Presenters
These are the individuals who provided insight and inspiration by presenting their work. I have added a comment or two for each. Find out more about then by visiting their web link.
Douglass Scott
Doug showed us his amazing collection of flags and other artifacts he acquires as a passion. He teaches design and typography at RISD and Yale and is Design Director at WGBH Educational Foundation in Boston. Doug is a brilliant fountain of design knowledge.
Ellen Lupton
She is my hero! Ellen may become the Martha Stewart of the design world. She has a great book coming out called "diy", Design it Yourself. She also does amazing things with her graduate students at MICA that has inspired me for my work with grads in the coming year at RIT.
Elliot Earls
What an individual, Elliot is a beautiful person complimented by a raw intensity to create that will kill ya. Thing to note, he is a RIT Grad, "Incompetent professional designer" maker of things graphic. It is A-R-T, all you Crany-brookers. Let the modernists have the term Graphic Design. Let them be the keepers of the term.
Lucille Tenazas
This woman owned Graphic Design in the 1990's. She still makes very beautiful work today. Her influence will not be forgotten. I am glad to have spent quality time with her. Also, she teaches at The California College of Arts and runs her own studio with technical help of others.
Louise Sandhaus
As program director of Cal Arts. Lulu has an amazing breath of knowledge and perspective on all areas of design. She is finishing a book that is a history of California/West Coast design. Going to be a must have addition to my collection. She introduced me to the concept of "experiment" verses "research"
Marlene McCarty
She is another one of those folks who is a "maker of things graphic" using vocabulary of Graphic Design, Photography and object making. In her career she has worked with Tibor Kalman at the M&Co.
On Secession was my favorite group project of the week. She was a great voice in finding "value" in using design to communicate on a political topic of red vs. blue. Good work, Ya'll!
Matt Soar
A professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Matt gets branding. His presentation on culture jamming and branding was fantastic. It is one of those things that you know and recognize but never know what to call it or what to think about it. Matt did a brilliant job finding the right language to package it up and deliver it.
Melle Hamer
He is a gem of a human being. Someone you only have to be in the same space to be inspired by his presence. His explanation of "motive, method, medium" was a brilliant display of interpretation.
Nancy Skolos
Nancy and Tom's work is something that was my first exposure to graphic design, especially poster design. Nancy is department head of Graphic Design at RISD. She is a gentle giant and her presence is humble and honest. Her insight is profound and inspiring. Once you see the work in the portfolio, you will recognize their influence on the design industry.
Rick Valicenti
A guy who inspired me through simple dialogue and similarities in experiences. Rick is a "design force to be reckoned with". His body of work spans the corporate industry high profile to the playful gratification of self-discovery through making stuff. One thing that really impressed me about Rick is the way he could listen and participate in conversations and record key moments into his sketchbooks. I am very happy to have spent a week with him and Lulu and the "profound connections".
Peter Hall
I want to compliment Peter on his amazing way of asking a question. It never ceased to amaze me every time he asked a question of a presenter. They were always brilliantly spoken (the accent helped, lol) with great thought and provoked insight. Thanks for being there.
BTW, Read his article in the July/August 2005 issue of I.D. Magazine. Peter moderated the Graphics category in the 51st Annual Design Review ; the piece is well written and conveys his great perspective.