Jury Alumni

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  Paul Danial

  Industrial Designer, UX-HF Ergonomics Expert III, Noble-Metaphase, Part of Aptar Pharma

  2024 Health & Wellness Jury Captain

  Paul Danial is a creative and technical industrial designer with an interest in product and experience design. Bridging his academic backgrounds in human kinetics and industrial design, he creates human centered designs that empower and optimize user experiences. Paul works with Noble-Metaphase, Part of Aptar Pharma, to consult and design hand-intensive products with a focus on medical devices. He finds passion and motivation in finding solutions to challenges that improve the quality of life of patients and effectiveness of practitioners. Paul has always been curious about how things work and often takes things apart and reimagines them. He could also be found sketching and doodling on any surface available. In his free time, Paul is passionate about aerospace and aviation, motivating him to pursue his private pilot's license. He also loves to travel the world with his wife, and he is excited to be a dad soon.

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  Joe Doucet

  Founder, Joe Doucet x Partners

  2024 Tools Jury Member

  A designer, entrepreneur, inventor and creative director, Joe Doucet is one of the most sought-after creative talents working in America today. After graduating from the Art Center College of Design, Doucet quickly began exporting his vision into product, furniture, environment, and technology to find solutions for daily and societal challenges through design. His work deftly hybridizes function and visual appeal while conveying layers of meaning and message. Doucet believes that design and, more importantly, a designer’s thought process can play a larger role in innovation and problem solving, as well as aesthetics. He currently holds numerous patents for his designs and inventions.
  
  Doucet’s work has been exhibited globally, including the London Design Museum and the Biennale International Design in Saint-Etienne. He has received numerous international awards, including a World Technology Award for Design Innovation and multiple Good Design Awards. He was also named the only ever AvantGuardian for Design by Surface Magazine. In 2017, Doucet was named the 2017 Winner of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award as Product Designer—the highest honor in his field.
  
  Doucet holds over 50 patents, and as an entrepreneur, he has created and launched a myriad of businesses aimed at making the world a better place through design, including OTHR and Airiva.

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  Joe Doucet

  Founder, Joe Doucet x Partners

  2024 Lifestyle Accessories Jury Member

  A designer, entrepreneur, inventor and creative director, Joe Doucet is one of the most sought-after creative talents working in America today. After graduating from the Art Center College of Design, Doucet quickly began exporting his vision into product, furniture, environment, and technology to find solutions for daily and societal challenges through design. His work deftly hybridizes function and visual appeal while conveying layers of meaning and message. Doucet believes that design and, more importantly, a designer’s thought process can play a larger role in innovation and problem solving, as well as aesthetics. He currently holds numerous patents for his designs and inventions.
  
  Doucet’s work has been exhibited globally, including the London Design Museum and the Biennale International Design in Saint-Etienne. He has received numerous international awards, including a World Technology Award for Design Innovation and multiple Good Design Awards. He was also named the only ever AvantGuardian for Design by Surface Magazine. In 2017, Doucet was named the 2017 Winner of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award as Product Designer—the highest honor in his field.
  
  Doucet holds over 50 patents, and as an entrepreneur, he has created and launched a myriad of businesses aimed at making the world a better place through design, including OTHR and Airiva.

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  Sarah Dunham

  Partner, MTWTF

  2024 Design for Social Impact Jury Member

  Sarah is a Partner at MTWTF, where she has been shaping design processes, managing interdisciplinary design teams, and facilitating community engagement since joining the studio in 2014. MTWTF is a communication design studio that believes that good design has the power to help individuals, organizations, and businesses clarify what they do and manifest their ideas to make change happen. The studio situates itself within the broadest discipline of design — the shaping of our shared physical and electronic environment — and creates communication tools that foster discussion and facilitate change.
  
  Acting as project manager and art director, Sarah develops design strategies for projects that are drawn from a rigorous engagement with their content. This approach has driven exhibitions including ‘Utopia— Dystopia’ a multimedia exhibition at the Audi Design Incubator in Brooklyn; ‘Seeing Equal Rights in New York State’ an interactive exhibition at the Equal Rights Heritage Center; ‘Climates of Inequality’ an interactive exhibition of student work on environmental justice by the Humanities Action Lab; and 'Maneuvers at Millers River' a case study exhibition currently in development for the National Pubic Housing Museum in Chicago.

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  Erich Fox

  Producer, Executive Team Director, Gentilhomme

  2024 Built Environment Jury Captain

  With nearly three decades of experience, Erich stands as a seasoned professional in the dynamic realm of technically challenging projects. His extensive portfolio boasts successful leadership across the globe, encompassing diverse ventures such as theme-park attractions, large-scale exhibits, experiential and environmental activations, restaurants and public spaces.
  
