Gordon Akwera joined Addison 6 years ago as an Information Designer for the newly formed Simplified Communications practice based in NY. He now leads the implementation of simplified's design approach and is a strong proponent of ethnographic research. Gordon serves as the lead design strategist on such client relationships as Aetna, Merrill Lynch, Guardian, T. Rowe Price, MasterCard, Wells Fargo, Smith Barney, Fidelity and TIAA CREF.
His numerous awards include the Dalbar Seal of Excellence, awarded to outstanding communications that effectively meet the needs of consumers. PODi (print on demand) has featured some of Gordon's work, focusing on enhancing the Client Experience. Gordon holds a M.Sc. from Pratt Institute and a B.A. from Nairobi University, Kenya.
His interests include human cognitive behavior and he is currently pursuing certification, CUA (Certified User Analyst) from human factors international. Gordon is married and enjoys spending time with his 2-year-old daughter. Gordon has participated in speaking engagements including; Transparency and the annual report; and an executive briefing on Macro simplification and Marketing Communications.
http://www.addison.com

Prof. José Allard

School of Design, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (1998 -2007)
Coordinator of Santiago city transportation new information system: Transantiago (2003-2006)
IIID Member (since 2006)
PhD (c) Industrial Design and Multimedia Communication, Politecnico di Milano, Italy (2006 -2007)
Master in Fine Art (M.F.A.) in Graphic Design. California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), California, EEUU.(1996-1998)
Bachelor in Fine Art (B.F.A.) in Graphic Design. The Corcoran School of Art + Design Washington D.C., EEEUU.(1993-1996)

Ruedi Baur

Designer. 1956 born in Paris. 1975-1980 works in the studio of Michael Baviera (Zurich) and Theo Ballmer (Basel). 1979 degree in graphic design from the School of Applied Arts, Zurich. 1980 after collaborating with Lars Müller, sets up the Plus Design studio in Zurich with Sereina Feuerstein. Starts dividing his time between France and Switzerland. 1982 with Michael Baviera (Zurich) and Peter Vetter (Milan) sets up the BBV studio. 1983 sets up his own studio in Lyon. 1984-1988 founding director of the "Projets" gallery in Villeurbanne. 1988 moves to Paris and works (among others) with Denis Coueignoux and Chantal Grossen. 1989 joins forces with Pippo Lionni to set up Atelier Intégral concept. Creates Intégral Ruedi Baur et associés. 1989-1994 coordinates the design department ("espace information") at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, in collaboration with Philippe Délis. 1990-1992 exhibition programmer at the Maison du livre, Villeurbanne, in collaboration with Blandine Bardonnet. 1992 joins the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI). Philippe Délis becomes the third partner of Intégral concept, which is organised as three studios. 1993 two terms as a visiting professor at the Hfg Offenbach, Germany. 1994-1996 organises a higher degree course on the theme of "civic space and design" at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon. 1995 made a teacher at the Academy of Visual Arts, Leipzig, where he direct the "System Design" class. 1997-2000 rector of the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig. 1998-1999 the structure of Intégral concept is strengthened by three new studios (Lars Müller in Baden, Studio Vinaccia in Milan, and Lipsky + Rollet in Paris) and two designers (Christine Breton in Marseille and Pierre-Yves Chays in Chamonix). 1999 in Leipzig, sets up the Interdisciplinary Design Institute (2id).
http://www.integral.ruedi-baur.com

Alex Bitterman

Alex Bitterman is an Assistant Professor in the School of Design at Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY). Prior to his move to Rochester, Alex was a member of the faculty at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University at Buffalo as a Research Assistant Professor, and simultaneously, was the Director for Information Design and Dissemination at the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA).
The IDEA Center is an internationally respected, multi-million dollar research institute that is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Prof. Bitterman is an expert on branding, identity, and identity systems, and much of his research focuses on the accessibility of those systems for those with physical, cognitive, cultural, or situational impairments.

