Speakers

  The next spark could be the one that makes your work burn the brightest.
 

Peter Buchanan-Smith

Peter Buchanan-Smith is a New York–based designer, author, and entrepreneur whose career has included art direction for the New York Times, creative direction for Paper magazine, and work for fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi and musical legends David Byrne, Brian Eno, Philip Glass, and the band Wilco. He is the author of several books, including The Wilco Book, and he has collaborated on many others, including Strunk and White’s classic The Elements of Style with illustrator Maira Kalman. His first tome, Speck: A Curious Collection of Uncommon Things, explores the fascinating lives of ordinary people and commonplace objects. This connection between people and objects is also at the heart of Peter’s most recent venture, Best Made Company, a purveyor of finely crafted tools and an entrée into the symbolic world they conjure.

Jolby

Jolby is a collaborative design and illustration studio based in Portland, Oregon. Josh Kenyon and Colby Nichols began their partnership in 2005 after meeting at the Art Institute in San Diego. The two combine their talents as art directors, designers, and illustrators and have exhibited their illustration work in galleries around the world. The magic of Jolby comes from Colby’s artistic obsession with creatures and characters, and Josh’s love for color, pattern, and texture. They try to achieve two goals within the work they create: “tell a memorable story” and “make people smile.”

Jamie Koval

Jamie Koval joined VSA Partners as a creative director and partner in 1990. In 2002, he was named president of the firm and helped redefine its integrated approach to communication. Jamie’s success is marked by his ability to combine creative and strategic thinking, as well as bring clarity to multifaceted programs that include corporate communications, brand identity, advertising, marketing communications, and interactive.

Jamie has had the good fortune of working with Adidas, Allstate, the Chicago Cubs, the Dalai Lama, Gap, and the Coca-Cola Company, and he has contributed to and led creative workshops for brands such as Starbucks and Leo Burnett.

His design talent has been recognized nationally and internationally, and his work is part of the permanent collection in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Michael Osborne

Michael Osborne is president and creative director of the San Francisco–based graphic design firm Michael Osborne Design. The firm’s work in corporate identity, strategic branding programs, package design, and print collateral has been recognized in many competitions for outstanding design, including the West Coast Show, AIGA, and the Clios. Michael’s work is on display in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. Michael’s work has also been featured in Graphis, Communication Arts, The Society of Typographic Arts, AIGA, How, Print, and Step Inside Design magazines. In the summer of 2006, Michael received the prestigious AIGA Fellow Award.

Jan Wilker

Jan Wilker and Hjalti Karlsson started their Manhattan studio, karlssonwilker, in late 2000. Together with their small team, they work on all sorts of projects for an eclectic mix of cultural and commercial clients, from local nonprofits to global corporations. Tellmewhy, a book about their first two years in business, was published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2003 (which is a very long time ago). Their work has appeared in more than one major national and international design publication, and they have received fewer than a thousand awards. They frequently lecture and give workshops on design around the world. Four years ago, Jan cofounded SahreVictoreWilker, the annual international summer design workshop.