  Erich's expertise lies not just in project execution, but in his role as a guiding force. His primary focus is on meticulously navigating clients and partners through the intricacies of project planning. Whether it's aligning the design vision or establishing a robust foundational project plan, Erich ensures precision and alignment in every step of the process.
  
  Based in the vibrant city of Toronto, Erich finds joy in the simple pleasures of life. Outside the dynamic world of project management, he shares his home with his wife and dogs. Erich's leisure activities reflect his creative spirit, indulging in drawing and model-making. His green thumb finds expression in gardening, and he embraces an active lifestyle by embarking on long-distance bicycle rides. Beyond the boardroom, Erich's passions reveal a well-rounded individual with a zest for both the creative and the outdoors.

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  Norio Fujikawa

  Executive Creative Director, PA Consulting

  2024 Gaming Accessories Jury Member

  Executive Creative Director by day and professional illustrator by night, Norio brings 30 years of design experience to every program he directs at PA Consulting (formerly Astro Studios). Since studying at the Institute of Design, IIT in Chicago, he has collaborated with diverse clients such as Microsoft, Nike, HP, Disney, Samsung, Nissan and Sony, among many others. His passion for emerging technologies has him constantly looking towards the future while his keen awareness of user needs and experiences keeps him focused on the present.

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  Menaja Ganesh

  Gallery & Collections Programming Associate, Letterform Archive

  2024 Design for Social Impact Jury Member

  Menaja (currently in-between bodies and in-between names) is a gay Tamil & Bengali artist originally from Kolkata and currently based in San Francisco. Their practice lies between language and presentation, familiarity and loss. It manifests thru printmaking, multi-media installation, writing, and a sporadically maintained sketchbook. Their curatorial practice is born from and constantly dying within the archives. Their inspirations range from the fashion of 90s Karan Johar movies, to Arundhati Roy’s texts. They love independent publishing, and handloom saris. They currently work at Letterform Archive, activating the permanent collection through public programming. In their personal and professional life, they are always preoccupied with the conversation between preservation and access. They think of their grandmother daily.

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  Sharon Gauci

  Executive Director of Design – Global Buick & GMC, General Motors

  2024 Transportation Jury Member

  Sharon Gauci a native Australian, was appointed to Executive Director of Design – Global Buick and GMC on October 1, 2021. An experienced design leader, Gauci has held a variety of different global roles. Prior to her current appointment, Gauci was the Executive Director of Industrial Design at General Motors, a role held since January 2018. In June 2020, Sharon joined GM’s Sustainability Office, where she was one of seven executive leaders working across the organization to implement strategies supporting GM’s Zero Emissions vision.
  
  In her current role, Gauci is responsible for leading studios to create the visual expression and design strategies for Buick, GMC and GMC Hummer trucks, cars, crossovers and SUVs across all of GM’s markets.
  In her previous role, Gauci oversaw the redesign of the GM logo, introduced globally in January 2021—only the fifth change in the history of the brandmark.
  
  Gauci is the first recipient of Good Design Australia’s inaugural Women in Design Award in 2019, the first female keynote speaker at Wards Auto Interior Conference in 2018 and the first female to be included as a core judge for the Australian Design Awards in 2005, at the time a 50 year award program. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design in 1993 from Swinburne University in Melbourne.
  
  Gauci worked at both Ford Motor Company and BMW Australia before joining GM Holden in 2004.
  In 2021, she commenced service as a Board of Trustees member for PRATT Institute, a global leader in higher education situated in New York City.
  
  Throughout her extensive design career including regional roles and advanced design, Gauci has worked on many global vehicles including trucks, performance cars and mobility solutions such as the award winning ARIV e-bike, Brightdrop and Cruise Origin. Most recent vehicles include the Cadillac Lyriq, GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Escala, Buick Avista and Avenir – which won the Eyes on Design C&T award.

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  Nu Goteh

  Principal, Room for Magic

  2024 Visual Communication Jury Member

  Nu Goteh is a multi-disciplinary creative & designer who works in audio, visual, and written mediums. He is the co-founder of the strategy and design studio, Room for Magic, and co-founder and creative director of partner publication, Deem Journal. Nu’s practice is informed by his love for counter/subculture(s), his background as a Liberian-born refugee, and a lifelong dedication to building platforms that enable communities to engage in shared experiences.

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  Nu Goteh

  Principal, Room for Magic

  2024 Branding & Identity Jury Member

  Nu Goteh is a multi-disciplinary creative & designer who works in audio, visual, and written mediums. He is the co-founder of the strategy and design studio, Room for Magic, and co-founder and creative director of partner publication, Deem Journal. Nu’s practice is informed by his love for counter/subculture(s), his background as a Liberian-born refugee, and a lifelong dedication to building platforms that enable communities to engage in shared experiences.