Along with Dr. Daniel Hess, Prof. Bitterman is investigating the effectiveness, typology, and functional usability of identity programs for public transit systems. In 2005, their work on the identity of Bus Rapid Transit systems was recognized with honors in the R.I.S.D. Brand | ReBrand 100 competition, and in 2006 this work was presented at the Kyoto International Conference on Universal Design. Recently, Prof. Bitterman completed the development and testing of an identity program for universally designed spaces, places, products, and systems, with his colleague Prof. Beth Tauke. The project was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, work from this project has been presented in Washington, D.C. Over the past 10 years, Prof. Bitterman has made more than 30 conference presentations.
http://multi.cias.rit.edu

Mikel P. Breitenstein

Mikel Breitenstein, B.A., B.S., M.L.I.S., Ph.D has been teaching (in-class and online) information design-organization-delivery, and visual literacy, to undergraduate and graduate students for ten years at several universities in departments of library and information science (Long Island University, Drexel University, San Jose State University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee). She has designed instructional materials, and presented numerous papers at conferences for the International Society of Knowledge Organization (most recently in July 2007 in Vienna for the German and the International co-session), the American Society for Information Science and Technology, the Art Libraries Society of North America, and the International Visual Literacy Association.

Bryce D. Breitenstein

Bryce D. Breitenstein, Jr. B.S., M.D., M.P.H. is certified in Internal Medicine and Occupational Medicine. He is an Emeritus Professor at the State University of New York (Stony Brook). He is a Fellow of several American medical societies. Before his current employment (see speaker info above) he was in private practice, CEO of a medical/scientific corporation, and medical director of a national laboratory clinic. He has authored at least 50 articles or chapters in books, proceedings, and reports, and presented many talks about occupational medicine issues in academic and professional settings.

Prof. Keith Bright

Keith Bright has undertaken an extensive portfolio of consultancy and research projects related to access issues and the development of inclusive environments, work that continues in several current consultancy and research projects. He is regularly asked to comment on complex pan-disability issues relating to the physical aspects of accessibility or how the implementation of current and proposed legislation impinges on the obligations of owners and managers of buildings, and service providers.

He has over ten years of experience as a consultant and is the founding Director of Keith Bright Consultants Ltd, which was established in 2003.

Before entering academia in 1981, Keith spent eighteen years working in the construction industry in nationalised industries and local government and, latterly, as a senior building surveyor in private practice. He joined The University of Reading in 1988 and founded the Research Group for Inclusive Environments in 1993.

Keith is a past winner of the Chartered Institute of Building Gold Medal for Innovation in Research for the work undertaken in developing design guidance on the use of colour and luminance contrast to assist visually impaired people when using buildings.

Keith publishes widely in both academic and practice journals and, as a highly regarded educator and trainer, is regularly invited to speak both nationally and internationally on topics including user needs awareness and issues related to the development of inclusive environments. He has delivered in-house training courses for large national companies, and more general continuing professional development programmes.
http://www.keithbrightconsultants.com/

Janet R. Carpman

Janet R. Carpman, Ph.D. is an environmental sociologist who has worked for the past 30 years to create places that suit the needs of their users. With her partner, Myron Grant, she founded the wayfinding consulting firm Carpman Grant Associates (CGA) in 1986, and has worked ever since to reduce disorientation in places at all scales, from small buildings and sites to large regions. CGA works in a variety of sectors, including healthcare, cultural, educational, transportation, commercial, residential, and governmental. The firm has developed and refined an innovative, systematic, comprehensive, and pragmatic approach to creating places unfamiliar users can navigate with ease. Their concepts of a wayfinding system and its design and operational components have proved useful to more than 50 organizations around the US. CGA has worked on hundreds of wayfinding projects including wayfinding analysis and masterplanning, wayfinding design review, sign design, map design, and operational planning. The firm is known for involving users in wayfinding analysis and planning and is proud to have worked with approximately 8,000 to date.
Dr. Carpman is the author of more than 45 publications, including many articles, the award-winning book Design that Cares: Planning Health Facilities for Patients & Visitors, (now undergoing revisions for a third edition), and a book manuscript to teach wayfinding skills to directionally challenged people. She has made more than 50 major presentations at national and international meetings and conferences. She is an affiliate of the Center for Health Design, a member of Adaptive Environments, and a former elected Board member of EDRA, the Environmental Design Research Association.
Dr. Carpman holds a Ph.D. in Architecture and Sociology from the University of Michigan, an MCP (Master of City Planning) from Harvard University, and a BA in Sociology from the University of Rochester.
http://www.wayfinding.com

