About

Meet The Board

Working hard to provide the design community and the city of Jacksonville with great programming events and design inspiration and education.

Picture of Karen Kurycki

Karen Kurycki

Karen is an independent designer and illustrator. Design is her passion and she loves to combine illustration with design in her commercial work. Karen has been experimenting with watercolor since her days at Kent State University, embracing its unpredictability and the surprises that can come out of using It. She admits that in her view of the world she usually sees the humorous, the quirky, the slightly off "normal". Karen is a strong proponent of volunteerism, and as Community Outreach Chair for AIGA Jacksonville, she was instrumental in starting Discover Design, a design mentoring program for high school students. In her spare time, Karen enjoys collecting random '80s paraphernalia, creating customized personal t-shirts for every home Jags game and singing karaoke.

Picture of Patrick Carter

Patrick Carter

Patrick operates a graphic design studio in Jacksonville Beach, FL specializing in brand development and web design. With a background in advertising agency style art direction and years of experience in the Jacksonville marketplace, an attention to detail and a fanatical passion for design are always maintained. Patrick remains active in the business community by continuing design education, organizing business related events and supporting progress in design thinking while striving to enhance the creative culture in North Florida through leadership as Vice President for AIGA Jacksonville.

Picture of Brian Holcomb

Brian Holcomb

Brian graduated in 1988 from Oral Roberts University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and subsequently studied Trumpet performance at Florida State University. (GO NOLES!) After spending all that money and time, Brian decided that music would not be his ticket and ventured into the wonderful world of printing where he has spent the last 15 years. Brian’s experience in operations management encompassed managing offset sheetfed and digital operations. His career in printing has gained him extensive experience in sales, customer service, estimating, scheduling, electronic prepress, press and bindery operations. After spending eight years in Georgia, Brian moved back to Indiana and has joined the team at Print Resources as operations manager. In 2006 Brian and his wife Joey moved to Jacksonville, Florida and started Print Resources of Jacksonville.

Picture of Jim Ward

Jim Ward

Jim is a recent grad from The Art Institute of Jacksonville with a B.F.A. in Graphic Design, and is bringing his social attitude and habit of striking up conversation with complete strangers to one half of the membership duo for AIGA. He formerly served in the United States Navy, and after his time in the military he stayed in Jacksonville—partly for the weather, women and beaches—in order to pursue his lifelong passion for creativity and the arts by returning to college. Now working as a Graphic Designer & a freelance Illustrator, Jim is driven by a fascination with typography, iconography and a general desire to research and explore. He also considered taking guitar lessons once.

Picture of Jessi Bruton

Jessi Bruton

Jessi Bruton arrived in Jacksonville six years ago by way of Flagler College. She has spent the past five+ years as Art Director at Burdette Ketchum, working on projects ranging from branding to environmental graphics and from consumer to business-to-business. Jessi has done work for clients including Downtown Vision, HabiJax and the Jacksonville Jaguars. When she’s not designing, she’s baking French macaron cookies for Bruton’s Macarons.

Picture of Stephanie Soden

Stephanie Soden

On the 4th day Stephanie arrived in Jacksonville she gave herself a pep talk outside a Cocktails & Creatives event, introduced herself to every person in sight, and never looked back. She's energetic, outgoing, and partnered as Membership Co-Director with the equally gregarious Jim Ward. Stephanie spent 4 years at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and The University of Tennessee earning a BFA in Graphic Design. An inquisitive designer, aspiring writer, and autobiographical comic-artist, Stephanie's interests are all over the board. She also enjoys roller skating, martinis, and meeting new folks at AIGA events.

Picture of Kristina Cancelmi

Kristina Cancelmi

Originally from New Smyrna Beach, Fl, Kristina Cancelmi is a new resident to Jacksonville and a Flagler College graduate. With a passion for problem solving, she also enjoys helping people and daily sketching. She works as a graphic designer of apparel for iconic music licenses, which utilizes both illustration and design backgrounds (...not to mention her love of rock and roll). When she's not experimenting with type and illustration, you may find her surfing, running or hula hooping.

