Armin Vit is principal of UnderConsideration, a graphic design enterprise in Austin, TX that runs a network of blogs, publishes books, organizes live events and judges competitions, and designs for clients. Among UnderConsideration’s greatest hits are the blog Brand New and the self-published Flaunt, a guide to designing effective, compelling and memorable portfolios of creative work.

Eddie Opara studied graphic design at Yale University, where he received his MFA in 1997. He joined Pentagram’s New York office as partner in 2010.

Opara is a multi-faceted designer whose work encompasses strategy, design and technology, with many of his projects ranging across multiple media.

He has won numerous awards including a Gold Cube from the ADC and honors from the AIGA. Opara’s work is in the permanent collection of the MoMA and has appeared in international books and publications.

He is a visiting critic at Yale and currently serves on the board of the AIGA NY.

Jessica Walsh is a designer & art director working in New York City. Her work has won numerous design awards from the Type Director’s Club, Art Director’s Club, SPD, Print, and Graphis. She has received various celebrated distinctions such as Computer Art’s “Top Rising Star in Design,” an Art Director’s Club “Young Gun,” and Print Magazine’s “New Visual Artist”. She is a partner at the New York based design studio Sagmeister & Walsh.

Kate Bingaman Burt is an illustrator and educator. She has been making work about consumption since 2002, teaching since 2004 and drawing until her hand cramps since 2006. Her first book, Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today?, was published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2010. She is currently working on a new spending journal with them which will come out in spring of 2013. She lives in Portland, Oregon, where, along with being an Assistant Professor and the co-program coordinator of Graphic Design at Portland State University, she also makes piles of work about consumerism: zines! pillows! dresses! drawings! paper chains! photos! Starting in 2002, she photographed everything she purchased(finished in 2004). In 2004, she started drawing all of her credit card statements until they were paid off (finished in 2010). In 2006, she started drawing something she purchased everyday (still drawing!). Her work is represented by Jen Bekman in NYC and recent clients include Knock Knock, Poketo, Madewell and IDEO.

Kenneth FitzGerald is an educator, writer, and artist. As writer, he’s author of Volume: Writings on Graphic Design, Music, Art, and Culture, published by Princeton Architectural Press. He produced The News of the Whirled, a novel in the form of 4-issue limited-edition magazine that received awards from the American Center for Design and AIGA. As an artist, his work is included in public and private collections primarily in New England and New York, with numerous artist books in the Franklin Furnace/Museum of Modern Art/Artists Books collection. He is currently Professor of Art at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Founded in 1993 by Andy Cruz and Rich Roat, House Industries is known throughout the world for its eclectic typeface collections and inspiring exploits into product design.

Sam Harrison is an in-demand speaker and best-selling author on creativity-related topics. He is the author of Zing! Five Steps and 101 tips for creativity on command, IdeaSpotting: How to find your next great idea and IdeaSelling: How to pitch your ideas to bosses, clients and other decision makers.

He is a frequent speaker at the acclaimed HOW Design Conference and a regular contributor to HOW, Fast Company and other publications and blogs. He is also a recommended, all-star speaker for the International Association of Business Communicators.

Sam is also an instructor at Portfolio Center, a graduate-studies program focused on brand communications.

He has years of successful experience in all area of the creative industry and has worked with such clients and affiliates as NFL, Major League Baseball, Hallmark, Hasbro, American Express, Merrill Lynch and John Denver Environmental Groups.