Speakers

Ariane studied visual communication at the Art Academy Berlin-Weißensee and, after a stay in New York, founded her own studio in Berlin. She works primarily with cultural clients, with a strong focus on typography. Her clients include Kunsthalle Zu Kiel, Museum for Communication Berlin, Phaidon, Washington Post and Wired. Ariane is also the creative director and co-editor of Fukt, a magazine for contemporary drawing. Her work has received numerous awards, including from TDC New York and Tokyo, D&AD, Graphis and ADC New York and Germany, and has been widely published in international design publications. She is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI).

With over 25 years’ experience, Christopher has worked at some of Australia’s leading brand and design agencies. Based in Sydney, his eponymous, independent design studio specializes in visual identity, naming and verbal identity, creative direction, campaigns and digital design. Often irreverent, always intelligent, Christopher Doyle & Co. is known for distilling communication in curious and beautiful ways, collaborating with creatives, writers, strategists, photographers, motion designers and developers to create award-winning work for a diverse range of brands across multiple platforms. The firm’s clients, particularly from the worlds of theatre, music, architecture, cuisine, visual arts, film and photography, have included Tsu Lange Yor, Spotify, TikTok, The Jezebels, Bell Shakespeare, and Theatre Royal Sydney. Christopher also once found a piece of Nutri-Grain breakfast cereal that looked like E.T. and sold it on eBay for a thousand dollars. True story.

Dalit oversees the creation of new formats, spaces and tools that advance the future of storytelling at The New York Times. She also leads design and strategy for various workstreams for the company’s AI Initiatives. Previously Dalit focused on trust and credibility, collaborating with newsroom desks and the masthead to develop features that clarify The Times’ journalism for its readers. An educator as well as a practitioner, she teaches design thinking classes at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering and ITP.

Dr. Dee Miller is a relationship-driven, results-oriented leader with over a decade of experience in strategy, research and innovation. At Adobe, she champions inclusive innovation that bridges technology and humanity. She has extensive experience turning research and insights into products, features and services that advance accessibility, usability and culturally relevant design, empowering underinvested communities. She is recognized for blending social impact with business value and for leveraging AI and emerging technologies to create human-centred, equitable experiences, ensuring innovation benefits everyone, not just the few.

Diana is an award-winning lecturer by day, and an avid podcaster by night. She teaches within the School of Graphic Communications Management (GCM), as well as the Master of Digital Media (MDM) program at Toronto Metropolitan University where she helps students connect their technical left brains, creative right brains and entrepreneurial hearts for fulfilling careers in creative industries. Diana is also an advocate for living your most confidently creative life, having recently produced a course for Domestika on the topic. Diana has 150+ published articles in Graphic Arts Magazine, as well as through the RGD. She firmly believes that more problems should be solved by “lip-syncing for your life.”

Dom is Group Creative Director at Resonance and also teaches at IDEA School of Design (Capilano University) and Miami Ad School. With a multi-disciplinary approach and years of international experience, Dom has created award-winning, fully-integrated campaigns for some of the world’s most iconic brands including Nike, adidas, Benetton, lululemon, Foot Locker, Mercedes, Ford, Johnnie Walker, Red Bull, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Ministry of Sound, Playstation and Ubisoft. Originally from Montreal, he has worked in advertising and design agencies in London, Paris, Sydney, Melbourne, Treviso, Toronto and Vancouver. While challenging, each journey amplified his skillset as a creative and kept him open and curious. His work has been recognized in the industry’s major award shows, including the Cannes Lions, One Show, London International and ADCC.

