to the International Olympic Committee. Mike’s work has been recognized in several design publications including; Communication Arts, Graphis, How, Identity, Print, STEP and Type Director’s Club and design books including; Design Alliance, D.I.Y. Design It Yourself, Print’s Best Invitation Design, Print’s Best Logos & Symbols, The Nature of Design, The Olympic Image and White Graphics. |
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Mark Wieczorek [ Read all posts by Mark ] When he’s not busy saving the world, he enjoys playing guitar, reading & writing on a wide variety of topics, and watching TV shows and movies from around the world. DESIGN 21: Social Design Network mission it is to better the world through design. |
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Brockett Horne [ Read all posts by Brockett ] Brockett Horne is a graphic designer who first learned of typography when examining billboards from the backseat of her parents station wagon along I-95 outside of her hometown. As a professor at MICA in Baltimore, she works with fierce sophomores and amazing seniors. Her creative work is inspired by a desire to encourage the spectator to look intensely. She holds a B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University, an M.F.A. from Rhode Island School of Design (with double thesae in art history and graphic design), and is an active member of the AIGA. She holds pride in her extraordinary stamina for visiting museums. |
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Kate Andrews [ Read all posts by Kate ] Kate Andrews is a designer, writer and researcher based just north of London. Educated at The Arts Institute at Bournemouth, she holds a First Class Honours in Graphic Design and a Merit Award from The International Society of Typographic Designers. Since graduating, Kate has worked for The Sunday Times Magazine, Synectics Innovation Consultancy and has exhibited at Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida. Kate continues to write for Inhabitat.com, Design21, Design:Related, Osocio.org, Roger-Live and more recently for London design studio, ThinkPublic and the SocialDesignSite. As a designer, Kate is passionate for the power that Visual Communication has to impact social change and in October 2008 starts her MA in Design Writing Criticism at London College of Communication. |
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David C. Baker [ Read all posts by David ] David C. Baker, author of the forthcoming RockBench Press title “Managing (Right) for the First Time,” is the leading management consultant for the creative services field (advertising, design, public relations, and interactive). Through ReCourses, Inc., he has guided hundreds of firms through management issues, difficult transitions, and growth. He has written for nearly every publication and spoken for nearly every conference in the industry, and conducts a dozen yearly seminars on specific management topics. David’s work on management topics is unusual, thoughtful, and frequently contrarian, but it stems from working in the trenches and looking at what really works. He provides objective, expert advice on best practices, either for existing problems or to plan against future ones. You may already know what he points out, but he will put the pieces into context, save you from experimenting, and bring solutions that may not have occurred to you yet. David will gently pull you out of the marinade of indecision and warm up the grill. |
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Eric Benson [ Read all posts by Eric ] His work/research has appeared in HOW Magazine, Creative Review, Communication Arts and will be featured in Blogs: Mad About Design (Maomao Publications), SustainAble: A Handbook of Materials and Applications for Graphic Designers and Their Clients (Rockport Publishing) and Reproduce and Revolt (Soft Skull Press). He has lectured internationally on the topic of sustainable design and his work has appeared in various galleries from Portland, OR to Beirut, Lebanon. Benson received his BFA in graphic and industrial design from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1998. His work professionally has been focused on creating enriching digital experiences on the web and environmentally friendly print and packaging material. In 2006 Benson received his MFA from the University of Texas at Austin with a concentration in design and social responsibility. His research is available at www.re-nourish.com, which provides a depository for practical information about sustainable materials and design theory. |
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Chuck Green [ Read all posts by Chuck ] Glen Allen, Virginia Web: www.ideabook.com Chuck Green is the principal of Logic Arts–a design and marketing firm–and the host of ideabook.com–a popular center for the exchange of print and online communication ideas. He is a contributor, past and present, to publications such as Before & After, Dynamic Graphics, Layers, and Home Office Computing–and has authored books for Random House, Peachpit, Rockport, and Logic Arts including Design-It-Yourself: GRAPHIC WORKSHOP (ISBN 1592533485), The InDesign Ideabook (ISBN 0966958756), The QuarkXPress Ideabook (ISBN 0966958764), and others. |
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Sandra Niehaus [ Read all posts by Sandra ] VP, User Experience and Creative Director, Closed Loop Marketing As VP User Experience and Creative Director of Closed Loop Marketing, Sandra heads up the company’s usability and conversion optimization projects. She is co-author of the book "Web Design for ROI" from New Riders Press, and regularly speaks on the topics of usability, design, and conversion at industry and business conferences. Sandra has contributed her expertise to projects for a wide range of companies, including Hewlett-Packard, WebEx, Salesforce.com, and Verisign. Sandra’s creative and scientifically-inclined family fostered her early fascination with technology and the arts. After discovering computer programming in high school, she balanced college courses in computer science and electronics with orchestra, music theory, and composition. Sandra’s music studies took her to France, Hungary, and the prestigious San Francisco Conservatory of Music, resulting in a Master’s degree in music composition. She complemented these studies with graduate courses in business law, IT management, and, as the Internet emerged into public awareness, multiple web development languages. She joined Closed Loop Marketing in 2004 after nearly a decade as an independent web consultant. She resides in Northern California, where she surfs, writes, practices mixed martial arts, and thinks about stuff |
