For over twenty years I’ve specialized in shaping meaningful ideas into powerful visual expression across a wide range of graphic mediums from print to digital. Whether working for a start-up or a premium brand, those who work with me rely on my ability to capture their unique brand flavor visually and feel confident that I understand their business strategy and goals. The result is design that really ‘nails it’.

As Design Lead and Partner at Interactive Things, Christoph approaches design challenges with empathy for the user and meticulous attention to detail. He is passionate about supporting designers to sharpen their skills individually while refining their process collectively.

At Interactive Things, he leads projects for clients including OECD, UNESCO, UBS and the German Federal Government.

Previously, Christoph worked as a freelance UX designer and as an interface designer for Swisscom, a major telecommunications provider in Switzerland. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Interaction Design from the Zurich University of the Arts.

As the Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Noise 13, the San Francisco brand strategy and design agency, Dava is the driver behind building thoughtful, sustainable brands. For more than two decades, Dava has been distilling business vision into the potent essence of brand experience.

A design evangelist, Dava is the Co-Founder of In/Visible Projects. At its core, In/visible Projects believes in the power of design. Healthy cross-functional collaboration leads to innovative decision making.

Always inventing, Dava is also an advisor, mentor, and investor, speaker, moderator, and artist. She sits on the advisory boards for all things good–Good People, Good Food Foundation, and the Visual Media Alliance. She is also part of the REGEN1 team building tools and big picture plans for a regenerative food system.

Diane Mikhael is a design educator, author, curator, and researcher. She is the author of the book Bilingualism in Visual Communication: Visible Forms and Meaning of Arabic and Latin Typography (2017). She holds an MFA in Criticism and Curatorial Practices (OCAD University, Toronto, Canada), and an MA in Design (Middlesex University, London, UK). Diane holds International recognition from the International Society of Typographic Designers London, (1996). She is the co-founder of the Middle East Design Educators Association (MEDEA).

For more than twenty-five years, Diane works as a design educator in the design department at different universities in Toronto, and the Middle East. She lectures and publishes in many international conferences. She runs workshops on design and serves as a juror in many international design contests and projects.
With an infinitum passion for cross-cultural engagements, her intrinsic research is an amalgam of theoretical and pragmatic examinations around the thematic path of Design and Culture, and design for social change.

Eric Heiman is principal and co-founder of the award-winning, oft-exhibited multidisciplinary studio Volume Inc. He also teaches at California College of the Arts (CCA) where he currently manages TBD*, a student-staffed design studio creating work to help local Bay Area nonprofits and civic institutions. Eric writes about design every so often, has curated one film festival, occasionally podcasts about classic literature, and was recently made an AIGA Fellow for his contribution to raising the standards of excellence in practice and conduct within the Bay Area design community.

Javier Cueto is the Head of Design and Multimedia in the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Javier and his team, based in New York, Geneva and The Hague, are behind the Humanitarian Icons. A collection of more 350 icons that are used in reports, dashboards and infographics in humanitarian emergencies to represent crises-related concepts, such as “earthquake”, “refugee” or “food security”. Learn more about the Humanitarian Icons here.

Hugh Dubberly studied environmental design (University of Colorado) and graphic design (RISD and Yale). At Apple Computer (1986 -1994), Dubberly was a Creative Director, managing graphic design and corporate identity; he also produced the technology-forecast film Knowledge Navigator presaging the Internet and interaction via mobile devices. At Netscape (1995 – 2000), he became Vice President of Design managing groups responsible for the design, engineering, and production of Netscape’s web services. He co-founded Dubberly Design Office (2000), a software, service, and systems design consultancy.

He has served on AIGA’s national board, the SIGGRAPH Conference Committee, and chaired ACD’s “Design for the Internet” Conference. He has taught at San Jose State, Art Center, CMU, Stanford, IIT/ID, Northeastern, and CCA. He edited a column “On Modeling” for ACM’s journal, Interactions, and has published more than 50 articles on design methods. He was elected to the ACM CHI Academy and is an AIGA Fellow.

Hürsu is a designer, design researcher and educator, and a musician. For over two decades he has worked with many leading multinational corporations as well as start-ups across various parts of the planet, helping them build their brands with powerful ideas and clear visual expressions. He has also been working as a full-time lecturer at universities in both Istanbul and Liverpool for over ten years.

