The RGD Project-Based Mentorship Program is open for applications

The Project-Based Mentorship Program is a 12-week program designed to help emerging designers fill gaps in their portfolios with projects they haven’t had the opportunity to complete in their school curriculum or professional workplaces. Emerging designers or upper-year student RGDs will develop skills such as project management, giving and receiving feedback and rationale writing.

A senior designer acts as a design leader. An Associate RGD or upper-year Student RGD acts as design manager/project coordinator and 1-2 Student RGDs act as designers. Each team will work on a mock project (proposed by the Certified RGD or the RGD Mentorship Committee). If you're curious about the work, see the results from 2024 (part 1 and part 2) and Spring 2025 (part 1 and part 2).

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Complete the form by Thursday, April 23 at 11:59 PM Pacific to select mentors from the list below.

Mentors

 

Marlo Biasutti RGD, (she/her), Toronto, ON

When she was an instructor at George Brown College, Marlo supported emerging designers as they built confidence, clarified their goals and navigated the realities of the profession. She values being a sounding board—listening, asking questions and offering a practical, honest perspective. Her experience spans a range of design environments, including working in studios with large teams, running her own business and working across editorial, branding, packaging and web design. She understands the different paths designers can take and the challenges associated with each.

Project Description (Branding): Marlo will lead her team to create a brand identity for a children’s science and engineering camp offering hands-on STEM learning through activities such as robotics, coding and building projects. On this team, you'll develop audience profiles, brand language and visual identity. Deliverables include logo, signage, t-shirts, camp patches, social media assets and website screens.

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Mairin Deery RGD, (she/her), Vancouver, BC

Mairin brings 15 years of industry experience, with a background in film and video production and communication design. She has worked across both corporate and non-profit environments to deliver values-aligned design and communications. She collaborates with teams of varying sizes to create visually engaging work tailored to each organization. Her approach emphasizes consistent messaging across platforms, from internal and external communications to UX/UI design, web and social media. With a strong focus on brand values and storytelling, she delivers thoughtful and effective design solutions across a wide range of projects and media.

Project Description: Mairin will lead the team through a website or product design project for a nonprofit focused on a community-building environmental initiative: food security, urban regenerative agriculture or another similar subject on which the team can collaborate meaningfully.

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Camilla Dinardo, Toronto, ON

Camilla is an art director and designer with over eight years of experience creating strategic campaigns for global fashion and beauty brands, including Estée Lauder, MAC Cosmetics, JENNY BIRD, La Mer, Clinique and Canada Goose. A graduate of the joint York University, Sheridan College Program in Design, she is driven by a passion for storytelling and collaboration, turning ideas into meaningful visual experiences. She most recently oversaw art direction for e-commerce imagery at Canada Goose, managing large-scale photo shoots and post-production for hundreds of assets. Previously, as Senior Art Director at Estée Lauder Companies’ ELC Studios, she directed campaign development across multiple brands and mentored a team of graphic designers.

Project Description (Advertising) Camila will lead her team in creating an out of home campaign and social / digital ads for a fictional fashion/beauty brand. 

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Andrew Elliot RGD, (he/him), Brooklin, ON

Andrew’s passion for typography and design began at an early age. He works across industry-standard design applications and has extensive experience with the full design process. His work spans a broad range, including brand systems development, custom typography, corporate communications, information design and packaging. Andrew collaborates effectively within teams and is experienced in managing multiple deliverables and deadlines.

Project Description (Branding):  Andrew will lead a strategic rebrand for a Canadian corporation that focuses on its visual identity, brand system and advertising elements to reflect its contemporary national presence.

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Daniel Esqueda RGD, (he/him), London, ON

Daniel's work spans typography, grid systems and publication design, from structured layouts to more experimental forms. With over 20 years of experience as a creative director and graphic designer, he is the founder of Daniel Esqueda Design, a collaborative studio specializing in corporate branding, publications—including magazines, annual reports and newspapers—and information design for public and corporate clients. He has led the design and management of a wide range of print and digital publications, including newspapers, magazines, books and tablet-based projects. Daniel holds a Master’s in Marketing and Digital Communication. 

Project Description (Information Design)  Soccer (or football if you want to call it like that) + Data. Information Design meets the MLS soccer stars. The idea of the project is to develop a series of fan-posters (we can think of at least three), showing the main player (star) of an MLS team describing with data its importance to the team but also in his career (think Messi / Inter Miami, Denis Buanga / LAFC, etc). These can be free collectible posters given during games or downloaded from the MLS website as wallpaper, etc.

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Blair Francey RGD, (he/him), Toronto, ON

Blair is a Senior Designer at Trajectory Brand Inc. Prior to this role, he ran his own business, BFdesign. His experience spans identity systems, digital and web applications, publications, marketing programs, interactive presentations and environmental design for not-for-profits, arts and culture organizations, education and place-based clients. In 2012, he earned a Master of Arts in Design: Critical Practice from Goldsmiths, University of London. There, he explored his interest in civic engagement and city-building through design. This experience, along with volunteer work at the Ministry of Stories in London, led him to co-found Department of Imaginary Affairs in Toronto, a not-for-profit focused on civic engagement programs for youth and newcomers. He has been a part-time professor at George Brown College’s School of Design since 2021, teaching in both the Brand Design (Honours Bachelor) and Graphic Design (Advanced Diploma) programs.