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Nathan Shedroff [ Read all posts by Nathan ] Nathan Shedroff is the chair of the ground-breaking MBA in Design Strategy program at the California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco, CA. The program combines the unique principles that design offers business strategy with a vision of the future of business as sustainable, meaningful, and truly innovative—as well as profitable. Nathan is also one of the pioneers in Experience Design, a methodology that seeks to satisfy multiple senses and requirements, and which explores the common characteristics in all media that make experiences successful. Nathan speaks and teaches internationally, has written extensively on design and business issues and maintains a website, www.nathan.com, with information about Experience Design. He’s a serial entrepreneur, works in several media, and consults strategically for companies who wish to build better, more meaningful experiences for their customers. He lives in San Francisco where the climate, culture, and industry make it easy to have an esoteric and amorphous title like Experience Strategist and still actually make a living. His latest book, Making Meaning, co-authored by two members of Cheskin, a Silicon Valley-based strategy consultancy, explores how companies can create products and services that mean something to their audience and customers. Nathan was nominated for a Chrysler Innovation in Design Award in 1994 and 1999 and a National Design Award in 2001. |
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Justin Ahrens [ Read all posts by Justin ] In his 10+ years of producing award-winning and strategically motivated work, Justin has developed a passion for "making creative matter". Rule29 clients, ranging from non-profit organizations to Fortune 500 corporations, can expect Justin’s and the rest of R29’s enthusiasm to be infused into each project. His work has been recognized by many leading industry publications including Communication Arts, HOW, PRINT, Graphis, Create, Rockport Publishers and STEP, and Graphic Design USA chose him as one of the top designers to watch in 2004. Justin is frequently spreading his "making creative matter" mantra while speaking at various events and has served on the AIGA, HOW and now Create Advisory board. But for all his accomplishments, Justin’s greatest passion is being home with his wife, Sarah, and their four amazing kids who think Dad’s job is listening to music, drawing pictures, and playing on the computer. |
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Nelly Yusupova [ Read all posts by Nelly ] Nelly Yusupova is the CTO of Webgrrls International, the Founder of DigitalWoman.com and the Chapter Leader of New York City Webgrrls. The Webgrrls International and Cybergrrl mission is: To empower women through promoting the use of technology in both their personal and professional lives. She is an Internet expert and strategist and is a Wall Street Journal "Woman on the IT fast track". She has been featured as a tech expert on NBC’s Today Show, in INC Magazine, in Newsday and is an Industry speaker about careers in technology, building community and the power of networking. She earned her BS in computer science and is fluent in PHP, MySQL, Java, ASP, JSP, Oracle, Perl/CGI, HTML, JavaScript, Unix scripting, Telnet, FTP, UNIX. She is currently working towards a master’s degree in management |
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Karen Morrill-McClure [ Read all posts by Karen ] Karen Morrill-McClure is a web designer based in Southern California. She runs her own web design company called Cornerstone Coding, specializing in creating web sites for small businesses and non-profits. She has a degree in Engineering, worked on the space shuttle in aerospace, and comes to web design from the coding side. She has taught web design in a classroom and algebra online and works to translate geek-speak into normal English. Her blog discusses the internet and web design for a general audience from the point of view of someone whos been making websites full time since 1994. |
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Mike Madaio [ Read all posts by Mike ] Mike has been creating online user interfaces for more than 10 years. He currently serves as Chief Internet Architect at QVC, overseeing the online customer experience team, including user interface design, site navigation, information architecture, usability testing and integration of new technologies. In 2006, Mike served as an officer of PhillyCHI, the Philadelphia region’s chapter of the Association of Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction. In his private life, Mike claims to publish witty musings on user experience, usability and emerging technologies at his blog, Mike Madaio: User Experience. During the few waking hours he spends away from an Internet connection, he enjoys eating sandwiches and spending time at the local curling club. Mike is currently working towards his Master’s Degree in HCI from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and has a BA in Leadership Studies from the University of Richmond. |
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Curt Cloninger [ Read all posts by Curt ] Curt Cloninger is an artist, writer, teacher, and designer. He is the author of Hot-Wiring Your Creative Process (2006) and Fresh Styles for Web Designers (2001). His work has been featured in The New York Times and I.D. Magazine, on ABC World News, and at art exhibitions from Korea to Brazil. Curt frequently speaks at international art and design conferences, and teaches Multimedia Arts & Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. |
