Jennifer Kinon is a founding partner of The Original Champions of Design and faculty at the School of Visual Arts MFA Design Program. OCD is a new, independent, branding and design agency. Jennifer most recently worked as a designer for Michael Bierut at Pentagram in New York City. Her work with Pentagram has won awards from the D&AD, AIGA365 and the Type Directors Club, among others. It has also been included in the permanent collection at the Museum of Sex. Prior to joining Pentagram, Jennifer was design director of New York City’s 2012 Olympic Bid and art director for Graphis Inc. She graduated from the University of Michigan, then earned an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Jennifer is the first SVA MFA program graduate to join the faculty.

Julia Hoffmann is the Creative Director of Advertising and Graphic Design at The Museum of Modern Art in New York where she oversees brand identity and design for exhibition graphics, advertising, signage, and collateral projects for all of MoMA's exhibitions and programs. She leads a creative team to develop design solutions that enhance MoMA's brand in New York City and around the world.


Born in Frankfurt, Germany, Julia earned her BFA from New York’s School of Visual Arts, where she now teaches.

Willy Wong leads the creative vision across major initiatives on New York City’s behalf as SVP Creative Director at NYC & Company. He started out in banking with JP Morgan, crossed into management consulting with PricewaterhouseCoopers, shifted to interactive development with Sapient, and ultimately lept over to design and art direction with freelance projects for Yale School of Architecture, Creative Time, Wingspace, Nylon, Rizzoli, and Cynthia Rowley. Prior to NYC he worked at a small agency on brands like Coca-Cola, Clinique, Perry Ellis, Godiva, and The Grinch Musical. Willy’s been a guest critic and lecturer at NYU, Yale, Columbia, and Parsons. Willy received an AB from Dartmouth and an MFA from Yale.

Launching Doyle Partners twenty three years ago with the idea of merging graphic design with marketing, Stephen Doyle says he just wanted to get the inevitability of his  own failure behind him. For that he is still anxiously waiting. Designing before there even were pixels, Doyle continues to search for memorable ways to make ideas and language visible, and is unafraid to wield a glue gun if it helps tell a story. He has designed identities for Barnes & Noble, Martha Stewart, Tishman Speyer, St. Regis and The US Green Building Council among others. Their range of work includes packaging, publishing, installation works, film titles, editorial work and illustration.

Previously, Stephen was the art director at M&Co.  Collaborating with Tibor was eye-opening, thrilling, infuriating and hilarious. And he was color blind. There, he learned an important design lesson: Why have a personality if you’re not going to use it? Earlier stints at Rolling Stone and Esquire  ingrained in him the idea of the narrative in design, not to mention speed while designing, which earned him the nickname “Lightning.”

Stephen currently teaches in the graduate program at SVA, and he has taught at Yale, Cooper Union and NYU.

I’m a Brooklyn-based graphic designer. In 2005, I co-founded WORKSHOP (where design and social responsibility meet) with my two best friends, Creighton and Josh. Creighton and I happen to be married now. We’ve been fortunate enough to complete branding, web and print projects for such forward-thinking clients as Echoing Green, Moving Windmills and TED. I’ve got Southern roots, am passionate about color theory (especially rainbows), and believe in the power of Beer Fridays and amazing neighbors.

After working as a book jacket designer at Alfred A. Knopf for seven years, Gabriele established Gabriele Wilson Design in 2006. While continuing to cultivate her roots in book design, she has since ventured into beauty and book packaging, corporate branding, restaurant design and art direction for a number of publishers. A sampling of her clients include: Abrams, Blue Marble, Buttermilk Channel restaurant, Knopf, MoMA, The New York Times, Penguin, The Poetry Society of America, Rizzoli and Vintage/Anchor Books. Her work has been featured in various publications, including By Its Cover: Modern American Book Design, Communication Arts, New Vintage Type, Print, Retrofonts and the AIGA 365 and 50 Books/50 Covers competitions. She has been a keynote speaker, judge and guest lecturer for the Type Director’s Club, American Association of University Presses, Alcuin Book Awards of Canada and Typo St Gallen, Switzerland. Gabriele teaches at Parsons The New School For Design.

Jill Nussbaum is the Executive Director of Product and Interaction Design, The Barbarian Group
 
For more than a decade, Jill has focused on creating digital experiences that influence behavior and add value to people’s lives. By working with global brands such as Nike, Nokia, GE, and T-Mobile, she has become fluent at extending product experiences to the digital space and across physical environments. Jill is the Executive Director of Product and Interaction Design at the Barbarian Group, working with clients to develop long-term product experiences and overseeing the Interaction Design group. Previously, Jill was an Executive Creative Director at R/GA, a key player behind the design of the Nike+ platform which was named “Campaign of the Decade” by Adweek and the One Club.

