Nicholas Baker is a designer currently residing in Brooklyn, New York. Born and raised outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, Nicholas started making at a young age in his grandfather's woodshop. After discovering his passion for art and making things, Nicholas went on to study industrial design at the Savannah College of Art and Design. He interned with a range of companies including Boy Scouts of America, Enventys, and HunterGatherer while in school. 

After graduating in 2015 with a BFA in industrial design, Nicholas moved to Fort Worth, Texas to design full-time for Petmate Pet Products. Nicholas designed 80+ products for Petmate ranging from rubber toys to soft goods to litter boxes. He left Petmate in 2017 to pursue new opportunities in New York City. Nicholas launched a design brand, almost object, in 2017. After freelancing part-time for many years, Nicholas started a full-time industrial design studio in Brooklyn. In his free time, he enjoys experimenting in virtual reality, instagramming, and podcasting.

 Armed with an advanced diploma in Graphic Design and more than 9 years of experience in the field, Bev has endeared herself as a strategic problem-solver with an exceptional design eye. 

As Art Director at Cinnamon Toast – a full-service agency in the heart of Ottawa – she guides a team of designers to success by staying at the forefront of design trends and best practices. She challenges clients to get out of their comfort zones in an effort to better connect with their audiences, which has allowed her to work with some of the region's most recognizable organizations, including the National Gallery of Canada, Hydro Ottawa, German Embassy, and Canadian Judicial Council – among others.

Brian Madden is an industrial designer and artist based in San Francisco, California. He is driven by curiosity and an insatiable desire to create and connect. On a given day, Brian could be found sculpting marble shoes in his kitchen, sketching with entrepreneurs on a construction site, or developing new retail concepts for Fortune 500 brands. 

Since graduating from the Rochester Institute of Technology Industrial Design program in 2011, Brian has worked with brands like Nike, The North Face, Starbucks, and Target; international creative agencies like IDL Worldwide and Downstream; product design studios like those of Josh Owen and Jonah Takagi; and up-and-coming startups like Re:store and Modest Matter. In March 2019, he founded his own creative studio to focus on story-driven objects, environments, art, and branding. Brian is excited to visit Carleton University and connect with the next generation of creatives as they define their own paths.

Tony is the founder and Chief Creative Office of Alphabet®, and has over 27 years experience in the marketing and advertising industry. His career began in Ireland, where he held senior designer positions at several of Ireland’s premier design and advertising studios including Young & Rubicam.

He started Alphabet® in 2000 and has since grown the company to include 24 full-time staff across three departments: strategy & account planning, digital & web development and creative services.

Tony is the agency’s lead creative strategist for brand development and messaging platforms. He brings an open and analytical mind to every client problem – working with clients and the Alphabet® team to assess available research, consider stakeholder insight, observe relevant sector trends and ask the hard questions that lead to a succinct and powerful solution. Digital technology is almost always part of the consideration for brand development and includes Tony’s keen observations about consumer experience and the importance of creating a brand platform to engage both internal and external channels – it’s not what you say you are, it is who you are that makes for a powerful brand experience.

Under Tony’s leadership, Alphabet® has been the lead agency for major brand re-development projects for clients across a variety of industries including the tourism, healthcare and not-for-profit sectors.

Denis is a UX designer and researcher with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada's Design+ (Design Centre of Expertise). As such, he works in a dynamic team that collaborates with government partners, stakeholders and Canadian businesses to accelerate technological change as part of the digital service transformation of government services, all with a focus on design thinking and design principles. 

Denis is a Carleton University BID graduate (class of 2001) and continues to learn. Professional experiences (so far) include: industrial design, graphic design, multimedia design, user interaction design, entrepreneurship, design thinking, user experience research, and user experience design.

Dirk Zylstra is the VP of Design for the Luminaires Group (Acuity Brands) and a visiting Professor of Industrial Design at the University of Montreal. Dirk has been designing interior and exterior lighting fixtures and leading design teams for over 20 years and is now focused on the strategic and innovative future of products for TLG. During his career, he is proud to have built and led teams of talented designers and engineers to create many award-winning and high performing products, including multiple Red Dot, PIA and NGL prizes. Despite these successes, his greatest achievement is having converted so many young and unsuspecting individuals into the “cult of lighting”.

Cassandra is the Client Partnerships Manager at design and experience agency, Jam3. She specializes in merging clients and partners with state-of-the-art design and technology capabilities to create groundbreaking experiences with results. Cassandra works cross-functionally across strategy, UX, design and technology to solve complex problems for clients. With a background in journalism, Cassandra has always been a passionate storyteller. Being able to extend a brand narrative or a piece of research in a way that truly connects with audiences in meaningful ways is what inspires the work she does everyday. Cassandra has collaborated with some of the world's most exciting brands including: adidas, Marc Jacobs, Google, and Delta Airlines.

A graduate from Carleton’s Industrial Design in 2017, Alex is a UX and Industrial Designer at Jam3 where he defines and facilitates user-centered design decisions through storytelling and technology. His love of utopian and dystopian tales inspired him to pursue the connection between human emotion and future experiences. As Jam3’s first Industrial Designer, he approaches innovation for brands such as Adidas, Facebook, and Visa by bridging the physical and digital world through strong emotional narratives.