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Tommy Olsson [ Read all posts by Tommy ] Tommy Olsson is an advocate for web standards and accessibility, living in the outback of central Sweden. Coming from a background as a software developer, he is now the technical webmaster for a small government agency with an award-winning web site. He is an Advisor at SitePoint Forums and he’s also a member of the team behind Accessites.org. His hobbies range from reading good books, preferably accompanied by a smoky single malt whisky, to off-road driving (without the whisky). Time permitting, we writes about Life, Jeeps and Web Standards at his recently semi-resuscitated blog, The Autistic Cuckoo. Some of his articles have been translated into several languages and some are on the required reading list for certain courses at U.S. universities. He occasionally lectures about web accessibility at the Mid-Sweden University. |
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David Stiller [ Read all posts by David ] David Stiller is an independent contractor whose portfolio includes multimedia programming and design for NASA, DOT, Adobe, major US automotive and boat manufacturers, and dozens of clients across the US and Canada. David gets a kick out of sharing "aha!" moments with others through consultation, mentoring, and regular contributions to the Adobe Flash and ActionScript forums, his blog (quip.net/blog/), and articles for Community MX and the Adobe Developer Center. He is co-author of Foundation Flash CS3 for Designers and contributor to How to Cheat in Adobe Flash CS3. David lives in Virginia with his amazing wife, Dawn, and his beguiling daughter, Meridian. |
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Rob Wallace [ Read all posts by Rob ] Brand identity is not just Rob’s job; it’s his passion. Often referred to as "the thought-leader on design’s return on investment", Rob sees his primary goal as proving that brand identity/package design is a marketer’s single most effective tool. As Managing Partner of Wallace Church Inc., a Manhattan-based brand identity strategy and package design consultancy, Rob works with some of the world’s smartest and most successful consumer brand marketers. Rob is also on the Board of Advisors of the Design Management Institute, the leading global design strategy consortium. He is among ten members of the Distinguished Faculty of the In-Store Marketing Institute, and a speaker at more than two dozen Institute of International Research events. He lectures at Columbia Business School, Georgetown University, Seton Hall, UNT and other undergraduate and post graduate programs. |
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Scott Gledhill [ Read all posts by Scott ] Scott’s current role is Web Technology Strategist at News Digital Media in Sydney, Australia. Scott also finds time to moonlight as co-founder for Molt:n Digital, a Sydney based web consultancy specializing in standards-based design and development. In his spare time Scott blogs about search engine optimization, accessibility and all things web standards on his blog, Standardzilla. |
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Robert Hardgrave [ Read all posts by Robert ] Robert Hardgrave has inhabited the city of Seattle, WA for the past 15 years. He adores coffee, delicious breakfasts, and listening to metal. A self-developed artist, Robert creates work both highly intricate and abundant with personal symbols. Inspired by experiences from disease and recovery, his paintings and drawings reflect ideas of reincarnation and the richness of life beyond death. Robert has had the opportunity to display his graphic style on the surface of snowboards, t-shirts, CD packaging and the occasional mural, including Redbull and the city of Burien, WA. He is represented by BLK/MRKT Gallery in Los Angeles, CA, with an upcoming solo show December 2007. |
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Chris Costello [ Read all posts by Chris ] Chris is a regional creative director for one of the nations leading real estate companies. He manages a staff of designers and is responsible for corporate publication design, web design and maintaining brand integrity. His work is featured in Graphic Design USA Magazine’s 2005, 2006 and 2007 American InHouse Design Awards issues. As a freelance artist, he creates hand-rendered illustrations, maps, and custom lettering for clients including Simon & Schuster, Random House, IBM, Encyclopedia Britannica and Scholastic Press. He has designed several original fonts, including the notorious “Papyrus”, and his work is featured in Leslie Cabarga’s “The Logo, Font and Lettering Bible” by HOW Design Books. He also keeps busy with CD packaging and website design. Chris earned a Bachelors Degree in Graphic Design and Visual Communication from Northeastern University in Boston. He is also an accomplished bass player, a Black Belt in Tae-Kwon Do, a devoted husband and a father of two beautiful daughters. |
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Jean S. Perwin [ Read all posts by Jean ] Ms. Perwin is a Miami-based lawyer specializing in Intellectual Property Law, Entertainment and General Corporate Law for a wide range of clients, including graphic design firms, advertising agencies, visual artists and photographers. Her firm handles copyright and trademark registration, copyright, trademark and patent licensing, entertainment, computer, internet and general business contracts, partnerships, and corporate matters. She is co-author of The Artist’s Friendly Legal Guide, a columnist for HOW magazine, and has a forthcoming featured industry interview on the Notes on Design blog. |
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Sheri L Koetting [ Read all posts by Sheri ] Sheri is the Creative Director and Co-Principal of MSLK, a graphic design firm based in Queens, NY. Drawing on a background in fashion as well as graphic design, Sheri often incorporates unique materials and unexpected finishes into her projects. Her solutions for clients such as The Wall Street Journal, Redken 5th Avenue, Maybelline, Wigwam Mills, United Media, and Tumi luggage gracefully solve the defined problem without appearing to be ‘designed’, as she effortlessly creates order where none previously existed. Prior to founding MSLK, Sheri, worked at some of New York’s most prestigious design firms including Pentagram, Two Twelve Associates, Gensler, and TODA (The Office of Design and Architecture). Her work has been published in the New York Times, Elle, Real Simple, W Magazine, and Vogue. Sheri has also been honored with awards from the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers, Visual Merchandising and Store Display, and the US Congress. Sheri was recently featured in Graphic Design: USA’s 2006 "People to Watch" issue, and was nominated for the Cooper-Hewitt’s 2006 and 2007 National design Award. Sheri has been an AIGA member since 1997, and sits on the Steering Committee of Spark NYC. |
