Meet the Alumni: Class of 2014
Damon Ahola
Damon is a Product Designer at Lyft, defining the future of New York City's Citi Bike program through UX, web & mobile platforms. As an interaction designer at frog design, Damon collaborated with clients to tackle challenges through research, strategy, and design in finance, health care, transportation, and consumer products. He has worked with startups to Fortune 500 clients, including Google, Starbucks, Verizon, and BNY Mellon. Damon's work has been recognized by Red Dot Design Awards, Core77, IDSA, The Design Museum of London, The Verge, The Guardian, and Fast Company. His thesis, Hacking the Orchestra of Life: A Movement for Capturing Ambient Energy, explores energy generation through human-made sources.
Website: damonahola.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/damon-ahola-9436793
Matt Barber
Matt is a Designer at SYPartners in New York City. Prior to joining MFA Products of Design, Matthew acted as studio manager for the artist duo Faile, in addition to running the online print shop Paper Monster. He holds undergraduate degrees in Economics and Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and began his professional career in advertising before transitioning to working in the fine art world. Matt's thesis, entitled The End, looks at the shifting landscape of death and dying in today’s society, and the consequences of living an increasingly digital life.
Website: matthewellerybarber.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/matthew-barber-a32aaa8b
Rona Binay
Rona is an Art Director at Apple in New York City. Previously, she was a Senior Brand Designer at Medium, and before that, a Senior Graphic Designer in interactive media at 2x4. After graduating from MFA Products of Design, she was a Visual Experience Designer at Local Projects and a Designer at Birsel + Seck. Rona has also interned for Natasha Jen at Pentagram and freelanced for Benjamin Critton Art. Dept., Natalie Jeremijenko, Ana Kraš, Nissan Future Lab, and Adidas Originals. Rona holds a BA in Interior Architecture and Environmental Design from Bilkent University in her native Ankara, Turkey. Her thesis, COEXIST: Mixing With Urban Wildlife, studies the relationship between city and nature through the lens of urban wildlife.
Website: ronabinay.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/rona-binay-3700181a
Richard Clarkson
Richard is the Founder and Creative Director at Richard Clarkson Studio, an innovative art and design studio based in Brooklyn whose clients include Google, IBM, Coca-Cola, and Miley Cyrus. During his studies at the Products of Design program, Richard realized and developed a strong passion for physical computing and business management. Utilizing these and other key skillsets, Richard launched his studio with his flagship product, the Smart Cloud. The studio has continued to grow, reaching international buyers and press with ever-evolving projects and products. Richard's thesis, entitled Super. Moments of Remarkable, was presented in May 2014.
Website: richardclarkson.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/clarksonrichard
Mansi Gupta
Mansi is the Founder and Design Strategist at Unconform Studio—a design research firm focused on making design for women mainstream. Originally from the industrial city of Kanpur in North India, where she grew up around leather manufacturing facilities, Mansi is also the Co-Founder of TRMTAB, a collection of upcycled leather goods made from manufacturing material waste. Mansi studied Economics and Computer Science at Bryn Mawr and has long been interested in the role of design across various industries. After graduating from Products of Design, she spent several years as a behavioral designer at FinalMile Consulting and product developer at Prachi Leathers in her native India. Mansi's thesis, titled BETTER: The Prejudices & Practices of Mass Production, began with the goal to bring sustainability to the larger fashion system.
Website: mansigupta.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/mansigupta
Charlotta Hellichius
Charlotta is a Senior Strategy Director at Redscout in New York City. After graduating from MFA Products of Design, she joined PSFK Labs as a Strategy Consultant and Designer, where she developed strategies and product and service offerings for clients such as Nike, IBM Watson, Staples and Google. Her academic pursuits include a BFA in Industrial design from Lund University, Sweden in 2011, which launched her into a career as an Furniture Designer at Claesson Koivisto Rune Architect and Design office in Stockholm, Sweden. Charlotta's subsequent work won Elle Interior awards domestically and abroad—exhibiting in Stockholm, Milan and New York. Her thesis, entitled Whateverest: Exploring the Landscape of Apathy and Agency, was presented in May 2014.
Website: cargocollective.com/hellichius
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/charlottahellichius
Clay Kippen
Clay is the Creative Director in Environmental Design at Razorfish in New York City. Previously, he was Associate Creative Director at SGK, designing for clients including The Home Depot, ASICS, Enterprise Rental Car, The North Face, Nike, and Under Armour. Before that, Clay was an Associate Design Director in Experiential Design at Madwell, and the Director of Experience Design at Collins. While at Collins, Clay was responsible for the design and creative direction of The Jim Henson Exhibition, a permanent museum exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens. Other recent projects include a performance space for Spotify, a launch event for Ford and an immersive pop-up activation for CHEP. Prior to joining MFA Products of design, Clay studied Architectural Studies and Studio Art at the University of Pittsburgh. His graduate thesis, entitled Lucid: Seeing as a Tool for Learning, examines the importance of tactile experiences in how we understand the world around us.