Project Description (Branding): Blair's team will complete a brand platform for a city, town or region. The project will include the following: light research into the location, design of the logo and brand platform, brand guidelines, a tourism-focused website homepage, social media assets, digital ads, print design assets and swag items. The focus is to understand what makes a specific place special to the people who live there and the stories that can be told.

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Magued Hanna RGD, (he/him), North York, ON

Magued is a UX and product design leader with over 20 years of experience designing and scaling digital experiences across web and mobile platforms. He has led multidisciplinary teams, developed and governed enterprise design systems and championed accessibility as a core design practice.

He is an instructor in UX and emerging technologies, as well as a frequent speaker, mentor within the design community and active contributor to the RGD. His work focuses on creating clear, inclusive experiences grounded in strong UX fundamentals.

Project Description (UI/UX): Design an end-to-end digital product for a fictional client, such as a website, mobile app. or combined platform, with a focus on clear user journeys and interaction design. The project will include research-informed UX decisions, accessibility considerations and high-fidelity mockups suitable for portfolio presentation.

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Anjuli Macasinag, Vancouver, BC

Anjuli Macasinag is a Senior Product Designer focused on creating high-quality user experiences and shaping product direction across AI-driven and consumer products. She has contributed to product and design strategy by addressing complex challenges and translating them into clear, scalable solutions.

Her work spans early-stage product development, leading design efforts from discovery through to implementation. She is particularly interested in the future of AI-first products and the role of design in shaping intuitive, user-centred experiences.

She is currently working on Microsoft 365 Copilot Pages, an interactive canvas within Microsoft 365 Copilot that enables users to generate, organize and refine content in real time.

Project Description (UI/UX): This project challenges designers to create a digital product grounded in a clear point of view balancing brand, interaction design and usability to create an experience that feels both functional and emotionally resonant. Mentees will take the product from strategy and concept to high-fidelity prototype, strengthening both their visual craft and their ability to design cohesive, scalable experiences.

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Arun Rajendran RGD, (he/him), Halifax, NS

Arun Rajendran RGD is a design graduate with a strong interest in exploring and expanding the applications of design. He brings strong analytical and research skills, supported by a background in architecture and a collaborative approach to problem-solving.

He is particularly interested in tackling complex challenges and contributing to team-driven design processes.

Project Description (Placemaking): Arun will help navigate the mentees in creating a wayfinding system for a public space. Starting by creating a brand for the public space, the team will be challenged to apply the brand elements into spatial settings. The project will expose the mentees to the real-world challenges involved in creating a wayfinding system. The project will also focus on accessibility and inclusive design in wayfinding. The team will be responsible for creating the branding, sign concepts, information design and finally a detailed design document.

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Javier Reyes RGD, (he/him), Edmonton, AB

Javier Reyes RGD is a versatile art director based in Edmonton, Canada. He brings a multidisciplinary approach to his work, combining experimental thinking with a structured design process to create visually compelling and considered imagery.

Project Description (Branding): Javier will lead a project for a client is a company specializing in promoting coffee raves—electronic music parties. They asked the team to create the branding and visual guidelines for their new coffee-party concept, which coffee shops across the country can license and use.

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Emma Segal RGD, (she/her), Montreal, QC

Emma Segal RGD holds a Master’s Degree in Sustainable Design and is currently pursuing a PhD focused on sustainability in product design. Her research explores sustainable design policies for governments and corporations, developing models that support the transition to circular products and services.

She is committed to supporting the design community by sharing her knowledge and helping designers integrate sustainable thinking into their practice.

Project Description (Design for Sustainability): Emma leads a project focused on a circular and sustainable redesign of a product or service. The key focus points will be on building sustainability into the entire life cycle of the product or service, how to communicate it effectively to the prospective customer and adhering to both environmental and social best practices. Emma looks forward to supporting emerging designers by sharing her extensive experience across all aspects of the design process—from creative ideation and art direction to brand, product and concept development, strategy, sales, manufacturing, forecasting, illustration, packaging, editorial, textile, retail, product and photoshoot production, mentoring, consulting and high-level budget and team management. 

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Rachel Simms RGD, (she/her), Hamilton, ON

Rachel Simms RGD is a creative director and founder of Broadbent Studio, where she has crafted empathy-led brand and web solutions for service providers and professionals for over a decade. With 15 years of industry experience, she combines high-level strategy with a strong commitment to mentorship.

She has also served as a professor of Graphic Design, guiding both students and clients through design thinking and professional practice. Her work is defined by integrity, curiosity and a commitment to creating inclusive, high-impact visual stories.

Project Description (Branding/Information Design): Rachel will lead a project to develop a vibrant, expressive awareness campaign, visual identity and landing page/infographic that demystifies the complexities of trauma and mental health through approachable information design.