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Tammy Lenski, Ed.D. [ Read all posts by Tammy ] Dr. Tammy Lenski is an expert at helping people talk out their differences and build stronger work and business relationships in the process. A dialogue jump-starter, Tammy has helped individuals, work teams and entire organizations make their peace with conflict for almost two decades. Known for approaching sticky situations with an educator’s heart, a professional mediator’s skill and a creative’s instinct, she taps her background as an organizational leader, college professor, executive coach and mediator to serve clients who don’t just want to settle conflict but use it to transform their organization or themselves. Tammy writes about jump-starting genuine dialogue at Lenski.com. |
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Sherri D. Paxton [ Read all posts by Sherri ] Sherri D. Paxton is the founder of Screaming Daisies, a design agency in Victorville, CA that was recently chosen as a Preferred Supplier by Press-A-Print International. Sherri began her career as an ad designer at a newspaper, eventually moving into the production department where she began learning about prepress and production. She eventually settled in Southern California, where she has worked for marketing companies, advertising agencies, on her own as an Independent Contractor, in a few corporate positions—including Senior Graphic Designer, Marketing Coordinator and Print Production Manager—and finally starting her own agency, Screaming Daisies. She’s very proud to have her packaging designs in retail stores such as Wal-mart, Circuit City, and Big Five Sporting Goods. |
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Colleen Wainwright [ Read all posts by Colleen ] Colleen Wainwright is a designer-writer-performer who started calling herself "the communicatrix" when she hit three hyphens. In addition to her work designing websites, identity and other marketing materials for entrepreneurs, she writes about acting for Casting Networks, marketing for The Marketing Mix blog, and anything she damn well pleases for her own blog. She has an age-appropriately long and checkered past you can read about here and a cool newsletter you can sign up for here, if you’re into that sort of thing. An avid speaker and control freak, Colleen recently took on the role of Chief Nerd in her local Toastmasters club. Wish her luck… |
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Kim Coles [ Read all posts by Kim ] Indianapolis, IN Interactive Art Director/Illustrator www.imwithsully.com/blog Kim is an award-winning designer and illustrator with more than 15 years of advertising and marketing experience. She attended the Savannah College of Art & Design on a full scholarship and has honed her skills working on both the client and agency sides. She is currently an interactive art director for a strategic marketing firm, full-service advertising agency, and web development firm. Since graduating from SCAD in 1990 with a B.F.A. in Graphic Design, her time has been divided between graphic design, interactive design, and illustration work. Areas of specialization have included advertising, graphic design, multimedia design, corporate marketing, animation, and web. Kim updates her personal portfolio and blog Sully’s Design Studio regularly with highlights from her personal and professional work in illustration, painting, advertising, design, branding, interactive, custom jewelry, and childrens furniture. |
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Tara MacKay [ Read all posts by Tara ] Tara is a design educator, author and web entrepreneur. Her professional web design career includes owning and operating Plain Mabel, an e-commerce site showcasing independent artists, site design for the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and technical editing for titles including Graphic Design Portfolio-Builder (Peachpit Press). She is Director of Education at Sessions Schools of Art and Design. Tara enjoys music, travel, and math (yes, really), and is not afraid to admit that she is a New Jersey native. |
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Jonathan Nicol [ Read all posts by Jonathan ] Jonathan Nicol is a web and graphic designer based in Melbourne, Australia. He runs a boutique design firm called F6 Design, and his work has been featured in publications including Indie Fonts 2, Rethink Redesign Reconstruct, and the 2007 Almanac of Asia-Pacific Design. When he’s not building websites Jonathan keeps busy creating band t-shirts and magazine illustrations. Jonathan maintains a blog called Pixel Acres where he shares his "adventures in web and graphic design". |
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Élena Nazzaro [ Read all posts by Elena ] Élena Nazzaro is an award winning illustrator and watercolorist. Her work has been featured in Artist’s Sketchbook, Be Real magazine, and Kiwi magazine, as well as various trade publications and short story collections. She is illustrating a series of piano books with her husband Paul. Her website, www.frenchtoastgirl.com was a finalist in the 2007 Bloggies for Best-Designed Weblog and was recently named Blogger.com’s 1000th "Blog of Note." By day, Élena is the art director at Publishing Resources Inc. To date, she’s designed everything from web pages to software interfaces to shirts to magazine covers. Her favorite project at PRI is being the lead designer at Muttscomics.com. Élena lives in Westfield, NJ, where she is a member of her local Art Association. |
