April Greiman was born in New York and studied graphic design at the Kansas City Art Institute and the Allgemeine Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland. She opened her practice in Los Angeles in 1976. An early and enthusiastic adaptor of computer technology, she established her reputation as a new media pioneer with now-legendary projects for Esprit, the Walker Art Center and the Southern California Institute of Architecture (Sci-Arc) that were notable for their experimental mergers of type and image. Her work has since extended into the third dimension, including collaborations with RoTo Architects, Barton Myers Architects, Morphosis, and the Office of Frank O. Gehry where her work has ranged from signage and exhibitions to the development of color palettes, finishes, and textile design. At the same time, April's commitment to new media has led to a wide range of projects including broadcast television design for PacTel, an interactive website for US West, and "Infinite Illusions, A History of Computer Graphics," an interactive project for the Smithsonian. Perhaps April's most widely reproduced design was her commemorative stamp for the 19th Amendment, commissioned by the US Postal Service in 1995, with over 150 million impressions. In 2006, she was awarded a public art commission, an 8,200 sq foot digital video image wall mural on an Arquitectonica Building in downtown Los Angeles.

Awards/Honors
Among her most prestigious awards and honors are the Hall Chair Fellowship, Hallmark Corporation (1989); local, state and national design awards, American Institute of Architects (1994-2008); AIGA Fellowship (2003), Gold Medal, American Institute of Graphic Arts and Chrysler Award for Innovation, Chrysler Corporation (both 1998.) In 2000, April was a finalist in the Inaugural National Design Awards, and in 1999 Chair of the Presidential Design Awards Jury. A recipient of FOUR honorary doctorates, ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN, (2012,) Academy of Art University, San Francisco (2003;) Lesley University/Boston College of Art (2002;) and Kansas City Art Institute (2001.) She is also a member, and past executive committee member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI.) Exhibitions have included Drive-by Shooting; April Greiman Digital Photography, at the Pasadena Museum of California Art, 2006, organized by Merry Norris; One-Week-Only group show at the Jancar Gallery, and currently at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, Elles@CentrePompidou, through May 2010. Her ideas and work have appeared in articles, interviews, reviews and broadcasts in the media, ranging from Domus and Time to The New York Times and USA Today to CNN, PBS and ESPN. Published books have included Hybrid Imagery: The Fusion of Technology and Graphic Design; It'sNotWhatAprilYouThinkIt GreimanIs; April Greiman; Floating Ideas into Time and Space; and Something from Nothing. (www.madeinspace.la)

Laurie Haycock Makela has been a recognized voice of experimental graphic and trans-disciplinary design practice and education for over 30 years in the United States and Europe. After living in Sweden for nearly a decade, LHM returned home to Los Angeles the day Obama was elected in 2008. Most recently she co-founded Madeinthoughtspace with colleagues April Greiman, Michael Rotondi and John Ford to pursue a collaborative, creative design consultancy. LHM was designer-in-residence and co-chair of the department of 2-D design at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI from 1996-2001 with the late P. Scott Makela. Their studio, Words and Pictures for Business and Culture, produced print and new media for clients such as NIKE, MTV, Kodak, and Warner Brothers Records; with work included in and included in the National Design Triennial at the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian in New York. They also published a book and website with Lewis Blackwell called Whereishere.

In 2001, LHM accepted a star appointment as the head of graphic design at Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles. By 2003, she moved to Stockholm to open O.B.O.K. with artist and critic Ronald Jones, Ph.D., collaborating on research-based projects such as an art/cafe/garden space on Royal Swedish Grounds. She continued to teach graphic design and design thinking at prestigious academies such as Konstfack University of Art and Design in Stockholm, and ZKM/HfG in Karlsruhe Germany.

Before attending Cranbrook as a student in 1989, LHM taught at the California Institute of the Arts and Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, while designing award winning books and posters for clients such as The Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities and the Los Angeles County Art Museum. Following graduation from Cranbrook in 1991, Laurie became the Design Director at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. "Walker," her 1995 typography and branding project with Matthew Carter, was included in the design collection at MOMA in 2011. She received the Gold Medal, American Institute of Graphic Arts with P. Scott Makela in 2000 for ten years of innovative work. LHM holds a BA in Environmental Design from University of California at Berkeley, and an MFA in Graphic Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art.

John Ford is a young architect with a focus on immersive soundscapes, new technologies and materials, and construction-ready prototyping. In the decade prior to becoming an architect, he designed visual environments for Microsoft and America Online. In 2011 he completed work on five architectural projects within Los Angeles and Palm Springs, each emphasizing a sustainability and economy afforded by the use of commercial building materials, coupled with cutting-edge fabrication techniques. John Ford was born in Bonn, Germany and grew up overseas. He is a graduate of the Southern California Institute of Architecture, and currently resides in Los Angeles. (www.lassociator.com)

Michael Rotondi is the principal at RoTo Architects. He is recognized as an innovative architect/educator. He has practiced and taught architecture for 30 years, and has always been based in Los Angeles, first as a founding partner of Morphosis, (1975-1991) and now at RoTo Architects (1991-present). He was a founder and Director of the Graduate program (1980-1987) and for ten years (1987-1997) the Director of the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc).

Projects range from educational to institutional, cultural, commercial, entertainment, residential, religious, and meta-planning. His clients have ranged from individuals to large organizations. The works have been published world wide, and he has lectured and taught throughout the world.

Mr. Rotondi has received numerous awards for his designs and teaching, including, the AIA/LA Gold Medal. His awards also include the American Academy of Arts and Letters Prize for Architecture for his body of work in 1992. In 1997 he was recognized by the AIACC for his work as an educator and was elected to the AIA College of Fellows in 1985.

Mr. Rotondi is an Architect with trans-disciplinary knowledge, a synthetic mind, and diverse skill sets which have given him the insights that are essential to an open-minded approach to solving any complex problem and working with a wide range of people. Currently, he is working with scholars and scientists on 3 continents focused on Deltas and Coastal Developments, An education village in a rural setting that is interested in the integration of Agrarian values, Rural densities, and Urban intensities, A hospital for Raptors (eagles and hawks), a Buddhist Monastery, Mobile Learning Systems, a health clinic in Rwanda, and ongoing research projects. (www.rotoark.com)

Dale Herigstad is a thought leader in advanced interaction design, and a specialist in spatial navigation. His roots are in the rich media world of motion graphics design for TV and film, then taking those principles to interfaces for Television, games, and beyond. He was a part of the research team that conceptualized digital experiences for the film “Minority Report,” and is now leading development in gestural navigation for screens at a distance. His creative studio, Schematic, formed in 1998 and grew and merged and was acquired by WPP in 2007. Dale holds an MFA from California Institute of the Arts,where in 1981 he taught what was the first course for designers in the new field of motion graphics in the US. Dale has 4 Emmy's and lives in London.