ADAM FAUST
Partner, Creative Director | 5plus8
Adam Faust is the co-founder of 5+8, a Houston-based creative agency focused on building brands that actually move people and businesses. For more than a decade, Adam has partnered with founders, nonprofits, and established organizations to help them find clarity, confidence, and a point of view in crowded markets. His work spans brand strategy, campaigns, and storytelling, with a strong belief that great design is not about decoration, but intention.
Adam’s approach blends intuition, honesty, and a practical understanding of how people experience brands in the real world. He is less interested in trends and more interested in whether the work feels true, memorable, and useful. When he’s not working with clients, Adam is usually thinking about how small creative decisions add up to big shifts in perception.
“Good design doesn’t try to impress. It connects.”
CARISSA HEMPTON
Creative Director | Pappas Restaurant Group
Carissa Hempton is a Creative Director based in Houston, Texas, with 20 years of experience spanning branding, print, environmental, and digital design. After nearly six years at Principle—where she led teams developing brand identities and systems for some of the Southwest’s most recognized destinations and organizations, including Houston Museum District, Buffalo Bayou Partnership, Southern Smoke Foundation, and Houston Zoo—she has recently joined the in-house creative team at Pappas Restaurants.
Independently, Carissa has led comprehensive brand and environmental systems for cultural institutions, destination spaces, and hospitality brands, collaborating with organizations such as Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Project Row Houses, and the University of Houston School of Art.
She previously served on the AIGA Houston board of directors, helping launch the Design Loop mentorship program. Outside of work, Carissa volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters and develops Print Prologue, a collection celebrating small-format print design and the details that make it special.
“The details are not the details. They make the design.” —Charles Eames
JOE ROSS
Partner, Creative Director | MWM
Joe Ross is an experiential design strategist and creative director with a background in graphic and user interface/experience design, video production, and cinema history, who leads the creative team at MWM, an interdisciplinary creative studio and brand experience firm based in Houston and New York City. His approach to design is rooted in historical conventions and cutting-edge technology — always with an eye to the future of a brand and its place in contemporary culture. Prior to joining MWM as creative director, he was a partner of the award-winning branding and design studio Field of Study, as well as design director at PH Design Shop, where he helped launch the global skincare line, Drunk Elephant, among other successful brand launches. He also served as President of the Houston Chapter of AIGA.
KIRSTEN UFER
Sr. Creative Director | Houston Zoo
Kirsten Ufer, a native Houstonian and graduate of the University of Houston’s Graphic Communications program, began her design career in 1995 at the Children’s Museum of Houston. Following several years at local design firms, she was hired as a Senior Graphic Designer at the Houston Zoo in 2006. In her current roll as Senior Creative Director at the Zoo, Kirsten leads the in-house design team— a group of multidisciplinary designers who tackle any form of print and digital project, to 3-dimensional signage and experiential design. Under her leadership, the Zoo successfully executed a complete company rebrand, developed visuals for over 20 master plan projects, and implemented a new campus-wide wayfinding system. Kirsten has also engaged many local Houston artists and designers in using their collective talents to support the Zoo’s mission of helping save global wildlife.
“I think design is a perfect blend of practicality and talent— with a dash of rebellion.”
NIDA ALI
VP Experience | Global Healing
My name is Nida, and I’m a graduate of the University of Houston’s Graphic Communication program, class of 2004. Shortly after graduating, I joined Global Healing, a wellness company that manufactures and retails nutritional supplements, as an in-house graphic designer.
Over the past 20 years, my role has continuously evolved, each transition bringing new responsibilities, fresh challenges, and opportunities that pushed me beyond my comfort zone—leading me to my current role as Vice President of Experience. Throughout my career, I’ve learned that success at Global Healing (or any company, really) requires more than technical skills. It demands creative problem-solving, adaptability, people skills, and the confidence to learn as you go. Design has always been my way of thinking through challenges and creating meaningful solutions.
OEN M. HAMMONDS
Design Executive & Community Leader | AIGA Austin Fellow
Oen Michael Hammonds is an award-winning executive design leader, educator, and advocate for people-centered business. With over 20 years of experience spanning agencies, startups, and Fortune 100 companies, he has helped teams transform complex challenges into intuitive, human-focused products and services. His design work encompasses a broad range of areas, including advertising, graphic design, interactive media, environmental design, product development, and services.
Oen is also a lecturer, commentator, and thought leader on design practices and issues. He has presented at various global conferences, forums, and universities, including the Cairo Design Week in Egypt, the Hue Design Summit in Atlanta, and the Yale Business by Design Conference. Additionally, he is a committed community leader, coach, and mentor, having served on numerous local and national boards, such as the Art Directors Club of Cincinnati, AIGA Cincinnati, AIGA Austin, and AIGA National.