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Jolene Spry [ Read all posts by Jolene ] Jolene Spry is also a freelance writer for a number of top media outlets covering the video game and tech industries, including a weekly segment on Playboy Radio on Sirius and continues to speak at video game, entertainment and convergence-related events. She is the public relations chair for Women in Games International and serves on several other video game and entertainment advisory boards and committees. Throughout her career, Spry has managed several companies and developed corporate strategies and high profile public relations and marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 corporations including Starbucks, McDonald’s, Diageo-Guinness USA, Starwood, Ritz-Carlton and Microsoft. Her event planning experience includes an international animation festival, as well as national and regional on-premise promotions. She began her career in advertising and has created numerous multi-channel broadcast, interactive and print campaigns. |
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Jay Nelson [ Read all posts by Jay ] Jay Nelson is the editor and publisher of Design Tools Monthly, the executive summary of graphic design news. Earlier in his career, he managed a printing company and a prepress service bureau. He contributes regularly to industry magazines and speaks at conferences. Jay is also the author and presenter of the brief training video that Quark includes in the box with QuarkXPress 7, as well as "QuarkXPress 7: New Features", a self-paced online training video and CD from Lynda.com. Jay is speaking on the question of upgrading to QuarkXPress 7 or switching to InDesign at two upcoming conferences: CRE8, May 9-10 in Orlando and the HOW Design Conference, June 10-13 in Atlanta. |
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Ulla Kjarval [ Read all posts by Ulla ] Since moving to New York City Ulla has been working as an artist representative. It was recently, along with her sister Melkorka, that they created Sheep Dog Print and Design, LLC. They have started a blog to chronicle the ups and downs of starting a design business in NYC. Growing up on a farm just out side of New York City, Ulla has been inspired by both urban and rural communities. It is with Sheep Dog Print and Design that she hopes to promote small businesses with stylish, current and affordable services. Ulla holds a BA in History and Political Science from the University at Albany. |
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Melkorka Kjarval [ Read all posts by Melkorka ] Melkorka was born in Reykjavik, Iceland, but grew up on a farm with her four sisters in the NY countryside. In 2004 she graduated with a BS in Architecture, and has since completed a certificate in World Wide Web Design from the New School University. She currently lives with her dogs, cat and two of her sisters in NYC. Melkorka has been working in the arts for the last three years, while occasionally doing freelance design work for friends and family. In January 2007, she and her sister Ulla decided to start a blog recording and inspiring their progress as they started their own print and design company. |
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Jacqueline McCarthy [ Read all posts by Jacqueline ] Seattle, WA Principal www.vivitiv.com www.gag.org Jacqueline is the principal of Vivitiv, an issue-oriented design firm that focuses on housing, education, the environment and the arts. With over 25 years experience in design, advertising and marketing, she has found the perfect fit in operating and designing in her own successful firm. Her award-winning work has appeared in Print Magazine, American Corporate Identity, Logo Lounge, Cool Cards, and Letterhead and Logo Design, among others. Jacqueline is also on the Executive Committee of the Graphic Artists Guild, a national union of illustrators, designers, web creators, production artists, surface designers and other creatives who pursue common goals, share their experience and raise industry standards. As the Education Chair of the committee, she encourages students and educators to use the Guild as their ultimate resource for copyright information, contracts, industry pricing and trade practices. |
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Bryan Kelly [ Read all posts by Bryan ] Rockford, IL Business Manager www.erbanink.com www.prairiemod.com Bryan Kelly is a former Sessions.edu student who co-founded erban ink, a boutique design studio based in Chicago. Fueled by a passion for design, architecture and blogging, he helped establish a collective of 20/30-something designers and entrepreneurs known as The PrairieMod Squad. The squad’s mission is to provide an online forum highlighting designs, products, places, people and ideas that promote a principle-based modern lifestyle. You can check out the PrairieMod blog at http://www.prairiemod.com. |
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Matthew T. Grant, PhD [ Read all posts by Matthew ] Matthew T. Grant, PhD, works for Aquent, a Boston-based talent agency for Marketing and Creative Professionals with offices all over the world. Starting out as a temp when Aquent was called MacTemps he eventually became the head of internal training and company spokesperson. Matt’s official title is Minister of Enlightenment in which role he manages a variety of external and internal communications initiatives including writing Aquent’s Talent Blog. He has spoken internationally on a variety of topics ranging from the economics of freelancing to figuring out whether your website is a cathedral or a fork. |
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Ilise Benun [ Read all posts by Ilise ] Ilise Benun is a national speaker and the author of several books including, “Stop Pushing Me Around: A Workplace Guide for the Timid, Shy and Less Assertive” (Career Press, 2006), "Public Relations for Dummies (2nd Edition)" (Wiley, 2006), “The Art of Self Promotion” (2007),“Self Promotion Online” and “Designing Websites:// for Every Audience.” (HOW Design Books). She is the founder of Marketing Mentor, a one-on-one coaching program through with she works closely with designers and other creatives to teach them how to promote their businesses. She has been featured in national newspapers and magazines such as The New York Times, Toronto Globe and Mail, Inc. Magazine, Essence, Working Woman and many more. More info here: www.marketing-mentor.com or sign up for her free email newsletter, Quick Tips from Marketing Mentor, here: www.marketing-mentortips.com. |