Elana is the Founder of Design Is Yummy, an award-winning Montreal-based design studio known for their bold, impactful graphics. For over 15 years, her team has helped businesses and organizations communicate their values with clarity. Rooted in respect for the rich histories and identities of the communities they serve, the studio approaches every project with care, curiosity and a commitment to helping clients connect more deeply with their audiences. Believing that design is most effective when it serves people first, Elana collaborates with clients across arts and culture, education, healthcare, hospitality and government, including the Segal Centre for Performing Arts, the Cree Nation, Moxy Hotel and Myra’s Kids Foundation. Doing great work for great people making a difference in the world is what fuels the studio. Under her leadership, the women-led team has built a reputation for professionalism, reliability and outstanding creative that delivers results. A seasoned creative leader, Elana has built and led design teams, worked with countless creatives and cultivated a studio culture grounded in shared purpose. Whether guiding clients through complex brand challenges or mentoring emerging designers, she advocates for the power of thoughtful design.  Elana is a speaker on design and the business of running a studio, sharing insights on authenticity, partnership and building a fulfilling career. She also mentors within the creative community to support growth and encourage creative confidence.

Elizabeth is the U.S. Editor-at-Large for It’s Nice That, where she writes a popular monthly column on graphic design. Her writing on design history and visual culture has appeared in Fast Company, PORT, The Architect’s Newspaper and Eye on Design. Her criticism and commentary have been cited in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Dwell, CNN, Eater, Vox and Business of Fashion, among other publications and media outlets.  As a designer, she works independently across brand identity, editorial and art direction projects, often drawing from archival research and visual history to inform contemporary design systems and print work. Her clients include A24, Herman Miller, Phaidon, HBO and The Whitney Museum, as well as design studios like Pentagram, Interbrand, Mythology and Porto Rocha.  She publishes Casual Archivist, a newsletter about ephemera, and teaches at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Parsons. In 2024, she was selected as a Young Guns winner by The One Club for Creativity.

Emmi’s work centres on “positive creativity”—the idea that design connects people, fosters well-being and supports sustainable choices. Her clients span purpose-led organizations like European Forest Institute, arts institutions like Tate Britain and cultural bodies like the British Council.  A leading advocate for creative well-being, she developed her Creative Ecosystem model to help fellow creatives reconnect with purpose and reduce stress and burnout. Her thinking is also reflected in her upcoming book, The Creative Wellbeing Handbook, which shares personal stories, research-backed ideas and everyday tools to help creatives feel more energized, focused and connected to their work.  Emmi’s insights are grounded in experience and training, including Yale’s The Science of Well-Being course. She is a Happiness Facilitator and RSA Fellow, teaches a Domestika course on sustainable branding and has contributed to the AI for Human Flourishing think tank at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science.

Erik is a creative director and brand strategist with over 25 years of experience exploring how ideas take shape—helping organizations connect people, ideas and purpose through design and storytelling. From crafting compelling copy to shaping comprehensive advertising campaigns, he’s guided teams to create meaningful, results-driven work for major Canadian brands that include Air Canada, Bell Canada, Pearson Airport, The Beer Store, Sobeys, Canadian Tire Group and the Government of Canada. With a background in fine arts and painting, Erik brings a unique perspective to ideation, brainstorming and creative concept development.

Jennifer studied communication design at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, where her final project reimagined Samuel Johnson’s 1755 dictionary as a contemporary coffee table book. After graduating, Jennifer worked at design studios focusing primarily on branding projects. In 2013, she began working on interior typesetting, which naturally evolved into full cover and interior book design. After several years freelancing, she joined Penguin Random House Canada in 2016, where she currently works as a senior book designer. Having been in the industry for over a decade, Jennifer has designed covers and interiors across almost every genre imaginable. She has worked on covers for many prominent Canadian authors, including Michael Ondaatje, Anne Michaels, Michael Redhill and Madeleine Thien.

Kenjiro leads the creative vision at HATO—a publishing house, design studio and concept store with locations in London and Hong Kong. HATO develops design through a playful approach grounded in research, concept and participation. Working within culture—and collaborating with artists, organisations, and brands who share these values—has driven the studio’s practice for over a decade. HATO’s goal is to connect a genuine community, leaving a legacy that adds value and provides a strong foundation for growth. Kenjiro’s experience has evolved to focus on digital products and branding, with a specialism in co-creation and creative strategy. He has applied this approach across a range of client projects, including On, the Barbican, the V&A, District Vision, BAO, and New Contemporaries.