“Design is craft on purpose, with purpose.”
PHILIP LeBLANC
President, Founding Principal | Formation
As the founding member and president of Formation, Philip is dedicated to designing elegant, inclusive, and future-looking systems and experiences for complex environments. With nearly three decades of experience in designing large-scale experience master plans and wayfinding systems, Philip approaches each project with a genuine passion for problem-solving and a keen understanding of appropriate responses. He possesses natural leadership qualities, challenging himself, his team, and clients to transcend conventional best practices and embrace iterative approaches to seamlessly integrate vision with execution.
Philip firmly believes in the transformative power of design as an engine for intentional change that operates intuitively and effectively communicates the user’s requirements.
His work has been published in esteemed industry and design publications such as TX Architect, Communication Arts and Graphis Design Annual. Notably, his work earned him a Global Award from the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers.
ROWAN GEARON
Chief Creative Officer | Adcetera
Rowan Gearon is Chief Creative Officer at Adcetera, leading multidisciplinary teams across brand, design, film, digital, and emerging tech. His career spans continents and categories, with work that’s appeared everywhere from the Vegas Sphere to outer‑space activations, global surf culture, and pro‑motorsports—an international arc shaped by years designing for iconic brands across Australia, Europe, and the U.S.
New Zealand-born, Australian-raised, and Houston-based, Rowan is a hands‑on designer and digital illustrator who grounds his work in craft and story while nerding out on AI, new processes, and emerging tools as catalysts for creative growth. A lifelong musician with punk‑rock roots, he brings a maker’s mindset and independent creative spirit to his leadership.
Rowan believes the future belongs to designers who honor their roots while staying relentlessly curious.
“Design without a concept is like a face without a smile.”
SAAD RIAZ
Founder, DFSG Lecturer | Stanford University
Saad is a designer rethinking the human experience around how we live, learn, and work. How the products, services, and systems around us are designed is influencing us and the human condition — he believes it is the responsibility of a designer to understand our world, leverage design to create shared understanding and to leave the world better than we have found it.
At Stanford University, Saad is a Lecturer and Core Faculty teaching undergraduate courses on human values in design and human-computer interaction. With a background at the intersection of computer science and design, he encourages learners to take creative leaps at the intersection of domains. A graduate of the MS Engineering, Design Program at Stanford, he founded DFSG, a global design school x design studio, built to help people reach their full potential whilst solving the most pressing challenges our world is facing. His body of work focuses on supporting founders, students, and organizations in taking creative leaps from 0 to 1 in building new to the world ideas.
SIBYLLE HAGMANN
Design Educator | UH Type Designer | Kontour
Sibylle Hagmann began her career in Switzerland after earning a B.F.A. from the Basel School of Design in 1989. She explored her passion for typography and type design while completing her M.F.A. at the California Institute of the Arts in 1996.
Before relocating to Houston in 2000 she was the director of graphic design and publications for the School of Architecture at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and taught at several southern Californian schools. In 1999 she completed the typeface family Cholla, originally commissioned by Art Center College of Design, and released by the digital type foundry Emigre in the same year. Cholla was among the winning entries of bukva:raz!, the type design competition of the Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI) in The typeface family Odile was published in 2006 and was awarded the acclaimed Swiss Federal Design Award. Her work has been featured in several publications and recognized by the Type Directors Club of New York and Japan. She has presented her work nationally and internationally at typography conferences and educational institutions. She is the founder of the Kontour type foundry, launched in 2012. She is a professor at the University of Houston, School of Art since 2002.
Hagmann received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, PA in 2021.
CARRA SYKES
Art Director, Illustrator | Emberglow Gaming
Carra Sykes is a queer illustrator, designer, and mama living in Texas with her wife and kids. She creates bold and colorful designs that are often full of play and whimsy. While navigating her creative career path, the past 13 years have been quite the adventure. Through it all, Carra believes that imagination is for everyone and can spark creativity inside all of us.
CHRIS ROBINSON
Illustrator, Muralist | Houston Public Media
Chris Robinson is a Houston-based graphic designer and illustrator whose work blends his professional expertise with his personal cultural heritage. His design background blends a playful, energized aesthetic deeply rooted in rich family and cultural traditions, capturing the beauty and strength of Black identity.