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Cyan Ta’eed [ Read all posts by Cyan ] Named after one of the four quintessential colors of the print medium, Cyan was always going to have a life in visual communication. After studying graphic design and working under some of the best in the industry, Cyan went on to not only art direct but manage her own web and graphic design agency, Good Creative She co-founded FlashDen.net in 2006, and is now turning her hand at running freelancing resource FreelanceSwitch.com. |
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Collis Ta’eed [ Read all posts by Collis ] In a bizarre twist, a university education in mathematics, encryption and all things hard to understand led Collis Ta’eed to become first a designer and later an art director in Sydney’s fast paced design scene. After spending considerable time worrying that his PC-loving ways and web design background made him a second class design citizen, Collis eventually found the confidence to make his mark and opened a design agency with his partner - the aptly named Cyan. For nearly three years the agency - named Good Creative - was a conduit for the pair to push their ideas on ethics and value-based business practices to the world. Since then Collis has launched the successful stock Flash site FlashDen.net, writes a web and entrepreneurship blog NorthxEast.com and is busy brewing many more projects. Contact him on collis@thegoodness.com.au to discuss life, the inherent fluffiness of clouds and the possible ways to get by without any sleep at all. |
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Todd Macadangdang [ Read all posts by Todd ] Todd is the Director of Illustratorworld.com, the largest online community for vector artists. Todd has over fifteen years experience as a graphic designer and illustrator for both print and the web. Four of those years were spent on the Adobe Illustrator development team at Adobe Systems in San Jose, California. Past clients include Disney Online, Nickelodeon, National Geographic, Paramount Publishing/Viacom and Adobe Systems. In the last five years Todd’s services as a Creative Director and Project Manager for threeofsix.com have meant less hands on creation time, but has allowed Todd to work with individual artists in the development of artwork for clients - something he enjoys very much. If he’s not managing a project, writing for Illustratorworld.com eMag, or answering questions on the forum, Todd can be found mentoring vector illustrator students, holding Adobe Illustrator seminars, or spending time creating artwork born in a digital world but brought to life offline. |
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Penelope Dullaghan [ Read all posts by Penelope ] Penelope Dullaghan is an award-winning illustrator/fine artist in the second year of her freelance career after a 5-year stint as an art director. She chronicles her artistic development at her website, penelopeillustration.com, as well as heading up and contributing to Illustration Friday, a weekly creative outlet/participatory art exhibit. Her clients include United Airlines, LA Times Book Review, the Baltimore Sun, SF Chronicle, and New York Times Book Review. View her work at www.penelopeillustration.com. |
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Stephen Coles [ Read all posts by Coles ] Stephen is a writer and designer living in California’s Bay Area. His obsession with typography was born in an effort to improve the readability of a daily newspaper. This soon led to a constant critique (or at least identification) of the type on every printed surface.His esoteric skills are put to good use at FontShop, a foundry/reseller created by Erik Spiekermann and Neville Brody. When he’s not consulting or waxing poetic about new font releases, Stephen is editor of the online journal Typographica where he filters the surprisingly active world of type news down to a few tasty lines and links. Fontdom isn’t Stephen’s only realm of geekiness. He also revels in furniture design and shares his tufted and bent ply discoveries at The Mid-Century Modernist. Stephen is currently dating Florence Knoll after breaking off a long and passionate affair with Ray Eames. |
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Åsk Wäppling [ Read all posts by Åsk ] A graduate of the School of communication Arts in London, she only knows how to communicate by keyboard, dance and sign language. Åsk has spent many years starting and following online trends, as if she’s tending her own garden. She admires anyone who has style, and style itself but the idea is always King, and good ideas only come from insight which are born from knowledge. Few have knowledge though many are called. |
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Daniel Schutzsmith [ Read all posts by Daniel ] Daniel is the Editor and Publisher of Graphic Define Magazine, an e-zine which focuses on the business of running a graphic, web, or interactive studio. Most recently Daniel founded DSGN && DVLP, a talent matchmaking service that hooks up advertising agencies and interactive departments with the smaller boutiques, studios, and freelancers that can help them deploy their clients web and interactive projects. In the past he has worked with such clients as: Adobe, MTV, CosmoGIRL!, Oxygen Networks, XM Radio, Arnold Worldwide, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, They Might Be Giants, Pixies, iVillage, TBS, Sony Picture Classics, and more. When not in the studio, Daniel can be found teaching and writing. He is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Visual Arts teaching Intro to Flash, Business of Studio, Intro to Web Design and Tour of the Studio. Daniel has also recently been appointed an adjunct professor at NYU teaching Web Theory, Web Projects, and Pitching for Designers. In addition to teaching, he is the moderator for the AIGA’s Professional Practices Forum. He resides in the suburbs of New York City, with his beautiful wife, a brilliant baby boy, and a cockapoo that barks way too much. |
