Michael is a designer who has worked in New York since 2000. After leaving behind the bayous of Louisiana for NYC he received a masters degree in architecture from Columbia University. After school he began teaching and started SOFTlab, a design studio that is a unique blend of designers, artists, architects and educators who approach every project from a fresh perspective to create rich spatial, graphic, interactive and visual experiences. By mixing research, creativity and technology with a strong desire to make working fun, SOFTlab attempts to create new and unique experiences.

British animator and director.

I am pursuing hospitality concepts that are deeply involved in the local scenes and that serve as focal points for entire neighborhoods; concepts that become not just places to stay, but gateways to communities. I am committed to reshape the way people think about hospitality by exploring experiences that stand for a cause and immerse people in meaningful moments. Head of Innovation at Design Hotels and Member of Further, narratum and NeueHouse.

Aesther Chang is a fine artist based in NYC. She is known for her nuanced and subtle abstract paintings. Her works experiment with textures and colors, and the play between linear and ethereal elements. Moments of free improvisation call for a turn toward meditation. What she seeks through the process is harmony, or in her own words “oneness between self and matter”. Chang’s works directly invite the viewer to realize a deeper dimension within one’s very own being- a transcendental realm beyond the body and mind. To unlock this realm, one must go inward.

Charlotte Strick is a principal at the multidisciplinary graphic design firm, Strick&Williams, founded in 2014 with her longtime friend and colleague, Claire Williams Martinez. The studio collaborates with cultural institutions and clients in the arts, publishing, education, non-profits and everything in-between. For 14 years prior, Strick was a designer turned art director at Farrar, Straus & Giroux, where she designed book covers for much-loved authors like Jonathan Franzen, Roberto Bolaño, and Lydia Davis. Her work has been featured in the AIGA 50 Books / 50 Covers show, the TDC Annual Exhibition, Print Magazine, and in many books about cover design. The proud owner of a coveted Silver Cube from The Art Directors Club, Charlotte is also Art Editor of the distinguished literary magazine, "The Paris Review". Her writings on art and design have been published by "The Paris Review", "The Atlantic", and "The Huffington Post". A graduate of Parsons School of Design, Charlotte lives with her husband and their twin boys in Brooklyn, New York.