Karen Cheng

Karen Cheng is Associate Professor and Chair of Visual Communication Design at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she teaches information design, type design and typography. Karen received her Master's Degree in Design from the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning. Prior to joining the UW faculty in 1997, she worked in Brand Management at the Procter and Gamble Company and studied engineering at Penn State University. Her design work has been published by Communication Arts, the American Center for Design, Critique, the Society for Publication Designers, I.D. Magazine, Rockport, and PIE Tokyo. She is the author of Designing Type (Yale University Press, 2006; also available in German, French and Spanish translation).
http://www.vcd.washington.edu

Prof. Jill Dacey

A US Principle Investigator, EU/US Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) grant, "Development of International Core Competencies and Faculty and Student Exchange in Information Design". Presentations at meetings, both nationally and internationally, during 25 years as a professor.
http://www.uidaho.edu/artdesign/

Prof. Mario Doulis

Mario Doulis is Professor of New Media at Merz-Akademie Stuttgart and Professor of Interface Design at the School of Engineering at University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland. As industrial and interface designer he works in the field of 3D User Interface Design, Virtual Reality, and 3D-Interaction. He has several years of experience in research and development activities for Research Concerns, e.g. Fraunhofer Gesellschaft and GMD. His actual research focuses on spatial representation and interaction concepts for visual archive mining and process management.
http://www.fhnw.ch

Stefan Egger

Information designer with several years of experience in the development of wayshowing systems in Germany and Austria, assisting IIID since November 2005 in the coordination of the SOMS project "Substituting/Optimizing (variable) Message Signs for the Trans-European Road Network" which got merged with IN-SAFETY "Infrastructure and Safety". In this project which is developed within the 6th EU Framework Programme IIID is Lead Contractor of Work Package 2 "Implementation scenarios and concepts towards self-explaining road environments".
http://www.iiid.net

Veronika Egger

Veronika runs her own design consultancy, is design, in Vienna, Austria, focusing on orientation and instructional design. Her particular interest lies in the accessibility of the physical as well as the information environment. She is a board member of IIID and a founding member of www.designforall.at, the first Austrian agency for the design of inclusive environments. She teaches and speaks on inclusive design and is also consultant to the Austrian pharmaceutical industry organisations PHARMIG and IGEPHA on issues surrounding the design and readability of patient information leaflets.
http://www.isdesign.eu/

Charles Wesley Ervin

Wes Ervin is currently Communications and Public Affairs Specialist with the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, Florida (USA). Previously, he organized conferences on financial and health care communications at the Harvard Club in Boston (several co sponsored by IIID). Before that, he ran his own company, Information Design Associates, in New York City for ten years. He started his career working for Wall Street investment banks. He was Assistant Professor at New York University's Graduate School of Business from 1985 to 1990. He received his BA, MA, and PhD from the University of Chicago. Wes has been active with IIID since the very first Vision Plus conference and is a member of the IIID Board. He also serves on the Board of Governors of the Communications Research Institute.
http://www.artplustechnology.com/

Colette Jeffrey

Colette has presented at previous Information Design Conferences including the IDA's InfoDesign Conference and the IIID Design and Destinations conference in 2003. She has lectured in Information Design and Graphic Design at Coventry University and has prepared and presented seminars on wayfinding for the national health service in the UK having researched and written the official guidance for wayfinding in healthcare facilities for the NHS.
http://www.enterpriseig.com

Guido Kempter

Founder and head of User Centered Technologies Research Institute at University of Applied Sciences Vorarlberg and Associate Professor at University of Duisburg-Essen (Institute for Computer and Cognitive Sciences). He has worked at Dartmouth College (Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences), University of Munich (Institute of Biopsychology), and Université de Paris VIII (Laboratoire Cognition & Usages) on different psycho-physiological media effect and usability studies. He is co-founder and chair of the annual Usability Day in Dornbirn and contributes to scientific journals and congresses both in the area of media psychology and human-computer interaction.
http://www.fhv.at/

Prof. Krzysztof Lenk

Krzysztof Lenk studied graphic design and graduated with an MFA degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow (Poland). Before coming to the United States, he worked as a designer, art director and consultant for clients in Poland, France and Germany on a variety of publication design projects. He was an IBM fellow at the Aspen Conference in 1983.

