Kris Sowersby

New Zealandhttp://klim.co.nz/

Kris Sowersby graduated from the Wanganui School of Design in 2003. After brief employment as a graphic designer he started the Klim Type Foundry in 2005, currently based in Wellington, New Zealand.

His first retail typeface, Feijoa, was released onto the international market in 2007. National, Sowersby's second retail release, won a Certificate of Excellence from the Type Designers Club, New York, in 2008. Since then he has received two more Certificates of Excellence (Serrano, Hardys) and worked on various custom and retail typefaces including FF Meta Serif, the seriffed sibling of the renowned FF Meta.

Sowersby's reputation for typeface design has lead to his working with - and for - contemporary typographic luminaries such as Christian Schwartz, Erik Spiekermann, Chester Jenkins, House Industries, DNA Design and Pentagram. In 2010 Sowersby was named an ADC Young Gun.

The Klim Type Foundry markets its typefaces exclusively through Village. Sowersby's typefaces combine historical knowledge with contemporary craftmanship & finish.

Sara Blake

New Yorkhttp://www.hellozso.com

Sara Blake is a New York City-based illustrator, designer and art director who combines traditional hand-drawn work with digital painting.

After studying art and writing at NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, she began working as a production artist for boutique digital agency Engine Three, focussing on website and digital solutions for fashion photographers, designers, artists, musicians and modelling agencies. This lead to a career in interactive design and until recently Sara worked as an art director for various design agencies.

In 2007, Blake combined her fine art background with her digital work and started her small illustration studio called ZSO (pronounced "zo"). Alongside her commercial work for clients such as Nike, Hurley, Marc Jacobs and TED, she is also an exhibiting fine artist. Her first solo gallery show opened in Sydney at the Friends of Leon Gallery last September.

Sara Blake's work is inspired by fashion, nature, music, ancient folk art, tattoo design and the decorative arts.

Patrick Reynolds

New Zealandhttp://www.patrickreynolds.co.nz/

Patrick Reynolds has cemented his place as one of New Zealand’s most renowned photographers.

He is perhaps best known commercially for his architectural photography. His exterior and interior work shows up regularly in Home New Zealand and Vogue Living, as well as in work for Huka Lodge, Mighty River Power, Mercury Energy, Louis Vuitton and BMW.

Alongside his ubiquitous industry work, Reynolds is also an exhibiting fine arts photographer. His imagery regularly explores themes of landscape, nature, architecture and pattern; preconceptions of what constitutes beauty and the utilitarian, and the space created by the fusion of both. As Reynolds puts it, “photography, like architecture, desires the ideal but confronts the mundane.”

His work can be found in a number of collections throughout New Zealand - the Wallace Collection, Te Papa, the Auckland Art Gallery and Waikato Museum. He is represented in Auckland by Gow Langsford Gallery and John Leech Gallery.

Rafaël Rozendaal

Globalhttp://www.newrafael.com/

Rafaël Rozendaal is a visual artist who uses the internet as his canvas. His artistic practice consists of websites, installations, drawings, and writing. Spread out over a vast network of domain names, he attracts a large online audience, over 12 million unique visits per year.

His work researches the screen as a pictorial space, reverse engineering reality into condensed bits, in a space somewhere between animated cartoons and paintings. His installations involve moving light and reflections, taking online works and transforming them into a spatial experience.
He also created BYOB (Bring Your Own Beamer), an open source DIY curatorial format that is spreading across the world rapidly.

Selected exhibitions: Venice Biennial, Valencia Biennial, Moca Taipei, Casa Franca Brasil Rio, TSCA Gallery Tokyo (solo), Spencer Brownstone Gallery NYC (solo), NIMk Amsterdam (solo), Stedelijk Museum project space (solo).

Selected press: Flash Art, Purple Magazine, Dazed & Confused, Interview Magazine, Wired Magazine, O Globo.

Great grandfather: Humberto Castello Branco, former president of Brazil.

Morag Myerscough

Londonhttp://www.studiomyerscough.com/

The integration of design and its environment is central to Morag Myerscough's approach; not being controled by labels and limitations.

Myerscough studied graphic design at St Martin's School of Art, London (1983-1986) and the Royal College of Art & Design (1986-1988). She set up her own cross-disciplinary design practice, Studio Myerscough, in 1993.