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Bryn Mooth [ Read all posts by Bryn ] Bryn isn’t a graphic designer, and only occasionally pretends to be one. Nonetheless, she’s keen on old-school typography and she’s a sucker for letterpress printing. Bryn’s involvement with HOW magazine spans 17 years, both as a staff editor and contributing writer. During that time, she has written about design and the business of design, organized and judged design competitions and spoken at various professional events, including HOW’s Design Conference, In-HOWse and Mind Your Own Business Conferences, and AIGA chapter events. In addition to occasional bylines for the magazine, she regularly writes for the HOWdesign.com and HOW Conference blogs and for HOW’s biweekly newsletter. Bryn has written about interior design and fine art for various consumer and trade publications. |
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John Kuraoka [ Read all posts by John ] John has worked as an advertising copywriter for more than 23 years, 18 years as a freelancer. In that time, he’s worked on projects ranging from global brand development to 2”x 3” shelf talkers. John has written ad campaigns, brochures, and websites; he has named products, companies, and housing developments; his work has been featured in CA, Graphis, and the Clios. He manages all this from his cave, a home office strewn with what he claims to be reference materials and concepting tools. John lives in suburban San Diego, and is blissfully married to Ondine, another freelance writer, with whom he has two His Ad Blog focuses on the creative side of advertising, branding, marketing, and copywriting. It can be seen at www.kuraoka.com/adblog. |
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Christopher Schmitt [ Read all posts by Christopher ] Working with the web since 1993, Christopher Schmitt runs the one-man shop, Heatvision.com, Inc., a new media publishing and design firm. While an undergraduate at Florida State University for a fine arts degree with an emphasis on graphic design, he interned for both David Siegel and Lynda Weinman in the mid-’90s. Having since completed his Masters of Science in Interactive and New Communication Technologies, Schmitt has authored several books, including the CSS Cookbook and Photoshop in 10 Simple Steps or Less as well as a contributor to many web development magazines. |
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Fred Showker [ Read all posts by Fred ] From a career that began as Creative Director for J.T. McNamara & Co. Advertising in 1972, Fred moved on to establish his own graphic arts production corporation that has since billed more than 7,000 design projects. When the dawn of desktop publishing began bringing ‘design’ in-house, Fred became consultant and trainer to such clients as Dynamic Graphics, Apple, Microsoft, Phillips, Merck, Ford, and the U.S. Government, as well as acting as adjunct design faculty for James Madison University. His "Make-over Clinics" brought critique and make-overs to hundreds of clients such as 3M, The United Way, UCLA, and a myriad of design and DTP firms. He’s from the "backwoods" of Virginia and today administrates DTG Magazine and Photoshop 911 online — keeping one foot firmly in the design field and the other in pursuit of travel around the world with family and friends. Fred holds a BFA in Communication Arts & Design from Virginia Commenwealth University. |
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Terri Stone [ Read all posts by Terri ] During her 15 years in publishing, Terri Stone has written and edited everything from brochures to books, on topics ranging from livestock waste lagoons to burning bras. However, the bulk of her publishing experience is in the print and Web design field, and it’s there that she feels at home. Before becoming editor in chief at creativepro.com, Terri was an editor at Macworld and Publish magazines. She has also contributed to the books "Web Design Studio Secrets" and "The Macintosh Bible, 9th edition" and has spoken at several conferences, including TypeCon and Macworld Expo. |
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Steve Portigal [ Read all posts by Steve ] Steve Portigal is the founder of Portigal Consulting, a boutique firm that brings together user research, design and business strategy to help innovative companies discover and act on new insights about their customers. He also leads CultureVenture, a group that provides immersive and inspirational experiences in foreign cultures to help executives, project managers, designers and others discover and make sense of the notable differences in other markets. In addition to regularly speaking at design and marketing events, Steve teaches Design Research at the California College of Art, and is known for his blog, All This ChittahChattah. He is an avid photographer who has a Museum of Foreign Grocery Products in his home. |
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Debbie Ridpath Ohi [ Read all posts by Debbie ] Debbie Ridpath Ohi is a Toronto-based freelance writer and illustrator. She regularly posts writing-related cartoons in Inkygirl: Daily Diversions For Writers and was the official cartoonist of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2006. Her online comic strips include Will Write For Chocolate and My Life In A Nutshell. Debbie’s published written works include a nonfiction book (The Writer’s Online Marketplace, Writer’s Digest Books), magazine articles (print and online), poetry, and short stories. She’s a hobby songwriter and musician; her music group, Urban Tapestry, has performed in the U.S., Germany, England and Canada, with her songs airing on CBC radio and Dr. Demento, among other venues. Debbie updates her personal blog Blatherings regularly with her cartoons, illustrations, photos, and obsessions. Photo by Beckett Gladney. |
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Nomi Altabef [ Read all posts by Nomi ] Nomi runs the show at our sister site DesignSessions Community where she applies her Parsons design education and years of professional design experience to help commercial artists navigate the quickly evolving nature of today’s design careers. Nomi manages programs such as the Portfolio Review and Design Competitions geared towards preparing students for the leap to professional designer. Nomi focuses on spotlighting the most outstanding students to give their hard work the recognition it deserves, and to inspire every student to give design their absolute all. In addition, Nomi helps students connect, create, and critique on the DesignSessions Community site! Look for her thoughts on one of the hottest and fastest growing industries on earth. |