Between 1990 and 2000, Krzysztof Lenk has been a Creative Directort at Dynamic Diagrams, a consulting company specializing in information and interface design for both print and electronic media. The long list of the firm's clients include Netscape, Harvard University, IBM, Microsoft, The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, Merrill Lynch, Encyclopædia Britannica, Macmillan in London, McGraw-Hill, Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris, American Medical Association, and Siemens Nixdorf. Projects of Dynamic Diagrams have been published in many professional books and journals. Together with his partner, Paul Kahn, Lenk presents seminars and tutorials on visual aspects of information design for the computer environment at conferences and for corporate clients. In 2001 they published a book "Mapping Web Sites".

Between 1973 and 1982 he was teaching publication design at School of Art and Design in Lodz. Since 1982 he is professor of graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design, specializing in information design and typography.
http://www.dynamicdiagrams.com/

Prof. Judith A. Moldenhauer

Judith A. Moldenhauer is an Associate Professor and the Area Coordinator for the Graphic Design program at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She also serves as Graduate Officer for the Department of Art and Art History there. Her design work lies in the area of "information design" which enables people to easily access and use information by focusing on the organizational and navigational aspects of visual and verbal material. Her design work ranges from exhibition catalogues and posters for the Detroit Institute of Arts to educational materials. She is also a member of the organizing committee for Health Information Design, an international consortium focusing on information design issues in the health care fields.

Michael Mrazek

obtained his degree in communication economy at Salzburg University. He founded NET Communication Management GmbH, Salzburg, in 1996 of which he is CEO and sole proprietor. Michael Mrazek's mission: "It is our business to help clients to leverage the success of their businesses with the tools of the Internet."

Only recently Michael Mrazek specialized in developing web solutions for tourism. Aiming at readily measurable results he closely cooperates with experts of tourism, the hotel sector and gastronomy.
http://www.ncm.at

Karin Nijhuis

Karin Nijhuis was Head Consultancy & Projects of the Information & Media Services Department of the Netherlands Board of Tourism before she decided to work full time (and most happily) for her own consultancy Interimair. Interimair has three "lines of business": research & consultancy, coaching & training, web design & development.
http://www.interimair.com

Jim Northover

Jim Northover is founder and chairman of Lloyd Northover, the UK-based international branding consultancy he formed over thirty years ago. Today the company's disciplines include market research and organisational development, as well as brand strategy and design.

Trained as a designer, Jim has considerable experience in developing corporate identity and branding programmes that have included market research, business strategy and information design. He has spoken at conferences and seminars around the world (including IIID Vision Plus 10), and is the recipient of several awards for design effectiveness.

He is advisor to a new academic research unit in the field of information environments and a multimedia creative learning lab in London
http://www.lloydnorthover.com/

Thomas Porathe

Thomas Porathe is a researcher and lecturer in Information Design at Mälardalen University in Sweden. He defended his Ph.D. 3-D Nautical Charts and Safe Navigation in May 2006 (the dissertation can be downloaded from www.diva-portal.org, search for author "Porathe"). Thomas is currently involved in research projects concerning the 3-D maps and the new reflective e-paper/e-ink, as well as teaching information design. He has been presenting at several international conferences, among them The Eighth International Conference on Distributed Multimedia Systems, Redwoods, California 2002, The International Visual Literacy Association's conference in Newport, Rhode Island, 2003, The Eighth International Conference on Information Visualisation, IV 2004, in London, The 16th International Ergonomic Association's World Congress in Maastricht, Holland 2006, and he has been accepted as a presenter at The Usability Professionals' Association's Conference in Austin, Texas in June 2007
http://www.mdh.se/