"Challenges keep my design fresh and I am always open to the unexpected," says Myerscough. "I never approach a job with any preconceptions; it's important to find the best way to work on a project and not be constrained by set formulas from the outset. I relish collaborations and trust."

Morag Myerscough's award-winning studio collaborates with some of the world's most respected architects and cultural institutions on exhibition design, environmental graphics and place-making schemes. Her collaborations with the architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris have resulted in nominations for the Stirling Prize in each of the last 2 years. Myerscough's broad range of self-initiated projects, including the Her House and Her Gallery concepts, constantly challange what it means to be a designer in the 21st Century.

The Rumpus Room

GLOBALhttp://therumpusroom.tv/

Tomas Roope, one of the founding partners of The Rumpus Room, has been a leading digital practitioner since 1994.

His first project anitrom, launched in 1995, was awarded the "Most Outstanding Contribution to Digital Culture" as part of the first Europe Internet Week. He also started the interactive department at Tomato in 1998.

The Rumpus Room specialises in hybrid communication - fusing real world, interactive and social platforms. It looks for innovative ways to raise brand awareness through engaging audiences at an emotional level.

With a track record of innovative global projects, the team works with advertising/media agencies, local and international brands, broadcasters, charities and government agencies.

The Rumpus Room works with its sister film production company, New Zealand's The Sweet Shop, on integrated online campaigns, delivering traditional film craft, interactive participation and the servicing of communities.

Roope has won several awards including three D&AD silvers and a Gold Lion, and was nominated for the Design Museums British Insurance Design of the Year 2009. He has produced permanent and temporary installations for several international exhibitions and events, working with internationally acclaimed creative minds such as Ron Arad, Rankin, Mark Farrow, Alan Yau and Danny Boyle.

Chris Graham

New Zealandhttp://www.goodlifefilms.co.nz

Chris Graham is a film director, who is known for both his feature films and local music video work. He also makes commercials and docos through his company goodLife, while also being represented in the north by Tate USA.

After developing graffiti art & photography skills as a Wellington teenager, he was accepted to film school in New York City.  He graduated with honours from the School of Visual Arts, SVA, in Manhattan, his thesis film 'Life Before Me' winning three Dusty Awards for Best Direction, Best Sound & Best Film.

Returning to New Zealand, he joined up with production company Flying Fish and built up an impressive commercial resume before starting up his own shop, goodLife. He has taken away awards for his short films 'Bus Stop' [Melbourne '02] & 'Water' [Sundance '04]. Recently he has also made 42Below-commissioned short film 'DayDreamers,' as well as the short 'Simple Pleasures' for ApplesFromNZ.com

Graham’s debut feature, 2006 comedy Sione’s Wedding, grossed the highest opening weekend ever for a New Zealand film, which was followed up by psychological horror The Ferryman starring internationally renowned talent John Rhys Davis (Gimli, from Lord of the Rings) and Kerry Fox.

Graham is currently screenwriting his next feature, as well as having other feature projects on the go in both the US and New Zealand.

KesselsKramer

Amsterdamhttp://www.kesselskramer.com/

Engin Celikbas joined Amsterdam start-up agency Kesselskramer as Managing Director and Partner in 1998, after several years working in the Amsterdam, London and Brussels offices of DDB.

Together with five other local and international partners, Celikbas played an instrumental role in growing and diversifying KesselsKramer's business that has garnered them a reputation as one of the most respected independent communications agencies in the world.

He has overseen projects including Diesel's international advertising campaigns, the launch of a furniture line under the company's own label Do, an internationally acclaimed feature-length documentary, The Other Final and MTV campaigns for Japan.

In addition, KesselsKramer has published over thirty books, curated exhibitions in more than eight countries, produced over thirty children's television shows and directed a video for music legend Tom Waits. Celikbas' most recent contribution to the company was the set-up of KK Outlet - their London office/gallery/store.

Today KesselsKramer is a healthy company with over fifty employees working from their Amsterdam and London offices.

Stamen Design

San Franciscohttp://www.stamen.com

Stamen was founded by Eric Rodenbeck in San Francisco in 2001 and has established a reputation for creating compelling data visualisation.

Occupying a creatively stimulating space somewhere between developmental research and design, Stamen's close relationship with technology clients leads them to explore numerous research projects which have a way of finding applications in the real world.