In 2021, Robinson was selected for the Adobe Artist Development Fund commission, where he created over 500 illustrations inspired by the theme of family life, highlighting the significance of Black family bonds and culture. His distinctive style has led him to collaborate with some of the most recognized brands and organizations, including Adobe, BET, Essence Festival, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Methodist, Paramount Plus, HBO Max, and the BeyGOOD Foundation. Through his art, Robinson continues to celebrate and uplift culture, ensuring its beauty and depth are represented in contemporary visual storytelling.
“Art is a powerful tool, a language that can be used to enlighten, inform and guide to action” —Emory Douglas
GIN BRAVERMAN
Owner, Creative Director | Gin Design Group
Gin Braverman is the Founder and Creative Director of gin design group, a visionary interior design studio known for crafting immersive, narrative-driven spaces.
Over the past decade, she helped define Houston’s dynamic hospitality scene, designing originative and fully integrated environments for award-winning chefs, national restaurant groups, and experience-focused developers. Her portfolio includes a range of project types, including public spaces, private clubs, event and music venues, creative retail, and health and wellness concepts.
Gin’s career began in New York City after graduating from The University of Texas at Austin, where she worked in television and film production, to which she later returned to design for an HGTV extreme home remodel show. Her creative worldview expanded further through extended travel across Europe and Asia, where she began her interior design career interning with a design firm in Taipei. Upon relocating to Houston, she deepened her understanding of craft and materiality through an apprenticeship at Installations Antiques, working closely with local artisans in their fabrication workshops.
In 2010, she launched gin design group, quickly gaining recognition for a design approach that blends theatrical storytelling with architectural sensitivity. Her background in film production remains influential in manifesting spaces that are layered, emotive, and built to perform.
To meet the growing demand for seamless project execution, Gin founded GEWL Procure in 2020, an in-house sourcing and procurement studio specializing in custom hospitality FF&A. GEWL serves not only gin design group but also collaborates with other architecture and design firms across Houston.
An active member of Houston’s creative community, Gin has served on the board of the Houston Center for Photography since 2020 and is Chair of the 2025 HCP Print Auction. She is a passionate arts patron and an advocate for local cultural and charitable causes.
Her teams’ work has been featured in publications such as The Houston Chronicle, PaperCity, Houstonia, Houston Magazine, CultureMap, ARCH Taiwan, The New York Times, GQ, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Texas Monthly, The Architect’s Newspaper, Wallpaper City Guide*, Luxe Interiors + Design, Interior Design Magazine, AN Interior, Pendulum, Robb Report, and Hospitality Design.
HENRY NGO
Director of Solutions Design | AppSpace
Henry Ngo is a Design Professional with nearly 15 years of experience in brand, UI/UX, print, and digital design. He is a University of Houston alum and former AIGA Houston President. Currently, the Director of Solutions Design at Appspace, his design team focus on helping users improve their digital workplace experience. His keys to leading a successful design team are communication, empathy, and collaboration. He believes that, regardless of the years of experience, maintaining a growth mindset is essential for designers to navigate the ever-shifting landscape.
Outside of work, he’s a diehard Rockets fan, a horror movie enthusiast, a comic-book geek, and a loyal servant to 3 cats and a corgi.
LIMBERT FABIAN
Director, Illustrator | Emmy Award Winner
Limbert Fabian is an Emmy Award-winning director and illustrator whose journey is a masterclass in artistic evolution. A New York native, Fabian’s path began with illustration, with his work gracing publications like Playboy and The Atlantic and featured in annuals like American Illustration.
Seeking to blend his art with storytelling, he moved into film. At Reel FX Animation Studios, he started in visual effects and CGI, quickly working his way up to director. This experience sparked a passion for heartfelt stories and interactive work, leading him to Moonbot Studios.
Fabian’s directorial brilliance shone with Chipotle’s “The Scarecrow,” a film and game experience that won major advertising awards. This success ignited his desire to create immersive narratives. He co-founded Flight School, an immersive design studio, and spearheaded The Department of Wonder, a project blending digital installations with theatrical magic. His latest work, “Now Is The Time,” uses Virtual Reality to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “Dream” speech tangible for today’s audiences. From illustrator to director to VR visionary,
Fabian’s career is driven by a love of storytelling and a desire to connect with audiences in powerful new ways. He continues to push the boundaries of immersive experiences, inspired by his most critical audience: his three children.
THOMAS GUERRERO
Creative Director, Photographer | Good Ranchers
Thomas Guerrero is a Houston-based creative director, director, and photographer known for shaping bold, visually driven work across film, photography, and design. He has led campaigns and brand initiatives for clients including Apple, HP, Honda, Fuddruckers, Goodwill, Houston Grand Opera, and is currently the executive creative director for Good Ranchers. His approach centers on human truth, crafting stories that connect with clarity, emotion, and lasting impact.
