James Bland has been showcasing his award-winning craftsmanship as a photographer for over 25 years. His zeal for capturing the essence of the people in front of the lens is evident in each of his pieces of work. He has earned numerous design and photography awards, and his portrait photography work has been showcased in exhibits and shows in Dallas and Washington D.C. His clients include advertising agencies, national and regional magazines, record companies, and corporate leaders.

Ben is an American graphic designer living in Portland, Oregon where he leads the design studio Nonlinear. Previously, as one of the first communication designers to join Facebook’s team in California, his focus was on developing Facebook’s internal culture, voice and brand. Most notably, he cofounded the Facebook Analog Research Laboratory, an internal print studio and art program. Before Facebook, Ben, a graduate of the University of North Texas, worked for the design firm and screen printing shop The Decoder Ring in Austin, Texas. There he honed his skills working with a range of clients, designing packaging, merchandising and a lot of screen printed posters. He is also an alumnus and advisor of John Bielenberg’s experimental design education program, Project M, where he explores the role designers can play in encouraging social change.

Lily is a native Texan, designer, illustrator, printmaker and all around maker. She has a gift for problem solving and her passion for craftsmanship result in one-of-a kind solutions for logos, print collateral and packaging. After graduating from Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Lily honed her skills in New York at Tsang Seymour and Bergdorf Goodman. She is currently Associate Creative Director at Banowetz + Co. in Dallas where she and her partner share a studio that is filled with paintings, presses, cacti and their dogs Leica and Wilma. Lily is also proud to serve as Co-Vice President for ICON11: The Illustration Conference.

An art director by trade, it is easy to believe Eric once studied architecture when you look at the precision and craftsmanship of his work. As the Executive Creative Director of the Dallas office of Publicis Worldwide, North America, Eric leads a creative department that is well versed at winning new business pitches and has crafted effective, award-winning, integrated campaigns for global brands including Bridgestone of North America, BMW, PowerBar, Lake Austin Spa Resort, Chevrolet, PowerBar, CiCis Pizza, Beam Suntory (Hornitos Tequla and El Tesoro Tequila), TruGreen/Scotts Lawncare, and Nestlé Pure Life. Prior to that, Eric was Co-Founder/Co-Chief Creative Director of Rathbone Moncaleano Desir and a key creative leader at top agencies including Hal Riney & Partners, Foote, Cone and Belding and Leo Burnett. Eric pioneered one of the first campaigns to use digital and social media at the core of a multi-discipline ad launch for video game Mortal Kombat during the early days of the internet and has continued to use digital and social as a cornerstone of his creativity. He has won numerous awards for creativity and his work has been featured in several industry publications. He has also judged several award shows during his illustrious career.