Stamen look for clients that provide them with broad and varied design challenges: providing live views of social networking, covering live bicycle races over the internet, even "describing the lifetime output of an all-but-uncategorizable artist/architect."

Rodenbeck has illustrated and designed at Wired Magazine and Wired Books, and was a co-founder of the design collective Umwow. He is a sought-after speaker and has given talks at Yale University, OFF in Barcelona and South by Southwest, among others.

Stamen are based in San Francisco's Mission District, above a grocery store in an old carpet factory, surrounded by "plants, music, books, and laughter."

Imaginary Forces

USAhttp://www.imaginaryforces.com/

Karin Fong is a director and designer based in New York City. A founding member of Imaginary Forces, she combines live-action, design and animation for projects in film, television, and immersive environments.

Karin has designed title sequences for numerous feature films, including Ray, Charlotte’s Web, The Pink Panther 2, Terminator :Salvation, and Going the Distance.  Her most recent film project is the upcoming documentary Magic Trip, for which she’s created a visual language for Ken Kesey’s acid fueled adventure across America.

As a commercial director, Karin has helmed spots for Target, Chevrolet, Herman Miller, Sears, and Honda . Other projects include combining cinema with architecture for diverse environments, including Las Vegas, Times Square, Lincoln Center and the LA Opera. Her interest in  narrative sequences led her to create a series of flashback cinematics for the Sony PlayStation game, God of War III. Karin's work in television won her an Emmy for main title design and most recently includes the opening of HBO's Boardwalk Empire.

Karin’s work has appeared in the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, the Pasadena Museum of California Art, the Wexner Center, Artists Space, and numerous publications on design and film. In 2009, Karin was named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business. The AGI member has taught workshops at RISD and CalArts, and is on the faculty of the Yale School of Art. She counts Saul Bass, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Rene Magritte and Schoolhouse Rock among her influences. 

Hort

Berlinhttp://www.hort.org.uk

Eike Koenig is the creator of Hort, a small graphic design studio made up of a mixed bag of uniquely selected, creative and spirited people. Hort has been a constant pioneer in re-inventing the visual language of contemporary graphic design.

Hort's ongoing experimental enthusiasm has inspired many young budding designers, featured in countless publications and has been influential amongst its contemporaries.

Hort likes to inform people creatively and in a way that makes information easier to understand, whether it's a poster for a theatre company, campaign imagery, web design or magazine design.

Hort develops "visual systems" to help in developing their work within the limitations that come with a project. Limitations can be anything from a corporate colour to a specific audience - or a tight deadline. 

When away from his humble Hort hub, Koenig leads numerous creative workshops locally and internationally and has conducted lectures at various universities around Germany. His knowledge and experience has seen him share his stories as far as South America, Australia, and now New Zealand.

Frank Kozik

San Franciscohttp://www.frankkozik.net

Credited with single handedly reviving the “lost” art of the concert poster, Frank Kozik's creative career rose largely out of his enthusiasm for the growing underground punk rock scene in mid-eighties Austin, Texas. Starting with black and white flyers for friends’ bands, his reputation grew as an artist whose work was graphically compelling as well as culturally gripping.

Kozik is based in San Francisco, California, where he produces artwork, toys and graphic design. He formerly managed his own record label, Man’s Ruin Records (1995-2001,) under which he released over 220 singles and full length albums, including the first Queens of the Stone Age single.

He has produced artwork for a diverse range of musicians such as Pearl Jam, the Butthole Surfers, Green Day, Neil Young, Sonic Youth, the Melvins and many more. In 1996, he directed Soundgarden’s “Pretty Noose” music video. Kozik’s commercial clients include Nike, Gatorade, Absolute Vodka, Oakley, Harley Davidson, and Spike TV.

In 2001 Kozik left the music business and devoted himself full time to fine art and the newly emerging Vinyl Art Toy movement. Since 2001 he has designed over 300 separate toys and art multiples. Teaming up with such entities as Kid Robot, Toy2R and others, he has created many collectible characters such as the Smorkin’ Labbit series, the Hate Dunny and Dr. Bomb. He also produces hand painted, one-of-a-kind custom toys and Kaiju figures.

In 2007, he started his own brand, Ultraviolence, under which he produces limited edition art toys and bronze sculptures.