the executive board

Melike Taşcıoğlu Vaughan is a designer, artist and academic with a doctorate in graphic design. Ms Vaughan lives in Eskişehir, Turkey, where she teaches Bachelor, Masters and Doctorate degree courses as a full-time Professor at Anadolu University. Ms Vaughan has published two books, one focusing on book design and the other on environmental graphic design, as well as many articles, papers and book chapters. She is also a book designer, mainly working with international independent publishers focusing on issues of social injustice. She is a board member of the Turkish Graphic Designers Association (GMK).

Ting Xu is the Deputy Secretary-General of the Shenzhen Culture, Creativity & Design Association (SCCDA)—a para-governmental non-profit body commissioned by the Shenzhen municipal government to manage and brand ‘The City of Design’ programme. SCCDA is the focal point for the UNESCO Creative Cities Network programme, maintaining liaison with UNESCO and other creative cities around the world. In this role, Mr Xu is involved in the organisation of the government-sponsored Shenzhen Design Week and the Shenzhen Global Design Award (SDA). In cooperation across creative sectors between Shenzhen and other cities around the world, SCCDA facilitates design education and student exchange programmes. Mr Xu was the Co-Curator of the 2nd and 3rd HK–SZ Design Biennales and Curator of the HK–SZ Creative Furniture Exhibition.

Jonas Liugaila has previously worked as an art director, design lecturer, and strategist. His practices, workshops, presentations, and articles for national and international audiences bring critical thinking and consistently challenge the design status quo. Currently, as a Partner and Development Lead at the research and design agency The Critical, Mr. Liugaila is also an Associate Professor at Vilnius Academy of Arts and serves as a Board Member of the Lithuanian Design Association and Lithuanian Design Council.

Anssi Kähärä is a graphic designer known for his pragmatic design approach, which is characterised by thoughtful typography and a deep understanding of user experience. With a career spanning over 25 years, he has worked with a wide range of clients and brands, creating visually striking work that resonates with diverse audiences. His expertise spans branding, graphic design, and creative direction, where he combines Nordic simplicity with contemporary aesthetics. Anssi is the co-founder and creative director of the design agency Werklig and the current chairperson of Grafia – Association of Visual Communication Designers in Finland.

Qin Du is an Associate Professor and Faculty of Media & Communication Design at Tongji University College of Design & Innovation. He graduated from Central Academy of Fine Arts (Beijing) with a PhD in visual communication design. At Tongji University he combines his research, teaching and practice in visual communication design, typography, editorial design, and branding. From 2008 to 2009, he was a key member of the team from the Central Academy of Fine Arts responsible for the curation and organisation of the Icograda World Design Congress in Beijing which was a huge success and was a milestone in ICoD’s history of exchange with Asian design community.

Katalina Silva, a transborder designer, is the co-founder and creative director of Enigma Creative and Tijuana Design Week. She co-authored and coordinated the winning proposal for the San Diego-Tijuana World Design Capital 2024 and was a Designer in Residence at the UCSD Design Lab (2021, 2022). With a rich design community leadership background, she has organized CreativeMornings Tijuana since 2014, contributes to the San Diego Design Week committee, and collaborates with Design for Good and the Don Norman Design Awards.

She co-founded the Here and There design residency program and directs visual communications at Pragma, a platform dedicated to planetary transformation design.

Bennett Peji is a social impact executive, brand consultant, and creative director specializing in community-centered design. He has spoken at 40+ conferences across 11 countries and taught at San Diego State University. Bennett has led organizations like California Humanities, the Asian Business Association, The Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce and the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation. As a former San Diego Arts & Culture Commissioner, he helped shape the region’s creative landscape. He served on the national board of AIGA and was San Diego chapter president. With 38 years of experience, he has received lifetime achievement awards from AIGA and SDX. He has led major civic branding projects worldwide. Learn more at BennettPeji.com.

Kyle Rath holds a PhD from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and lectures both undergraduate and postgraduate Information Design (University of Pretoria). He is genuinely fascinated by all aspects of design, however, in his current research, he takes a look at signification that describes, from a theoretical and practical point of view, the way in which AI (and particularly generative artificial intelligence) has come to dominate our post-structural society. His research is made manifest in his teaching and presentations on AI within the space of design and good governance (ethics). In particular, how AI is shaping and will continue to shape the way we engage with our technological and social spaces. He also currently sits on the board of the art and design journal, Image & Text.