Meet the jurors for the 2026 Innovation by Design Awards

We’re excited to announce the judges of the 2026 Innovation by Design Awards. Innovation by Design honors the best projects and ideas across the design spectrum, as represented by our fantastic group of jurors, who come from some of the world’s most exciting design-led companies. You can read more about their expertise and backgrounds below.

And remember to apply for the Innovation by Design Awards by April 11.

Erik Carter, Designer

Erik Carter is a designer, illustrator, art director, and writer whose work bridges commercial design and critical discourse. He has designed for Verso Books, The New York Times, MIT Technology Review, The New Yorker, and New Directions Publishing, and his essays explore the ethics, the contradictions, and the future of visual communication.

Carter’s first book of essays, Design Harder, was published in 2025 by Book Ideas and is currently in its second printing. He has taught at the School of Visual Arts and the Pratt Institute, both in New York City, as well as the California College of the Arts, and he currently teaches at San Diego City College.

Abidur Chowdhury, Head of Design, Hark

Born and raised in London, Abidur Chowdhury has recently joined a new startup in California as its head of design. He’s interested in creating advanced intelligence with the goal of freeing people from the digital clutter of the technology we have today—in hopes of creating space for meaning, focus, and creativity.

Prior to his current appointment, Chowdhury was a member of Apple’s industrial design team for seven years, helping craft a variety of Apple’s products used daily by hundreds of millions of people across the world. Prior to Apple, he had worked with many of London’s top design agencies. He graduated from Loughborough University with a Bachelor of Science degree in product design.

Eames Demetrios, Director, Eames Office, and Chairman of the Board, Charles & Ray Eames Foundation

Eames Demetrios is a multidisciplinary artist, storyteller, and filmmaker, and the leading global authority on his grandparents, the American designers and creative visionaries Charles and Ray Eames. As director of the Eames Office and chairman of the newly launched Charles & Ray Eames Foundation, he’s spearheaded efforts to preserve and expand their legacy for the past 35 years. His work has included curating exhibitions; overseeing authentic design reissues and collaborations with Herman Miller, Vitra, and Cassina; and restoring numerous Eames films.

A prolific author, Demetrios has written several books—including An Eames Primer; Eames: Beautiful Details; Kcymaerxthaere: The Story so Far; and Essential Eames—which have been translated into more than 25 languages. His ongoing global art project, Kcymaerxthaere, reimagines storytelling through a parallel universe, with 159 installations in 30 countries across six continents—and counting. As a filmmaker, Demetrios has created more than 70 works of various lengths, and as a sought-after speaker, he has presented in 53 countries on subjects ranging from design and science to storytelling and scale, including the TED mainstage and many TEDx events. He lives in Los Angeles.

Jay Kamath, Cofounder and Chief Creative Officer, Haymaker

Jay Kamath founded the independent, Emmy-winning, L.A./NYC-based creative agency Haymaker in 2017. Since then, it’s grown a functioning couch-potato farm for Pluto TV, launched the Seattle Kraken, and let Ty Burrell teach kids what not to do with money through Greenlight. Before that, Kamath learned from the best at 72andSunny, R/GA, and Google, where he launched signature shoes for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving; brought an exclusive Jay-Z album to Samsung devices; and helped Kenny Powers complete a hostile corporate takeover of K-Swiss.

In 2023, Haymaker became a certified minority-owned business. Kamath’s mom marked the occasion by feeding the whole company homemade Indian food. There were no leftovers. Originally from Augusta, Georgia, he lives in Culver City, California, with his wife, kids, and dog, and enjoys singing Enrique Iglesias songs poorly at karaoke.

Arshiya Lal, Director of Corporate Development, Circ 

At Circ, Arshiya Lal is working alongside brands and the textile supply chain to bring the first blended textile-to-textile recycling solution to market. It’s probably no surprise that she’s also a devoted secondhand shopper and clothing-swap host, or that her personal fashion projects have included 3D-printed and cognitive clothing. 

Before joining Circ, Lal was head of product at the biotech company Modern Meadow, launching the startup’s first lab-created leather products with global fashion brands. And prior to that, she led enterprise blockchain partnerships at IBM to bring transparency to fragmented supply chains. Lal graduated with high honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology, studying finance and industrial design, and in 2022, she was named to her alma mater’s “40 Under 40 Alumni” list.

Katy O’Brien, Head of Sustainable Innovation, New Balance

Katy O’Brien serves as head of sustainable innovation at New Balance, where she is a passionate leader who’s committed to driving positive impact in the global footwear and apparel industry. Under her leadership, New Balance has joined The Footwear Collective, a nonprofit focused on advancing circularity in the sector, reflecting her belief that brands must openly share knowledge and collaborate to create meaningful change.

