Seminars

How is the social Web influencing the architecture and design industries? This session will present a panel discussion to approach the question with two framings. Firstly, how can the social Web help further exposure and opportunity? Thinking beyond the company Web site, how can a design professional craft a compelling Web identity? Secondly, how can the social Web help increase productivity? Web software is becoming more prevalent, whether in product research, construction documentation, project management or even contact management and scheduling. These online tools (dare we say trends) that are quickly moving towards mainstream adoption will be addressed.

Moderator:
Jacob Slevin, Designer Pages. Jacob Slevin is both a designer and an entrepreneur. He was trained as an architect at Cornell University, where he additionally studied real estate finance. His experiences are as varied and mixed as his interests. Jacob worked at Frederic Schwartz Architects, where he helped develop the winning entry for the New Jersey 911 Memorial competition. Additionally, he’s studied investment management at the Royal Bank of Canada, working in its private wealth division. Most recently, Jacob was working at FXFOWLE Architects, before founding Designer Pages. Follow Jacob on Twitter

Panelists:
Rus Yusupov, Commercial Pop. Rus Yusupov has been drawing and painting since he could grip a crayon in his hands. His passion for the arts lead him to LaGuardia High School of Music & Art in New York City, and then to The School of Visual Arts where he earned a BFA in Graphic Design. Since 2001, Rus has worked at some of the top design firms in New York, creating groundbreaking branding and interactive projects for clients such as Sony, Nike, Scholastic, ABC, Estée Lauder, NBC Universal, Akamai, Museum of Natural History, and Bertelsmann to name a few. As Art Director at Razorfish in 2007, Rus lead both the redesign of CNN.com, and design of Hulu.com, creating simple, elegant, and innovative interfaces that helped establish game-changers in the new media world, and change the way people consume news and entertainment. Rus’ work has been published in multiple branding and graphic design publications. He teaches college-level courses on design, and most recently, founded Commercial Pop, a NYC based digital creative agency. Follow Rus on Twitter

Avi Flombaum, Designer Pages. Avi Flombaum aspires to build software that makes the workplace more efficient. After studying film at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Avi joined the Whitehaven Group, then an emerging hedge fund in New York City. As the Director of Information Technology, he designed and built the proprietary software package that has come to define their daily operations, managing assets in excess of fifty million dollars. But after two years, Avi decided he wanted to begin addressing internet-based solutions for other industries, beginning with Designer Pages. Follow Avi on Twitter

Christine Perkett, PerkettPR. Christine Perkett founded PerkettPR on the heels of a diversified career in corporate and agency public relations in both the high technology and non-profit arenas. She holds specialized expertise in social media relations, business and high-technology media and the promotion of early stage, venture-backed companies. She has extensive experience in public relations and branding, new media strategies, issues management, marketing communications, community relations, promotional writing and events. Christine is the day-to-day contact for chief executive officers, chief operating officers and a host of other senior executives charged with managing their business operations, and has served as lead communications counsel to numerous blue chip firms in a wide range of markets including software, hardware, Internet start-up, consumer, healthcare and non-profit. She oversees strategic planning and day-to-day tactical execution of communications programs for a variety of international clients, as well as overall business operations of the firm including new business, staff management and company vision and growth. Christine has managed communications during various mergers and acquisitions for clients such as Salesnet/RightNow, Unisphere Networks/Juniper Networks, Intranets.com/WebEx and more, and directs a wide range of focused communications and investor relations initiatives that produce desired results for PerkettPR’s varied clients. Follow Christine on Twitter

Andrew Wilson, AWCWEST. Andrew has been practicing architecture for more than fifteen years, half of which as a designer and project architect; another two plus years were spent on-site at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California, leading the executive architect’s 7-person team responsible for construction administration of Machado+Silvetti’s award-winning design for the renovation and expansion of the original Getty Museum. The balance of Andrew’s time has been dedicated to writing specifications as a sub-consultant to other specifiers, as an in-house specifier for the West Coast offices of Perkins+Will, and as founder of AWCWEST, a specifications consultancy that transforms aesthetic, performance, and construction requirements into custom-tailored architectural specifications for ENR Top 20 and leading contemporary design firms. Follow Andrew on Twitter

Aaron Plewke, Archinect. Aaron studied architecture at the University of Florida, where he acted as Editor-in-Chief of Architrave, the School of Architecture’s design magazine.  He has practiced architecture in New York and Florida.  Since January 2007 Aaron has served as an Editor for Archinect.com.  In his dual role as editor and community member, he co-founded MAPA, the Modern Architecture Protection Agency—an ad-hoc group that leveraged Archinect’s discussion forum to build a network of activists and successfully lobby to save Marcel Breuer’s Grosse Pointe Central Library from demolition.  In the Summer of 2007 Aaron represented MAPA on a panel at the Storefront for Art and Architecture’s Postopolis! event.  He has instigated several pieces of original content for Archinect, including an interview on the foundations of contemporary architectural practice with Lyn Rice Architects; a collection of micro-interviews with the New York Architectural League’s 2009 Emerging Voices honorees; and an in-depth interview with Jeffrey Inaba and Gavin Browning of the Columbia Laboratory for Architectural Broadcasting (C-Lab).  Currently, Aaron is the 2009 Danforth Scholar for the Graduate School of Architecture and Design at Washington University in St. Louis. Follow Aaron on Flickr