Website: claykippen.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/claykippen
Kathryn Marinaro
Kathryn is the Creative Director at Argodesign in Austin, where she makes user-centric solutions for both physical and digital products. She is also a Lecturer at the Center for Integrated Design, University of Texas. Immediately following her graduation from Products of Design, she spent three years as Design Lead and UX Designer for IBM. Passionate about near-future technology, artificial intelligence, design strategy, and smart objects, Kathryn is the author of Prototyping for Designers, published by O'Reilly Media, and regularly speaks about prototyping, design thinking, and user experience design. Her thesis, entitled Presence: How to Use Digital Technology to Live a More Analog Life, explores approaches to limiting the distraction caused by modern information technology.
Website: kathrynmarinaro.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/kathrynmarinaro
Cassandra Michel
Cassandra is a User Researcher at Spotify in New York City. Previously, she was a User Experience Researcher at American Express, a Design Researcher at frog design, and an Associate Director of Research at Basset & Partners. With two of her sisters, she founded Make & Do, which is producing Chalo! Let’s Go!, a documentary film about sustainable fashion design. Casandra has led client-driven projects for Nike, Converse, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Dannon, SonoSite, MNML and agency-led assignments with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, and McCann. As a student at MFA Products of Design, she co-founded TRMTAB, limited edition collections of upcycled leather goods made from manufacturing material waste. Cassandra's thesis, entitled Five+: An Exploration of Mindful Experience Through the Lens of Sense, focuses on the question of happiness and how it is achieved.
Website: cassmichel.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cassandra-michel-06b18b55
Samantha Moore
Samantha is the Associate Strategy Director at the New York City-based product design and brand strategy firm Aruliden. Samantha previously worked as a brand strategist at Orla Kiely, serving clients including Verizon, Bose, Google, and Staples. She also introduces students to design thinking as a tool for real-world problem solving through partnerships with schools and the New York Public Library. Before she transitioned to strategy, Samantha leveraged her interior design education from Drexel University as a commercial interior designer and residential design consultant and as an exhibition designer at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Her design work has been featured on Fast Company, HGTV, Make Magazine, Grid Magazine, and Refinery29. Samantha's thesis, entitled Around: Drawing out Relief and Engagement in the Urban Environment, explores overcoming everyday frustrations in New York City.
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/samantha-moore-593779a2
Emi Yasaka
Emi is a Japanese-born designer with a passion for creating meaningful experience through environmental and product design. She is currently a Senior Designer at Cloudflare in San Francisco. Previously, Emi was a Senior Environments Designer at Landor & Fitch, and before that, was a Senior Designer at Manifold. Emi has designed environmental and product experiences for Lavazza Coffee, Best Buy, Geek Squad, Dyson, Electrolux, AT&T, Nike, GE, Target, GitHub, Swedish NATO Force and other non-profit organizations. Prior to MFA Products of Design, Emi studied Industrial Design at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. When she's not designing, Emi is an ambassador for local running groups and help others achieve their goals through distance running. Her thesis, entitled In The Running: Human Mobility in a Sedentary World, examines the barriers to physical fitness in contemporary life.
Website: emiyasaka.net
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/emiyasaka
Joseph Weissgold
Joseph is a Creative Director at Pardon Inc. in Toronto and is a Co-Founder of the After Community in New York City. Previously, Joseph was the Head of Invention at Future Laboratories, where he was also a founding member. While studying at MFA Products of Design, Joseph taught digital fabrication and physical computing at day-camps and after-school programs for teens, and professional development workshops for teachers. He's worked with the Institute of Play, the Makerbot Foundation, and such museums as the American Museum of Natural History, the Jewish Museum, and the Guggenheim. Joseph's thesis, entitled The Teacher's Lounge, was presented in 2014.
Website: josephweissgold.com
Zena Verda Pesta
Zena Verda Pesta is an artist, designer, lifelong learner, and facilitator based in Brooklyn. She currently serves as the Program Curator for Beam Center and Beam Camp to bring fresh new perspectives to artists and designers sharing their practice with kids. Before her graduate studies at Products of Design, Zena was an instructor at the Pratt Institute. Zena's thesis, entitled State of the Art Project, explores apprenticeship programs for teens partnering with local making and process-based businesses, schools, and local practitioners of art and design.
Website: soulmagical.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/zena-verda-pesta-5210b318
Willy Chan
Willy is a Design Engineer at Impact Displays Group in Carlstadt, NJ. Interested in both human-centered and environmentally aware design, the majority of Willy's work takes the form of practical products that solve design problems, rather than conceptual pieces. Prior to joining MFA Products of Design, he earned a BFA in Product Design from Parsons The New School for Design.
Website: inventchan.wordpress.com