Jill’s work has garnered a dozen industry awards including the Cannes Titanium Lion, Cannes Cyber Lion, Clio Interactive Grand, and D&AD Black Pencil. Her "FlyOver Channel" concept was chosen as “Best in Category” in I.D. magazine's 2009 Annual Design Review. Jill teaches at the Interaction Design MFA program at the School of Visual Arts.

New York-native Eric Adolfsen is a creative director and artist. He is currently developing the Wooly, a bar and collaborative project space on the ground floor of the Woolworth building. Eric is also the artistic director for the luxury line House of Waris. He was most recently a director at the New York wing of Brand New School, a film, animation, design and interactive studio. During his time there, he co-lead the massive rebrand of Cartoon Network and directed many commercials including the visually-driven ʻ$5 Footlongʼ campaign for Subway and others for clients like BBC, HP and Toyota. Eric received his BA in Art-Semiotics and English from Brown and his MFA in Graphic Design from Yale.

Aaron is a graphic designer, lettering artist, and type designer in Brooklyn. He is the co-founder of Objective Subject, a brand+interactive design studio in DUMBO. They have clients of all shapes and sizes including Avaya, the NYC Parks Department, and MTV Networks. He also co-founded Friends of Type, a sketchblog and commercial lettering outfit. His illustrations have been commissioned by the New York Times, Fader, and Metropolis. He is currently earning a certificate in typeface design from the Type@Cooper Extended Program. These concerns allow him to explore pixels, ink, and letters in great company, pushing him at every step.

Irwin Chen received his BA in English Literature from Yale University in 1994, and spent one year in the Netherlands on a Fulbright studying design at the Jan van Eyck Akademie in Maastricht. He returned to New York where he began work as a digital designer, first for Jessica Helfand and later at Funny Garbage and 2x4. He is currently the founder of Redub LLC, an information design and interaction design consultancy based in New York. He also teaches Interaction Design at Parsons The New School For Design.

As Communication Design Lead in the New York office of IDEO, Mimi O Chun helps organizations articulate ideas and opportunities through all phases of their program, from the initial expression of a strategic vision through concept development and prototyping to consumer touchpoints that live in the world. She has led design efforts for clients across a range of industries including financial services, hospitality, and publishing.

Mimi received her BFA in Graphic Design from Carnegie Mellon University, and her MFA from Yale University where her thesis work focused on developing new ways of mapping both quantitative and qualitative data such as behaviors, perceptions, and processes. Her personal work attempts to reveal patterns in banal information too often overlooked, such as the color palette of our food intake or the astrological signs of all 44 US presidents.

Glen Cummings is a graphic designer and the principal of MTWTF. MTWTF works with clients, partners, consultants and vendors to collaboratively create publication systems, identity systems, signage systems and environmental graphics. Current clients include Lincoln Center Theater, The City of Newark, Columbia University School of Art, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, and the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Glen holds a B.F.A. from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and an M.F.A. in Graphic Design from Yale University School of the Arts.  Before starting MTWTF Glen was a designer and art director at 2x4, and before that a speed metal guitarist in Nashville, Tennessee. Glen is a lecturer in Graphic Design at Yale University School of Art and a founding partner of Safari 7, A Self-Guided Tour of Urban Wildlife along New York City's 7 line.

Steff Geissbuhler is a designer of integrated brand and corporate identity programs. Steff has designed print materials, posters, architectural graphics, sign systems and exhibits for a wide variety of clients. In 2005 Geissbuhlerʼs work has been honored with the American Institute of Graphic Arts Medal for his sustained contribution to design excellence and the development of the profession. He has received awards from all major professional associations. Steff served as the U.S. president of the Alliance Graphique Internationale and has been a member of the board of the American Institute of Graphic Arts. He is a past president of AIGAʼs New York chapter.

Steff Geissbuhler received his diploma in graphic design from the School of Art and Design, Basel, Switzerland. He has taught at the Philadelphia College of Art, Cooper Union, Yale University and lectures throughout the country. Prior to forming C&G Partners he was a partner at Chermayeff & Geismar Inc. for 30 years.

Allison Henry is a creative director and designer specializing in art direction, branding and content development. She is currently the Art Director of Vogue.com where she oversees all design, photography and video for the site. Previously, Allison was at kate spade new york where she developed advertising campaigns, product, and the kate spade new york blog. She has worked at a range of creative companies— from in-house at Bumble and bumble, Harry N. Abrams and Hallmark Cards to agencies including DesGrippes/Gobé and Number 17.

