Paddy Harrington

Paddy Harrington is the Executive Creative Director at Bruce Mau Design. He is educated in the fields of literature and architecture and his career has moved from research to architecture to advertising to design. He has led the creative development of many large scale initiatives for the studio for clients like The New York Jets and Giants, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, The Holy City of Mecca, Li-Ning, and the Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland.

He is an award winning writer and film maker and has spoken at several design conferences as well as Brown, Harvard, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. He is a regular contributor to FastCoDesign.
Zahra Ebrahim

Zahra is the Principal and Partner of archiTEXT, a design think tank and creative agency that uses design, play, and creativity to actively explore their relationship as tools for impact.  With a background in architecture, Zahra’s work engages diverse communities using a dynamic range creative media.  Zahra spent two years as the Innovator in Residence at the Design Exchange, and currently is the youngest professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU). She is also the co-lead on the Community. Design. Initiative. a legacy project engaging some of Canada’s most marginalized youth in architecture and design in Toronto’s priority neighbourhoods.

http://www.architextinc.com

Twitter: @zahraeb @architext
 
Deidre Dyment

Deirdre Dyment is an interior designer with 17 years experience in the United Kingdom, the European Continent and Toronto. She has completed large-scale renovation and restoration projects in the UK — in London and in the Cotswolds. She designed and oversaw an extensive restoration in an early 16th century Tudor Castle.  She has worked in Portugal restoring, and adding value to investment properties.

Deirdre’s approach is more than simply interior design — it is about creating an all-embracing environment that will enhance the quality of life in one’s home. In 2001 she came home to Canada where she has been creating beautiful and functional interiors for her clients, adding value to their investments and enhancing their quality of life.

www.deirdredymentdesign.com
Luigi Ferrara

Luigi Ferrara is the Director of the School of Design and the Institute without Boundaries at George Brown College in Canada. His previous accomplishments include Executive Board Member for the International Council of the Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) from 1997-2003, and then as President in 2003-05, after which he assumed the role of an ICSID Senator. Prior to his time at ICSID, Luigi was the President and CEO of DXNet Inc. between 1999-2002, Founding Director of the Architectural Literacy Forum (ALF) and Honorary Member of the Association of Chartered Industrial Designers of Ontario (ACID O). In addition to his roles as architect, designer, entrepreneur, educator and lecturer, Luigi is a Registered Architect with seal (member of the Ontario Association of Architects and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada). He has curated exhibitions and authored books and catalogues.
Elise Hodson

Elise is a PhD student in Communication & Culture at York University, with a background in museum studies and design history. She worked for eight years at the Design Exchange, where she was Director of Exhibitions and Associate Curator. More recently, Elise was the Program Coordinator at the Institute without Boundaries, George Brown College, where she continues to be involved in exhibition projects and their program for interdisciplinary design strategy.
Harry Wakefield

Harry Wakefield is the founder of MOCO LOCO, the leading modern and contemporary design and architecture blog at mocoloco.com. Founded in 2003, the blog is a go-to reference for new products and designs from both established and upcoming designers.