It is with much gratitude and admiration that we celebrate the jury alumni members of the Core77 Design Awards.
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Jury Alumni
Emily Pilloton
Founder, Project H
2016 Design for Social Impact Jury Captain
Emily Pilloton is the founder of the nonprofit Project H Design. Since 2008, she has run Project H and worked with young people ages 9-18 to bring the power of design and building to schools and communities. Emily is trained as an architect with degrees from UC Berkeley and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, but found that she is physically incapable of working in an office or for a boss and much prefers the creative chaos of a public school classroom filled with tools and welding equipment. Project H Design was born out of the hope that authentic, on-the-ground, face-to-face work with young people could transform what it means to be a design professional, what it means to learn in the 21st century, and what it means to get dirty and physically build solutions for your community.
Specifically, Emily launched 2 Project H programs: Studio H, an in-school design/build curriculum, and Camp H, an after-school and summer building camp for young girls ages 9-13. Exploring the intersection of science, art, math, and community development, Emily has led Project H youth in the design and construction of an award-winning 2,000-square-foot farmers market structure, chicken coops, playgrounds, their own school library, microhomes for the homeless, laser-etched skateboards, and welded steel public sculpture.
Emily believes that by giving youth, particularly girls and students of color, the skills to design and build their wildest ideas, we can support the next generation of creative, confident changemakers. Her ideas and work have made their way to the TED Stage, The Colbert Report, the New York Times, and more. Her work is the subject of the full-length documentary If You Build It. She is the author of two books, Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower People, and Tell Them I Built This: Transforming Schools, Communities, and Lives with Design-Based Education. Emily is also a Visiting Professor in the Department of Design at UC Davis.
John Bielenberg
Partner, Future Partners
2016 Design for Social Impact Jury Member
John Bielenberg is a designer, entrepreneur, and imaginative advocate for creating a better world through the application of creativity and ingenuity. John co-founded Future Partners, a Silicon Valley Innovation firm, in 2012 to teach Rapid Ingenuity Practices to individuals, teams, and organizations around the world. In 2001, John co-founded C2 Group, a brand strategy firm, to help leaders from technology start ups, Fortune 500 companies, and the world’s top business management consulting firms develop, build and protect their brands. In his career, John has won more than 250 design awards, including the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) Gold Medal for lifetime achievement.
Maria Guidice
VP of Experience Design, Autodesk
2016 Design for Social Impact Jury Member
Innovator, artist, protagonist, and positive provocateur, Maria has pursued a vision of intelligent, elegant, people-centered design throughout her professional life. Her grasp of the pragmatic, the authentic, and the essential have kept her at the forefront of design and business for over 25 years.
Under Maria’s leadership, Hot Studio, the experience design firm she founded in 1997, grew into a full-service creative agency with an impressive list of Fortune 500 clients. In March 2013, Facebook acquired the talent behind Hot Studio. In 2015, she joined Autodesk as VP, Experience Design. Her latest book, Rise of the DEO: Leadership by Design, is published by New Riders. Maria is an AIGA Design Fellow. She has spoken at conferences all over the world and currently serves as an adjunct professor and trustee at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Maria is a mom to two amazing teenagers, and just recently, was ordained as a Minister at the Universal Life Church.
Luca Nichetto
Founder, Nichetto Studio
2016 Furniture & Lighting Jury Captain
Luca Nichetto was born in 1976 in Venice. He studied at the city’s Istituto statale d’arte, before undertaking a degree in industrial design at the Università Iuav di Venezia, from which he graduated in 1998. In 1999, Nichetto began his professional career with Murano-based glass maker Salviati, later becoming a product designer and consultant for lighting company Foscarini. In 2006, he founded his eponymous practice in Venice. In 2011 he moved to Stockholm, Sweden, to open a second studio and he continues to live in and work from this city. Over the course of his career, Nichetto has served as art director for many international design brands and he has developed an in-depth knowledge of the design industry.
Hanna Nova Beatrice
Editor in Chief, Residence Magazine
2016 Furniture & Lighting Jury Member
Hanna Nova Beatrice is a design writer and Editor in Chief of Swedish title Residence and English language bookazine My Residence. She has been the Editor of a number of magazines, all focusing on design and interiors, as well as edited and written books on design, including the book Behind the Scenes in the Design industry. She regularly holds panel debates on design and have co-curated exhibitions such as 20 Designers at Biologiska (Stockholm 2011) and Norweigan Structure (Milan 2016).
