Brooklyn based artist, designer and architect

I am a multidisciplinary designer, art director, and co-founder of Tabula Rasa Magazine, a non-profit organization, photography, and arts publication established in 2013.

A Design Strategist with a focus on qualitative research, I have extensive global experience gathering and translating consumer insights that improve design on both emotional and functional levels. I champion users within the innovation process to create better experiences at home, work and play, while helping key stakeholders align on successful business strategies. Lately I've partnered with designers from every discipline to create a series of visual brand languages for a world-leading surgical robotics company. The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum published my book, "Design for Repair: Things Can Be Fixed," under the DesignFile imprint in May 2015. Metropolis, Fast Company, and Core77 have published my writing recently.

Xinyi Shao is a visual designer based in Brooklyn, NY, specializing in brand identity, editorial design and research. Her work has been recognized and awarded by Core77 Awards, TDC, Graphis Awards, Communication Arts Awards, Creative Communication Awards, IDA Design Awards. Influenced by her former finance background, her emphasis on reasoning and precision has made her value research and process, which brings originality and depth to her work. Within a root in typography and interests in technology, she explores new ways of making according to the rapidly changing world and media environment. She holds an MFA in graphic design from ArtCenter College of Design and a BS from Southern University of Science and Technology.

Mitzi Akaha is a New York-based actress with roots in the Midwestern US, Japan, and the central coast of California. After developing her career in Japan, she relocated to New York in 2014 where she continues to contribute her particular talents and peculiar humor to a variety of projects, starring in national commercial spots, music videos and films. She is also a published writer and illustrator and has multiple scripts in development.