Prof. R. Roger Remington

R. Roger Remington was born in Florida but has spent his formative and adult llfe in upstate New York (the Adirondacks and Rochester). His professional education in graphic design was in non-establishment settings, having studied at Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
He considers himself primarily a teacher who has critical interests in design studies (graphic design history, theory and methods), research, writing and graphic design practice.
Since 1982 he has been seriously engaged in the research, interpretation and preservation of the history of graphic design, including the history of 20th Century Information Design. With colleague Dr. Barbara Hodik he has co-chaired two major symposla on graphic design history and written a book, Nine Pioneers in Americen Graphic Design, for The MIT Press. His second book, Lester Beall: Trailblazer of American Graphic Design , was published in July of 1996 by W.W. Norton. His latest book, Americen Modernism Graphic Design: 1930-1950 , for Laurence King Publishers in London and Yale University Press in the United States.
At RIT he has developed a unique scholarly resource, the Graphic Design Archive. This project involves preserving and interpreting the original source materials of design pioneers such as Lester Beall, Will Burtin, Cipe Pineles, William Golden and Alvin Lustig among others.
In 1999 he developed a new design history course on 20th Century Information Design which is targeted at distance learners.
He is guest professor at two prestigious design schools in Germany: the Hochschule Anhalt in Dessau and the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany.
http://www.rit.edu

Prof. Hanna Risku

Date of birth: 27 April 1967, Mikkeli, Finland

PROFESSIONAL CAREER
Since 1.1.2006: Head of Department for Knowledge and Communication Management at the Danube University Krems, Austria
Since 1.10.2005: Univ.-Prof. for Applied Cognitive Science and Technical Communication at the Danube University Krems, Austria
Since 9.4.2003: Lecturer with venia docendi at the University of Vienna
Since 1.8.1999: Head of Center for Knowledge and Information Management at the Danube University Krems
1.7.2004 - 31.12.2005: Head of Department for Telecommunications, Information and Media at the Danube University Krems
2003-2004: Deputy Head of Department for Telecommunications, Information and Media at the Danube University Krems
2004-2005: Lecturer at the University for Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt
2001-2004: Freelance translator for the Media and Information Service of the City of Vienna
15.-17.7.2004: Lecturer at the Translation Studies Summer School, Institute for Translation Studies, University of Innsbruck (SummerTrans)
22.- 26.4.2002: Visiting lecturer, PhD programme "Language and Cognition", University of Granada, Spain
1996-1999: Lecturer, Cognitive Science Research Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Skövde, Sweden
1996/1997, 1999/2000: Lecturer, Institute of Theory and Research of Science, University of Vienna
1.9.-31.10.1992: Lecturer, University of Tampere, Finland

EDUCATION AND TRAINING
09.04.2003: Habilitation at University of Vienna, Center for Translation Studies
1998-1999: Telematics-based training on e-Learning for university lecturers, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
18.3.1996: PhD, University of Vienna
12.6.1992: MA (philosophy), University of Tampere, Finland, Translation Studies

OTHER SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES
Numerous international publications and grants for research projects; editor and reviewer of scientific publications; President of TCeurope, the European umbrella organisation for Technical Communication; Deputy General Secretary of the Austrian Society for Cognitive Science (ASoCS); Member of the Steering Committee and Head of the International Section of tekom (Gesellschaft für Technische Kommunikation e.V.); Member of the Scientific Committee of the Institut für Wissensorganisation (IWO - Institute for Knowledge Organisation); Member of the Jury of Multi-Platform Content Applications 2005 and Multimedia and eBusiness 2006 of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour of the Republic of Austria
http://www.donau-uni.ac.at

Bonnie Sadler Takach

Bonnie Sadler Takach is an assistant professor in Visual Communication Design at the University of Alberta, Canada, where she teaches design theory, research and practice. Her work crosses the fields of education, health and the social sciences. She is currently investigating preferences of children and youth for visual messages about health and well being. She is a co-investigator in funded studies regarding the effectiveness and critical appraisal of children's health Web sites.
http://www.ualberta.ca/~artdesin/