Picture of David Begley

David Begley

David Begley is a Professor of Graphic Design & Digital Media at the University of North Florida. He received his MFA in 2004 at the Savannah College of Art and Design. For design inspiration he looks to the expanse of Pentagram, the individuality of Ed Fella, the drive of Aesthetic Apparatus, the integrity of Celery and the detail of Grant Design. Favorite all-around typeface is still Helvetica Neue, condensed medium to be exact. Everyone needs to try and use Pantone 532 U once. And, there’s a fine line between not trying enough and trying to hard.

Picture of Blake Coglianese

Blake Coglianese

Blake Coglianese is an assistant professor of graphic design and digital media at the University of North Florida in the Department of Art and Design. He received his Bachelor of Arts at Columbia College in Chicago, IL. He moved south and continued his education at Savannah College of Art and Design, where he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in graphic design. After spending 11 years in the industry he decided it was time to corrupt tomorrows design stars and become a full-time educator. Blake continues to hone his craft with a select group of clients and thinks that every home should have a BBQ and a smoker...mmmmmm.

Picture of Jeffrey Spear

Jeffrey Spear

Jeffrey Spear is the President of Studio Spear, a leading-edge consumer products marketing consultancy operating on four continents. Spear started his career in Los Angeles, specializing in typography, trademarks and logos. As his reputation spread, Studio Spear emerged as a full service branding and marketing resource - starting with thorough research and insightful strategies through to innovative creative and impactful executions across the full spectrum of communications channels. With 30+ years of experience, Spear has collected numerous awards including the prestigious Consumer Products Marketer of the Year from the American Marketing Association. Jeffrey contributes regularly to a variety of industry publications, is an active speaker at conferences and trade shows, has produced and authored a cookbook “Yum! Tasty Recipes from Culinary Greats” and has two more in the works. Spear lives in Jacksonville, Florida and is enjoying the beach life.

Picture of Caroline Zwicker

Caroline Zwicker

Born and raised on an island 2,463 miles away, Caroline now calls Jacksonville home. After graduating from Flagler College in 2004 her portfolio teacher mentioned her personality and talent might be a good fit for Shepherd and Caroline hasn't looked back. Find her at any AIGA event and be prepared to hear tidbits about public television, knitting, how "awesome RAM is," the "art of searching an antique store," the book she's currently reading, and how none of these topics make her sound like her Grandma.

Picture of Ron Hubbard

Ron Hubbard

Graduate of University of North Florida with a B.F.A. in Graphic Design & a B.A. in Advertising, Ron specializes in corporate identity, advertising and concepting.

Picture of Kim Huddleston

Kim Huddleston

Kim is a freelancer designer and illustrator, specializing in web and interactive experiences. She openly admits that she knows code better than she knows Spanish. Originally from the Fort Walton Beach coastline in Northwest Florida, Kim moved to Jacksonville to study at the University of North Florida, where she got her B.F.A. with a concentration in Graphic Design and Digital Media. A modern day June Cleaver, Kim enjoys baking (and experimenting) with cooking and desserts, crafting and biking. She is also an avid gamer and has an up-to-date contingency plan for when the zombie apocalypse comes.

Picture of Katy Garrison

Katy Garrison

With an apparent source of renewable energy, Katy brings serious enthusiasm and talent to the AIGA Jacksonville team. Fearless in the face of creative challenges, her love of great design in all of its forms is evident in the art she creates and the events she designs. Skilled in the ways of graphic, web and apparel design, advertising and illustration, Katy is all about perfecting the details. Katy devotes her free time to her personal pursuit of illustration and painting, enjoying a good beer with friends and discovering inventive new ways to drop an iPhone.

Picture of Katie Riffle

Katie Riffle

Originally from New Smyrna Beach, Fl, Kristina Cancelmi is a new resident to Jacksonville and a Flagler College graduate. With a passion for problem solving, she also enjoys helping people and daily sketching. She works as a graphic designer of apparel for iconic music licenses, which utilizes both illustration and design backgrounds (...not to mention her love of rock and roll). When she's not experimenting with type and illustration, you may find her surfing, running or hula hooping.

Picture of Ben Windsor

Ben Windsor

Ben graduated from the University of North Florida with a B.F.A. made from genuine graphic design/multimedia concentrate. Since graduation, he has been freelancing and pushing pixels for Vistakon–courtesy of RR Donnelley. When he’s not designing, illustrating or experimenting with different media forms, he can usually be found attempting outlandish, often ill-conceived acrobatic feats in area parks and gyms.