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Jen Huls [ Read all posts by Jen ] Prior to becoming a full-time freelance designer, Jen worked for the non-profit organization PETA as a Sr. Web Designer. During her tenure there she created web sites that have been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people and also is proud of the work she did in New Orleans, LA rescuing animals after hurricane Katrina. She loves web standards and CSS and will grumble loudly about web sites that do not validate. Jen grew up in Amish country in Lancaster County, PA (nope, shes not now nor ever has been Amish) before moving to Norfolk, VA to work for PETA. Most of her twenties were spent playing drums in an indie rock band and being mentored by the bands bass player as a designer. When she isnt designing web sites, she can be found writing at her blog and waiting patiently for Wednesdays so she can watch the TV series Lost. |
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Jane Goldman [ Read all posts by Jane ] Caffeinegoddess, a.k.a. Jane Goldman, has been an idea and word monkey for 8 years in the Boston. MA area. Currently a freelance copywriter, she has worked on many different types of accounts and in a variety of media. But in the last few years, she has worked on a large number of national and regional web and interactive projects ranging the gamut from banner ads to website content. At her blog, Cup of Java, she writes about copywriting, advertising, design, branding, as well as other random items that interest her. Cup of Java will celebrate its 5th anniversary this year in May. And since 2002, Jane has been a contributing writer/admin to Adland |
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Scott Chappell [ Read all posts by Scott ] Scott Chappell is an expert in experiential learning, instructional design and product strategy. His career as a pedagogy radical in non- and for-profit education has taken him to 12 countries and into 5 mediums of teaching — convention center, classroom, web, book and magazine. He has developed and facilitated experiential learning workshops for Philadelphia-based World Game Institute to diverse audiences globally. He has also recruited authors and instructors and designed curriculum for Sessions, online schools of art and design based in New York City. Scott currently serves as Chief Marketing Officer for Sessions Schools of Art and Design and is managing partner of Back | Next, LLC, a fine art consulting company that assists galleries in finding new and emerging talent. He is also on the Advisory Board for Create magazine. |
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Patricio Sarzosa Patricio Sarzosa is the Creative Director for DesignSessions: Notes on Design and for Sessions Online Schools of Art and Design. He has led creative teams for the identity and advertising designs of Popular Financial Group, ITABSA (Philip Morris subsidiary) and Daewoo. He strikes a balance between his client and volunteer work having recently donated his design talents to Zapar Indigenous Nation, Center for Economic and Social Rights, and Witness to War Foundation. He earned a triple major BA in design, photography and painting from San Francisco University of Quito in his hometown of Quito, Ecuador. He now lives in NYC with his wife and daughter and enjoys painting, running and traveling. |
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Anjula Duggal [ Read all posts by Anjula ] Anjula is Managing Editor of DesignSessions: Notes on Design. She is a new media marketing and PR expert in music and design. Her clients have included Frommer’s Travel Line, Sony Music, and independent label Rykodisk where she developed their Online and New Media efforts. Anjula grew up on Staten Island, NY. Spending much of her free time as a teenager playing guitar and drums in an all-girls rock band (forgive her, it was the 80s). In her free time she enjoys: riding her bicycle around town, doing pilates, writing music and trotting the globe…next travel destination: Costa Rica. Anjula holds a BA in Political Science from New York University. |
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Kevin Kelly [ Read all posts by Kevin ] Kevin in the Managing Editor of DesignSessions, Notes on Design and a graduate of Stanford’s Product Design program He has applied his user-centric and research-driven design approach as a designer in the Washington, DC and San Francisco offices of Gallagher and Associates, a multidisciplinary design firm specializing in museums and exhibitions. Kevin has been on the teams that designers the visitor experiences for the Smithsonian Institution, the National Parks Service, and numerous other public and private museum clients. Kevin will be pursuing his Master’s at Northwesters Kellogg School of Management in Chicago next Fall. |
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Katherine Feo [ Read all posts by Katherine ] Katherine Feo holds a Design History MA from the Royal College of Art in London. She has taught Art Theory at the University of Westminster and worked as a research assistant on the forthcoming 2008 exhibition ‘Cold War Modern’ at the Victoria and Albert Museum of Decorative Arts in London. She currently resides in her home town of Long Beach, CA where she is a freelance writer for publications including the Journal of Design History, Eye, and the AIGA. Katherine is the 2006 recipient of the AIGA/Winterhouse student award for Design Criticism, and the 2005 recipient of the Design History Society’s Annual Student Writing Award. In the fall she’ll be starting a PhD in American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, either continuing her research on the material representations of Civil War history at popular venues in the American South, or potentially scrapping her tired old dissertation topic for another in accordance with her abiding interest in war, design and representation in the US. |
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