Cori Schauer

Cori Schauer has 10 years experience in using qualitative research methods to drive innovation and guide strategic decision-making for a wide range of sectors and clients. Cori's research with Sapient, a business and technology consultancy, and as an independent consultant has informed the design of consumer goods and electronics, park spaces, web sites, supply chain systems, and services for clients such as Radio Shack, McDonalds, New York Times, the American Cancer Society and New York's Bryant Park.
Currently, Cori is an ethnographer and designer in the User Centered Technologies group at NASA Ames Research Center in the heart of Silicon Valley. Her projects focus on understanding NASA's flight controllers and systems to aid in the design of future manned-space flight control systems. Cori has a BA in Professional Writing, English, and Cultural Anthropology and a Masters of Design in Communication Planning and Information Design from Carnegie Mellon University. She has spoken at the Institute of Design's "About, With, and For" conference and at various panels and boards within NASA.
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/home/index.html

Karin Siebenhandl

Researcher at Center for Knowledge and Information Management at Danube University Krems / University of Continuing Education, Krems (A), Degree in landscape planning and architecture from the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna in 1997 and doctorate in 2004. Course director of traffic telematics at Danube University Krems. Main interests: Usability and applications of traffic telematics, perspectives on sustainable technology design.
http://www.donau-uni.ac.at/

Peter Simlinger

Peter Simlinger is principal of Simlinger Informations-Design GmbH, Vienna, Austria, director of the International Institute for Information Design (IIID), originator and Past-President of Design Austria (DA), and Past-Chairman of the Austrian Standards Institute Committee 133 "Graphic Public Information".

Peter Simlinger's focus is on orientation systems, corporate design and on what may be called multimodal communication systems.

Peter Simlinger was instrumental in the IIID submission of SOMS "Substituting/Optimizing (variable) Message Signs for the Trans-European Road Network" which got merged with IN-SAFETY "Infrastructure and Safety": In this project which is developed within the 6th EU Framework Programme he represents IIID as Lead Contractor of Work Package 2 "Implementation scenarios and concepts towards self-explaining road environments".
http://www.iiid.net

Prof. David Sless

Professor David Sless is CEO of the Communication Research Institute, Visiting Professor of Information design in the Design Institute at Coventry University.

In 1985 he was invited to set up the Communication Research Institute, a not-for-profit body that undertakes research and provides information design services to over 200 large organizations in government and industry.

David is a frequently invited keynote speaker at international conferences, and is the author of over 200 publications
http://www.communication.org.au

Prof. Erik Spiekermann

Erik Spiekermann, born 1947, studied History of Art and English in Berlin. He is information architect, type designer (FF Meta, ITC Officina, FF Info, FF Unit, LoType, Berliner Grotesk and many corporate typefaces) and author of books and articles on type and typography.

He was founder (1979) of MetaDesign, Germany's largest design firm with offices in Berlin, London and San Francisco. Projects included corporate design programmes for Audi, Skoda, Volkswagen, Lexus, Heidelberg Printing, Berlin Transit, Duesseldorf Airport and many others. In 1988 he started FontShop, a company for production and distribution of electronic fonts. He is board member of ATypI and the German Design Council, and Past President of the ISTD, International Society of Typographic Designers as well as the IIID. In 2001 he left MetaDesign and now runs SpiekermannPartners with office in Berlin, London and San Francisco.

In 2001 he redesigned The Economist magazine in London. His book for Adobe Press,"Stop Stealing Sheep" has recently appeared in a second edition and a German version. His corporate font family for Nokia was released in 2002. His type system DB Type for Deutsche Bahn just received the Federal German Design Prize in gold.

Erik is Honorary Professor at the University of the Arts in Bremen and recently received an honorary doctorship from Pasadena Art Center.
http://www.spiekermannpartners.com

Paul Stiff

Paul Stiff teaches at the University of Reading, where he directs the MA course in Information Design. For many years he edited Information Design Journal. In 1996 he founded Typography Papers, which he still edits and of which volume 8 is assembling.
http://www.reading.ac.uk

Lennart Strand

Lennart Strand has a long journalistic background as political reporter, cultural journalist and graphic designer; moderator at information design seminars, graphic design educator and university senior lecturer. He represents Maelardalen University in the IIID co-ordinated idX project( idX = Development of International Core Competencies and Student and Faculty Exchange in Information Design within the EU/US Cooperation Programme in Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training).
http://www.mdh.se