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Allison received her BFA in Art from Miami University and her MFA in Graphic Design from the School of Visual Arts.

Jonathan Jackson is founding partner of WeShouldDoItAll (WSDIA), a New York based graphic, interactive, and spacial multi-disciplinary design studio. Established in 2004, WSDIA designs, develops and mediates interactive, print, motion and architectural projects for a diverse range of clients in varied professions. WSDIA has been recognized nationally and internationally through various awards and competitions, including the prestigious Art Directors Club Young Guns 5 award. Jonathan Jackson graduated with a Bachelors degree in Architecture from Kent State University. He previously worked as an architectural designer at Studio Archea in Florence, Italy, Archi-Tectonics//Winka Dubbeldam, and Lindy Roy in New York.

As the Creative Director of Base's New York Studio, Min divides her time between designing, directing, and managing. With a holistic perspective, strategy and a fresh approach to projects, she has worked with a wide range of organizations, among them Pantone, MoMA, Gagosian Gallery, Princeton Architectural Press, Coca-Cola, Fred Segal Beauty, Milk, Miami Art Museum, Gwangju Biennale, and Wellesley College. Her work has been featured in various publications and has won numerous awards over the years. Previously, Min has worked with B.I.G. at Ogilvy & Mather, Pentagram, and Simon & Schuster.

Min studied at Ewha Womans University, received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts, and an MFA from Yale. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, raised in Seoul, Korea, Min now calls Brooklyn her home.

Dan Michaelson is a half of the graphic design partnership Linked by Air. Design and technology are intertwined inventive processes in the studioʼs work, which often focuses on the production of public space, both physical and online. Some of the studio's projects include the Yale School of Artʼs website, the Whitney Museum of American Artʼs website and a new interactive area for kids, the motion graphics firm Brand New Schoolʼs website, the magazine ArtAsiaPacificʼs website, books for the Public Art Fund and the architects MOS, the AIGA 365 exhibition with Lana Cavar, and the exhibition "Fusedspace" with Sulki and Min Choi.

Dan previously worked at the design firms Pentagram and 2x4. He holds degrees in American history from Columbia University and graphic design from Yale University. He currently teaches the two-semester graduate typography course "Networks and Transactions" and the graduate thesis studio in the graphic design program at Yale.

British-born Eddie Opara is the principal and one founders of The Map Office. His projects include designing large print / packaging projects, web and interface design, environmental graphics and branding for clients such as UCLA, Studio Museum Harlem, Jazz at Lincoln Center, JWT (J.Walter Thompson), The Baffler, Princeton Architectural Press and Harry N. Abrams. Winning numerous award such as Art Director Club, AIGA 365 and ID Magazine awards. His work has appeared in publications such as Archis, ID Magazine, Graphis, and Surface. Previously he worked at Imaginary Forces and 2x4. His work as part of 2x4 is part of the permanent collection at the MoMA.

Currently focused on building Map, Eddie is a visting critic at Yale University and was recently a lecturer at RISD and Columbia University School of Architecture before that he lectured at Yale University School of Art from 1998 – 2004. Eddie received his Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from the London College of Printing in 1995, and a MFA in Graphic Design from Yale University in 1997. 

Chris Rubino is originally a Bostonian; New York has been his adopted hometown for the past 14 years. His work has been exhibited in Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and the U.S. He recently has created designs & illustrations for such clients as The New York Times, Banana Republic & The NY Public Theater. Rubino’s work has been strongly influenced by his screen-printing background making limited edition posters for bands such as The Rapture, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Psychic TV. Recently a series of his posters has been added to the permanent collection at the Museum of Design in Zurich. Rubino holds a BFA from Syracuse University, was selected as an ADC Young Gun and is a co-founder of the Transitionist art movement.

Melanie Wiesenthal is a creative director and designer based in New York City, currently at Victoria's Secret Beauty and previously at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Origins, and Aveda. Prior to her retail experience, Melanie worked for Design firms Carbone Smolan Agency and The Valentine Group focusing on branding and packaging. Melanie is an Adjunct Professor at Parsons School of Design, having taught studio classes in typography and graphic design since 2003 and has spoken at numerous conferences in the US and around the globe on design and sustainability including AIGA, Fuse and ENG Amsterdam.  Her work both corporate and freelance has been featured in The Art Directorʼs Club, Print Magazine, Communication Arts, Graphis, Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, How Magazine and Graphic Design USA. Melanie was born in Toronto, Canada and is a graduate of McGill University, Montreal, Canada and Parsons School of Design, New York.