O’Brien has a background in engineering and holds a master’s degree from MIT in system design, which she applies to tackling sustainability challenges across the full supply chain. Her focus areas include decarbonization, materials reuse, and product end-of-life—with a firm conviction that true sustainability requires transparency and trust across the industry.

Zac Posen, Executive Vice President and Creative Director, Gap Inc., and Chief Creative Officer, Old Navy

Zac Posen is the executive vice president and creative director of Gap Inc., and the chief creative officer of Old Navy. As creative director of Gap Inc., he serves as a cultural curator and creative partner to CEO Richard Dickson, and as chief creative officer of Old Navy, he leads design, merchandising, and marketing for the second-largest apparel brand in the U.S., and Gap Inc.’s largest brand. Posen is an award-winning fashion designer and entrepreneur, celebrated for his technical excellence and body-positive designs.

Over 25 years, his extensive career has included red-carpet couture, ready to wear, accessories, and costume design. He was invited to be a member of France’s Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, and his work has received awards from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and many others. During his tenure at his namesake clothing line, Zac Posen, he also served as creative director for Brooks Brothers women’s wear, designed secondary lines at the House of Z LLC, and redesigned uniforms for Delta Air Lines. His work has also been featured in the 2022 film The Outfit, the Sex and the City franchise, and in Ryan Murphy’s TV series Feud. Born and raised in New York, Posen attended London’s Central Saint Martins University.

Gullivar Shepard, Partner, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates

Gullivar Shepard is recognized for his skill in navigating programmatic requirements, regulatory and jurisdictional hurdles, and problematic site conditions to create rich public spaces. With a background in architecture, his expertise ranges from the fine details of building landscapes to planning and managing the firm’s large, complex urban projects. These qualities bring an expanded interdisciplinary perspective to MVVA’s leadership.

Since Shepard joined the firm in 1999, he has applied his integrated design approach to challenges such as ecological restoration, flood control, transportation planning, and choreographing connections to parks and waterfronts. He always aims to tease out the most powerful design solutions within the constraints of budget and site. His projects and research are a laboratory for innovative building methods, communication tools, and project management.

Kelly Wearstler, Designer

Kelly Wearstler is a designer and creative director whose work has shaped contemporary design and culture worldwide. Her Los Angeles-based studio spans architecture and interiors, product and furniture design, creative direction, and curation, operating as a multidisciplinary laboratory for new ideas. Known for her fearless use of texture, color, and historical reference, she has redefined contemporary interiors through an expressive layering of art, furniture, and materials across eras.

Wearstler’s global practice has produced hundreds of objects and collaborations with partners including Bergdorf Goodman, Christofle, Farrow & Ball, Dior, and Louis Vuitton. Beyond design, she is an influential cultural voice through books, media, and her newsletter, Wearstlerworld, championing emerging creatives and exploring the evolving relationship between craft, technology, and design.

Juliane Wolf, Design Principal and Partner, Studio Gang

Architect Juliane Wolf is a design principal and partner in Studio Gang’s Chicago office. She designs and advocates for built structures that simultaneously serve the community and the environment. Wolf brings expertise in the design of sustainable public spaces, complex visitor-serving organizations, towers, and large-scale international projects. For the firm’s institutional clients, she has led the design of many award-winning projects, including the Writers Theatre in Illinois, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, the St. Regis Chicago, and the Beloit College Powerhouse in Wisconsin. She is also the deputy lead designer for the O’Hare Global Terminal at the Chicago airport.

Wolf is a graduate of the Architectural Association (AA) in London, where she received a Master of Science degree in sustainable environmental design, and remained there following graduation to teach as unit master at the Diploma School. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Wolf has served as a juror for the American Institute of Architects (AIA), participated in panel discussions at the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) National Conference, and lectured at the Chicago Committee on High Rise Buildings (CCHRB) and the Chicago Building Congress (CBC).

Jason Yuan, Founder and CEO, Future Lovers

Jason Yuan is the founder and CEO of Future Lovers, a social intelligence company. Previously, he co-founded AI startup New Computer and built Dot, a personal companion with narrative memory, and designed intelligent operating systems on Apple’s Human Interface team. His earlier work includes Mercury OS, a speculative operating system that generated UI from intent, anticipating the shift toward language-driven computing.

Yuan studied graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design, and theater at Northwestern University, and he has worked as an art director and motion designer with clients including Inez and Vinoodh, Klim Type Foundry, and FKA Twigs.