Picture of Casie Simpson

Casie Simpson

Casie is the owner of Casie Simpson Design Studio where she spends a lot of time working on logos and branding systems. Her clients include Accenture, Kodak, Edline, and Nest Living. This year, she’s heading up the design mentoring program, and expects all of you to come out an get involved! In her free time, Casie serves as the Marketing Chair on the The Contemporaries board for the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville. Casie graduated with Honors from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design.

Picture of Meredith Fordham Hughes

Meredith Fordham Hughes

A Georgia native, Meredith graduated from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in computer graphics. She is currently the in-house Creative Queen at the Jacksonville Port Authority. Fordham Hughes has collected numerous public relations and design awards. Her design handiwork has been featured in national sample buy-ins and she has also been highlighted by The Creative Group in their New Directions White Paper. Meredith is a board member with two other local non-profit organizations and has also expanded her role at JAXPORT to include several community outreach opportunities for local artists and art students.

Picture of Eric Hinote

Eric Hinote

As a former U.S. Navy EOD Technician, Eric used to solve problems with the right application of explosives. Now, as a designer and artist, he prefers something a little more creative and less destructive. From illustrating murals and painting in his studio to ensuring that his clients know the difference between outdated table-based layouts and standards-compliant code, he is always using his passion for the arts and design to create, inspire and communicate a message.

Picture of Brian Hunt

Brian Hunt

Bryan is a graphic designer at the American Culinary Federation. A Pennsylvania native, he graduated from Edinboro University with an Applied Media Arts in Animation Degree. He also attended The Art Institute of Pittsburgh to further his education in graphic and digital design. Currently, he fill his free time tending to his personal web and mobile design projects, but you may see him cruising around town on his mountain bike or wiping out on the trails at Hanna Park.

Picture of Leah Craig

Leah Craig

Leah, a Jacksonville native, studied journalism and public relations at Southeastern University, Lakeland, FL. As Communications Manager at the American Culinary Federation, she develops public relations plans, works with the media and edits Sizzle, the organization’s quarterly digital publication for students. When she’s not working, she enjoys finding new things to do in Jacksonville, volunteering and writing. She is also member of the North Florida PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) Chapter.

Picture of Josh Simpson

Josh Simpson

Josh Simpson is a full-time front-end web designer/developer for Advantage Design Group. He specializes in HTML/CSS/PHP with web standards and accessibility. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design with a concentration in Digital Media from the University of North Florida. He enjoys teaching high school students web development and directs a sub-team in a web competition under the FIRST organization. In his free time, he loves going to the beach, kayaking, swimming and playing online games.

Picture of Andy Gattis

Andy Gattis

Andy Gattis is a guy trying to make positivity cool again. He’s a student in the University of North Florida’s Graphic Design & Digital Media program, and is president of The Osprey Design Club. His favorite fields of work include motion graphics, silk-screening and socially relevant design. Currently, he’s in love with Motown-era and R&B music, and has a lifelong affinity for almost all varieties of rock music. Talk to him about the Tim Curry film “Clue” and you will be best friends forever.

Picture of Amber Ropelis

Amber Ropelis

Amber is a student in the University of North Florida’s Graphic Design & Digital Media program. Though still early in her degree, she is highly involved and tries to advocate better design on campus through The Osprey Design Club and main event programming board on campus. She is interested in printmaking and screen making, as well as sound design and web. A gamer, book enthusiast, avid tea drinker and shoe aficionado, Amber is inspired by people and their passions. She has weaknesses for sweets and old kung-fu movies.

Picture of Varick Rosete

Varick Rosete

Varick is a designer slash illustrator who's been in the biz for over 10 years, designing everything for local Mom & Pop shops to worldwide clients like GE, Capital One and AT&T. He's helped them all with a strong sense of branding – heightening the experiences of their consumers. He's also been drawing all his life and loving the fact that he's able to do this for a living. Although he's got a traditional print background, the last 6 years have been about living and learning in the world wide web as a Founding Partner of nGen Works. The passion driving him now, though, is learning more about animation and motion graphics, while still doing more design and illustration.

Next Event

Workshop: Moveable Type Truck

  • When? 2.5.12 @ 12:00pm
  • Where? Burrito Gallery Parking lot, Downtown

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH Participation tickets are SOLD OUT Spectator slots have just come available! Sign up at our Online Registration I hope you More