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  Jess Greco

  Director, Product Experience Design, Mastercard

  2024 Interaction Jury Member

  Jess Greco is an experience design and research leader with deep experience in tying customer insights into business priorities that drive design-led organizational change. She has a proven track record in creating an environment that fosters team collaboration and builds design maturity. Her experience is a mix of consumer and enterprise work across industries including financial services, payments, insurance, consulting, healthcare, education and media.

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  Jess Greco

  Director, Product Experience Design, Mastercard

  2024 Apps & Platforms Jury Member

  Jess Greco is an experience design and research leader with deep experience in tying customer insights into business priorities that drive design-led organizational change. She has a proven track record in creating an environment that fosters team collaboration and builds design maturity. Her experience is a mix of consumer and enterprise work across industries including financial services, payments, insurance, consulting, healthcare, education and media.

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  Sebastien Greffe

  Creative Director, WeWantMore® Studio

  2024 Packaging Jury Member

  Sebastien Greffe is an award winning creative director at WeWantMore® Studio, renowned for a demonstrated history in brand- and packaging design, in both the design- and advertising industries, having worked for clients like Coca Cola, Heineken, Pioneer DJ, Microsoft, Cristal, Loop Earplugs and Neuhaus. With a keen eye for design and a strategic mindset, they have consistently delivered compelling creative solutions that not only resonate with target audiences but also drive substantial brand growth and recognition.

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  Pinar Guvenc

  Partner, SOUR

  2024 Home & Living Jury Member

  Pinar Guvenc is a partner of SOUR, an international, award-winning hybrid design studio with the mission to address social and urban problems through sustainable, adaptive, and inclusive methodologies. They are doing so by active end-user involvement and co-creation sessions throughout the design process. In addition to managing the business operations, Pinar also leads strategic planning, design research, and partnerships of the studio.
  Pinar is also part-time faculty at Parsons School of Design, School of Design Strategies, and serves on the Board of Directors of Open Style Lab, a nonprofit organization initiated at MIT, with the purpose of making style accessible to people of all abilities. She created and teaches a strategic collaborations workshop series for the Pratt Center for Community Development and the Made in NYC initiative. She is also the author and instructor of the Inclusive Design class for the School of Visual Arts MFA Interaction Design, which is the first multidisciplinary inclusive design graduate course in the United States.
  Pinar is a frequent public speaker and a guest lecturer and hosts the panels and podcasts of What's Wrong With, a series of discussions and podcasts with progress makers and experts to diagnose real problems, ideate solutions, and raise awareness to the general public.
  Pinar has a BSc in Industrial Engineering and MSc in Economics & Finance.

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  Erik Haug

  Founder & Chief Vision Officer, LIGHT CoCreative

  2024 Sustainability Jury Member

  Erik Haug is the Founder & Chief Vision Officer of LIGHT CoCreative, a global innovation and impact collective.
  
  Alongside a dynamic network of talent at LIGHT, Erik is focused on community-driven solutions to major global issues and basic human needs:
  • Food
  • Water
  • Livability • Energy
  • Air
  • Care
  
  LIGHT has a range of core capabilities and codified consulting offerings including deep research, human- centered design, strategic visioning, technology enablement, stakeholder engagement, thought leadership and facilitating win-win-win partnerships across value chains.
  
  The core objective of LIGHT is to cultivate more collaboration, inclusion, sustainability, trust, collective action and long-term value creation in the private sector.
  
  Prior to LIGHT, Erik was the CoFounder & CEO of a venture-backed social technology startup — dedicated to building community and bringing people together in-real-life.
  In his consulting career, he has led dozens of strategy, design and innovation projects with leaders at top organizations including Deloitte, Nike, Intuit, Cisco, Lowe’s, Masdar, Li & Fung, Visa, AirBus, DHL, NEOM and Stryker.

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  Scott Henderson

  Founder & Principal, Scott Henderson, Inc.

  2024 Tools Jury Captain

  Scott Henderson is an American designer, artist, writer, and curator from New York City where he has risen to the pinnacle of his profession as one of the world’s leading industrial designers.
  
  Scott has designed iconic, best-selling products for companies including OXO, Microsoft, Krups, Intel, Skip Hop and Alessi, and over fifteen of Scott’s products have been best sellers at the Museum of Modern Art's MoMA Design Store. Scott believes that the goal of good design is meet the mind of the user with unimpeded flow.
  
  Scott has spoken about design throughout the world; he has won over fifty international design awards including a 2023 Red Dot Award, he has represented the United States as their Design Ambassador, he has chaired the International Design Conference, and his work is included in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian National Design Museum and the Alessi Museum.