Prof. Robert O. Swinehart

Professor of Design and past Head of the Communication Design program at Carnegie Mellon University, where he has been on the faculty since 1974. His professional focus is on new forms of digital corporate identity and branding ("Virtual Identity"), which he has lectured extensively on in the US and in Europe. His work has been exhibited in major shows in the United States, Eastern Europe, and Japan, and is included in the permanent collection of the U.S. Library of Congress.
Bob is a lifetime honorary member of the American Center for Design, Chicago, a past president of GDEA, and a past national board member of AIGA. He is currently the President of the International Institute for Information Design (IIID). Finally, Bob is on the editorial boards of both Design Issues and Information Design Journal.
http://www.cmu.edu/cfa/design/

Brianna Sylver

Brianna is the President of Sylver Consulting, a product innovation research firm that assists organizations in identifying growth opportunities that respond to customers' needs and the business objectives and innovation capabilities of her clients. She's serviced a number of clients including QSS Group Inc/NASA Ames Research Center, ABN AMRO/LaSalle Bank, GE Medical, International Masters Publishers, RadioShack, Marriott International, and Paslode. Additionally, Brianna offers her expertise as an adjunct faculty professor at the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago teaching courses in communication design. She also is a contributing author to BusinessWeek Online and Core 77. Brianna has an BFA in Communication Design from the State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo and Masters of Design degree in Human-Centered Communication Design and Design Planning from the Institute of Design, IIT in Chicago, Illinois USA. She has spoken most recently at Wisconsin's Product Development Management Association Chapter event (Nov. 2006) and the Ideas to Profits conference in Whitewater, WI (Nov. 2006).
http://www.sylverconsulting.com

Alex Tyers

Alex Tyers is the director of his own graphic design studio and is senior designer and project manager of the Communication Research Institute. He has been involved with the work of the Institute for the past 16 years and has been responsible for much of the project work and project-related research from the past 7 years.

Alex holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in design from the University of Tasmania. He has over 16 years industry experience. He is an active member of the Australian design community, and was an elected council representative in 2005/06 for Australia's peak industry body, the Australian Graphic Design Association.
http://www.communication.org.au

Karel van der Waarde

Dr Karel van der Waarde received a PhD for his research related to patient information leaflets from the University of Reading (UK) in 1994. He has published 47 papers in Dutch, English, Polish, Japanese and Spanish and he presented at 36 conferences. At the moment he is appointed as Reader at Avans University, the Netherlands to investigate the Visual rhetoric of Graphic design.

Rupesh Vyas

Rupesh Vyas is a faculty in Communication Design, Coordinator of Information and Digital Design programme at National Institute of Design, India. He has ten years of experience in Communication Design education and professional projects. Before joining NID he was teaching at Faculty of Visual Communication, M. S. University of Baroda. He is post graduate in Visualization from the same University.

He has contributed significantly to some of the major consultancy project having National importance:
1) Multipurpose National Identity Card for Citizens of India
Client: Government of India
2) Strategic Information Design for Public Transport for Bangalore City
3) Visual Identity and Event graphics for G-20 Event
Client: Government of India
4) Identity for "Sethusamudram" Ship Channel Project
Client: Government of India

He is taking lead road in developing Information and Digital Design as emerging discipline at NID. He has represented NID in different national and international seminars like ICOGRADA, in Japan and recently in Expert Forum of traffic guiding systems by International Institute for Information Design (IIID), Vienna, Austria.
He has special interest in developing newer ways of information, interactions and interfaces in Public spaces, Location Based Information systems and Dynamic Data Visualization.
http://www.nid.edu

Victor Zwimpfer

Victor Zwimpfer, studied sociology and philosophy at the University of Basel. Member of Pro*Doc Intermedial Aesthetik at the ifm (Institut für Medienwissenschaften, Basel). Long experience in user-oriented software design. 2001-2006 research associate at the Academy of Art and Design of the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland. Main areas of research: interface design, inter-action, information visualization, design theory.