Constance Guisset
International Designer, Constance Guisset Studio
2016 Furniture & Lighting Jury Member
Born in 1976, Constance Guisset lives and works in Paris.
After studying at ESSEC business School and Sciences-Po Paris, then a one-year internship at Japan Parliament in Tokyo, she chooses to turn towards design and enters ENSCI design school from which she graduates in 2007.
In 2008, she is awarded the “Grand Prix du Design de la Ville de Paris”, wins the Prize for the Public of the Design Parade at La Villa Noailles (Hyère, France), as well as two grants from the VIA (French institute for the valorisation of innovation in design). In 2010, she is named among the “ten designers of the year” in Maison & Objet, Now! Design à vivre and wins the Audi Talents Awards.
Constance Guisset establishes her own studio in Paris in 2009. She works with many French and international furniture editors like Molteni, Petite Friture, Moustache, etc. She also designs industrial objects for companies like La Cie – Seagate or travel accessories for Louis Vuitton Malletier for instance.
Since 2009, she has realized the stage designs of several shows, among which Angelin Preljocaj’s solo, Le Funambule, Laurent Garnier’s Concert in Salle Pleyel in Paris in 2009 or Angelin Preljocaj’s ballet Les Nuits presented in Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris. She also conceived stage design for exhibitions for the Arts Décoratifs museum in Paris, the Villa Noailles, or for brands like Established & Sons or Molteni (2011, Paris Designers’ days award for best scenography).
She developed a new concept of interior design for Accor hotel group Suite Novotel. It has been deployed in The Hague and Paris in 2014.
Her work finds applications in industrial design, stage design, interior design and videos. It is guided by an interest for illusion, lightness and surprise. She creates moving objects to raise amazement and fascination.
Shu Wei
Founder, ZaoZuo
2016 Furniture & Lighting Jury Member
Shuwei was born in 1981 in China. She studied MBA at Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 2007-2009. As a serial entrepreneur, she has 12 years intensive experience of marketing, design, product, technology and investment. In 2014, she founded Zaozuo, a lifestyle brand that combines global design and domestic manufacturing to present the decent urban lifestyle for new Chinese middle-class.
Alexis Lloyd
Creative Director, NY Times R&D Lab
2016 Interaction Jury Captain
Alexis Lloyd is the Creative Director of The New York Times Research & Development Lab, where she investigates emerging technologies and prototypes future concepts for news and media. Her work is focused on creating immersive and exploratory experiences through innovative physical-to-digital interactions, data visualization and screen-based interfaces.
Before joining The New York Times Company in 2007, Ms. Lloyd designed award-winning projects for Columbia University, FOX, American Express, The New York Historical Society and PBS, among others. Additionally, her media artwork has been shown at international venues such as the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, SIGGRAPH, the Chelsea Art Museum and Symphony Space.
Ms. Lloyd received her Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College and holds an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons The New School for Design.
Donna Lichaw
Independent Digital Product Strategist
2016 Interaction Jury Member
Donna Lichaw brings over 15 years of experience guiding startups, non-profits, and global brands in optimizing their digital products and services by providing them with a simplified way to drive user engagement through impactful storytelling. As a consultant, speaker, writer, and educator, she utilizes a ‘story first’ approach to help teams define their value proposition, transform their thinking, and better engage with their core customers.
She began her career as a designer and user experience strategist for multiple startups and design agencies in New York and London, working with brands like Casio, Capitol Records, Sony Pictures, and Seamless. Prior to her career in technology, she refined her talent for storytelling and narrative development as an award-winning documentary filmmaker.
Now recognized as a thought leader in storytelling and customer engagement strategies, she has presented as a keynote speaker at design and technology conferences in the US, Canada and Europe, and taught courses at New York University, Northwestern University, The School of Visual Arts, and Parsons the New School for Design. Her upcoming book – “The User’s Journey: Storymapping Products That People Love” is out now. You can find her on Twitter @dlichaw and on the web at www.donnalichaw.com.
Alex Rainert
VP of Product, Nucleus
2016 Interaction Jury Member
I've got 17 years of experience building teams and shipping products in wildly different creative and business environments - startups (co-founder @dodgeball, head of product @Foursquare), large tech companies (Google), digital agencies (R/GA, Razorfish) and an amazing tech-meets-art graduate program (NYU’s ITP).
