Feb 08, 2021

Shifting Your Business in Changing Markets Panel

Ian Chalmers RGD, Pivot Design Group Inc and Robert Smith RGD, Greenmelon Inc

About this video

Description

Panel Discussion with Anne Chou, Ian Chalmers RGD, Robert Smith RGD and Annie Wong. Moderated by Emily Cohen.

About Anne Chou, Partner & Managing Director at Arc & Co. | Design Collective in Toronto, ON
Annie began her career with an award and entrance scholarship to OCAD University. After graduating as top 20 in the program with a BDes, she began working at different design agencies and corporate in house creative teams as a leader in Design. Among the organizations she has worked and collaborated with are Designboom, Manolo Blahnik, Pusateri's Fine Foods, Blanco, Umbra, Bata Shoe Museum, Textile Museum of Canada, Informa Canada, Foxy Originals, Martha Stewart Living Omni Media Inc. and many more. Uniting form with function, Annie’s design ethos is always precisely executed with passion, humour and strategic thinking. In her leisure time, Annie enjoys travelling, scouring local antique markets and reading voraciously. Eager to stay ahead, she is currently looking to further her career by pursuing an EMBA degree to carve out unique strategies for clients who understand the power of design thinking in every successful business.

About Ian Chalmers RGD, Design Director & Principal at Pivot Design Group in Toronto, ON
As a graduate of the OCAD U, Ian brings a creative curiosity and influence to the design research work he does across a spectrum of corporate, healthcare and academic pursuits. As Founder of Pivot Design Group, his professional focus is in the healthcare vertical, bringing a people-centric design focus to the work Pivot creates for researchers, scientists and institutions. He is also the founder of DesignMeets, a 10-year in the making event forum to bring the design conversation to the community.

About Robert Smith RGD, Chief Creative Officer at Greenmelon Inc. in Ottawa, ON
Robert is a creative director, agency owner, author, creativity professor and a founding member of RGD (Association of Registered Graphic Designers). Throughout his 30 years in the creative industry, he has worked for a corporation, a government department, four design studios, started two successful agencies, and continues to run Ottawa-based creative agency greenmelon and teaches brand strategy at Algonquin College. In 2009 he was recognized as a 40 Under 40 for business achievement and community service. Robert had the opportunity to work with brands including Warner Brothers, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, DC Comics and the Royal Canadian Mint. He speaks and facilitates at events across North America including DesignThinkers, the RGD In-House Design Conference, Creative Mornings, and upcoming HOW Design Live.

About Annie Wong, Artist at Headexplodie in Oakland, CA
Annie a.k.a. Headexplodie is a mixed media storyteller known for cooking up eye candy in the form of sculptures, illustrations, and stop motion animation. Her work is a blend of delightful fun, oddball humor, and a touch of teenage rebellion, all rooted in her experience growing up as a first-generation Chinese American in South Texas. Pee-Wee Herman once told her she was very talented and she’s been riding high on that achievement ever since then. Her taboo-smashing GIF project Ovary Actions has received global coverage and she is a Giphy Featured Artist with over 16 billion views. She has created art for clients such as The New York Times, Washington Post, Vans, Creative Mornings, Facebook, Instagram, and The Greater Good Science Center.

About Emily Cohen, Consultant to Creative Professionals in Philadelphia, PA
A brutally honest consultant, Emily has consulted and worked with many leading design firms across the US and Canada. Her key business insights and strategies have helped firms become more effective, profitable and fun to work at. Emily conducts strategic business planning retreats and provides confidential, best-practice insights and advice on staff, client and process management. She shares her expertise through speaking, guest posts, a Skillshare class, webinars, industry activism and in her new book for creatives, Brutally Honest. Emily is a fast-talker, a designer by degree, an avid reader, a trend-spotter, a connector and her client’s advocate.

Ian Chalmers RGD

Pivot Design Group Inc

Ian Chalmers is a design entrepreneur and principal of Pivot Design Group, an experienced design agency in Toronto. He’s also the driving force behind DesignMeets. This event platform promotes the sharing of information, ideas, and different points of view on critical design topics, and a founder of ARCTRN Group, an experimental initiative exploring the process of uncovering human stories and insights in data. With more than 25 years of experience in design and design research, Ian is acknowledged as a business leader, mentor, creative director, and solutions provider across Canada’s business landscape and in the academic community. His recent project work has focused on the healthcare vertical, applying people-centric design solutions for researchers, scientists, physicians, and institutions. Through DesignMeets, he has explored the relationship between design and topics such as climate change, artificial intelligence, and the circular economy. Ian is also a committed community member. He serves on the board of Pencils for Kids, a charity that provides scholarships, farming programs, and sewing programs for girls in a small community in Nigér, West Africa. He’s a former member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD) and teaches service design at the George Brown School of Design. He is a graduate of the Design & Visual Communications Program at OCAD University.