Having his professional, research, and teaching interests in graphic design, interaction, user experience and new musical interfaces, Hürsu is passionate about inter-disciplinary projects, particularly ones that bring together design and sound. He holds a BID degree and two masters degrees (MSc and MMus) from Istanbul Technical University and a PhD in Industrial Design from Middle East Technical University.

Experience Designer with a demonstrated history of working in the computer software industry. Skilled in Information Design, Icon Design, Graphics, User Experience (UX) and Fashion Illustration. Strong information technology professional with a Graphic Design focused in visual design from Alsterdamm, Kommunikationsdesign.

Jan Wächter is a Senior Interaction Designer at Interactive Things. He transforms complex ideas into beautiful and engaging digital products. He enjoys crafting visualizations that make data usable and understandable for everyone.

At Interactive Things, he leads projects with a focus on holistic design systems, usable interfaces and data visualizations in the areas of consumer products, healthcare, journalism, telecommunications, and government services.

Before joining Interactive Things, he was an Art Director at Neko Interactive. An experience design agency with a focus on user experience and brand communication.

He received a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communication from Basel School of Design, where he later worked as a Scientific Assistant.

Joachim’s work is characterized by an expressive, direct visual language that always comes to the point. Diverse background and interest in Asia and Europe make him quintessentially cross-cultural, between modernist and experimental. His approach is integrative, not additive: Shape and meaning turn into a coherent One, getting to the essence with consistency and simplicity — useful design need not be dry, and entertaining imagery not shallow.

Specialties: information design, logos and identity, pictograms, type design (western and kanji), illustration, character creation.

Since 1998, the majority of my work has helped nonprofits, social enterprises and for profit organizations achieve their missions by providing hands-on, objective financial expertise. I leverage my in-the-trenches CFO expertise to guide CEOs and boards on how to grow their enterprises in a strategic manner. I’ve been featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, NonProfit Times, Entrepreneur.com, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Investors’ Circle Entrepreneur Newsletter and other publications.

For three decades, creative teams and business leaders have sought the provocative vision and mentorship of Maria Giudice. After founding the pioneering experience design firm Hot Studio and leading global teams at Facebook and Autodesk, Maria’s mission today is to build the next generation of creative leaders. As a leadership coach, Maria unlocks the potential hidden in executives and the people they lead. A popular speaker at design and business conferences, Maria is also the author of three design books, including Rise of the DEO: Leadership by Design, which has been translated into several languages.

Art Center, College of Design graduate in 1980, soon abducted by Richard Saul Wurman for The Understanding Business. Astonished by maps, astounded by graphs, and absorbed by information design through a freelance career of 40 years, Michael admits an attraction for authenticity and an addiction for pattern, along with aspirations for abundant alliteration.

Phil Hamlett is a design leader, educator, and first-generation digital native. Wherever he may be found — he unites creative minds to common purpose, utilizing the transformative power of design to cultivate good ideas. He is committed to helping people achieve their visions through the rigorous application of innovative education, design thinking, responsible leadership, and co-creation.

Phil is currently the Director of the School of Graphic Design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, a unique academic institution with a large international student body and robust online program. In this setting, he does everything from teaching classes to setting the strategic agenda for the School. His students emerge as advanced design practitioners and go on to acquire positions at leading studios and technology companies in the Bay Area and around the world.

Prior to joining the Academy, Phil led design studios on both coasts, creating award-winning work for clients large and small. He is a past president of the AIGA San Francisco chapter and a former AIGA national board member. He is also an advisor to San Francisco Design Week, founder of Compostmodern and co-author of the Living Principles for Design — the means by which he guides the development of sustainable business practice within the design community. As a charter member of the Winterhouse Institute Founder’s Circle, he helps articulate the value of design education for social impact.

Ric Grefé is Design Thinker in Residence at Williams College. He is director emeritus of AIGA, the professional association for design, the oldest and largest professional association of designers in the United States representing the interests of 27,000 designers working in a variety of communication media and dimensions, ranging from type and book designers to new media and experience designers.

Ric earned a BA from Dartmouth College in economics, served in naval intelligence in Asia, reported from the Bronx County Courthouse for AP, wrote for Time magazine on business and the economy, and then earned an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Following an early career in urban design and public policy consulting, Ric managed the association responsible for strategic planning and legislative advocacy for public television and led a think tank on the future of public television and radio in Washington.