I'm currently leading Product at a NYC-based hardware + software company called Nucleus. We're building a smart intercom that will serve as the foundation for people to communicate seamlessly with the ones they care about the most — whether they’re in another room in the same house, in a completely different location (Hi mom!) or on the move on their mobile devices.
You can learn more about the product at www.nucleuslife.com. I'm building up the product team so if you have any interest in designing an experience that will live at the center of families' lives, get in touch and let me know what excites you about it.
Bethany Koby
CEO & Co-Founder, Technology Will Save Us
2016 Open Design Jury Captain
Bethany Koby is a mom, designer, educator and the co-founder of Technology Will Save Us. Technology Will Save Us is on a mission to spark the imagination using hands-on technology. Their beautifully designed DIY Gadget Kits and digital resources are the most accessible way to make, play, code and invent with technology.
J Milligan
Executive Producer, Toca Boca
2016 Open Design Jury Member
J Milligan is the Executive Producer at Toca Boca, a play studio that makes digital toys for kids. He is spearheading the company’s new video division dedicated to exploring the new kids TV and video landscape. Before joining Toca Boca, Milligan served as creative director of the content innovation lab and digital media group at Sesame Workshop.
Kelly Nyland
Director of Marketing, Snapchat
2016 Open Design Jury Member
As one of the foremost marketing leaders in the tech industry, particularly in the hardware & start-up communities, Kelly's unparalleled go-to-market strategy, unconventional marketing prowess, and ability to grow small business to a global scale, make her one of this industry's most coveted executives.
Pioneer leader in educating general consumers about the value of new technologies while bringing hi-tech experiences to market, Kelly enjoys the thrill of braving new frontiers in establishing category-leading products and shepherding the ever-changing customer journey. She is adept at capturing the hearts of early adopters and leveraging their influence as brands & products tip over into mass market.
Dominic Wilcox
Founder, Dominic Wilcox Studio
2016 Open Design Jury Member
Dominic Wilcox works between the worlds of art, design, craft and technology to create innovative and thought provoking objects. The British artist and designer studied on Ron Arad's Design Products course at The Royal College of Art . He has since shown his work internationally and been commissioned by brands such as BMW MINI, Kelloggs and Paul Smith. In 2015 he exhibited at museums such as London's Design Museum and the V&A. After the making of the documentary 'The Reinvention of Normal', which follows Wilcox and his work, he was invited to be a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert where he showed his 'Variations on Normal' ideas.
Notable projects include the design of a pair of shoes with inbuilt GPS to guide the wearer home, a Stained Glass Driverless Sleeper car of the future and a INVENTORS! project turning children's ideas into real things.
Somchana Kangwarnjit
Founder, Prompt Design
2016 Packaging Jury Captain
Somchana Kangwarnjit graduated from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang with a degree in industrial design.
In 2009, he founded Prompt Design, helping his clients to build brands and businesses by delivering new experiences in strategies and design executions. Prompt Design’s clients include Nestlé, CP, Singha Corp, Lotte, Glico, FrieslandCampina, Cargill, Boots, etc.
He is regularly invited to be a committee or jury member for design competitions and often serves as a guest columnist and professor for many publishers and top universities.
Somchana has won several awards :
Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze Pentawards, Asian Young Designer of the Year from Designnet, The Dieline Awards, IF Design Award, Red dot, Fab Awards, Communicator Awards, ASIA Star Packaging Award.
Derrick Lin
Founder, Packaging of the World
2016 Packaging Jury Member
Derrick Lin founded Packaging of the World in 2008 and has led the website to become one of the most prominent packaging design portals in the world. He is also the co-founder and Art Director of Mojo Red, a boutique creative company in Singapore.
Packaging of the World has grown to become the daily inspiration website for designers from all around the world by publishing some of the most interesting and creative projects from large global agencies to students. The audience includes packaging designers, graphic designers, advertising agencies, students, manufacturers and suppliers, garnering over a million impressions every month. Through the website’s business directory, agencies and suppliers can now easily link up and create business opportunities.
Today, Derrick Lin is always thinking of new innovative ideas to improve the packaging community as a whole. He is obsessed with, and passionate about, great packaging design.