Pleased to present:

Creative Manager in Licensing // Hallmark

Christine Taylor is a multidisciplinary creative with degrees in psychology and design. She currently is a Creative Manager in Licensing, overseeing the creative product development relationships between Hallmark’s internal development teams and outside licensed, branded content from Warner Bros., DC Comics, Harry Potter, FOX, LEGO, Minecraft, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Schitt’s Creek, Star Wars, Star Trek, and many more over the years. She is also the Creative Director for PopMinded — Hallmark’s pop culture brand experience, overseeing the creative strategy for pop-up and online shops, fan convention activities, social media and marketing. Previously, she worked as a designer in several areas of the Hallmark including gift books, the internal corporate marketing & branding studio, and the B2B loyalty marketing studio that created content for brands like State Farm, Nestlé and Target. She has spoken at several design and branding conferences, jurored many design, advertising and licensing award shows and has served on both the AIGA National Board of Directors and locally as President, Programming and Communications Director for AIGA KC.

Partner, Client Engagement // VSA Partners

Gus Granger offers his clients a deep understanding of the competitive landscape, and how to create the brand strategies and high performing teams that will achieve their objectives. In particular, his background in B2B enterprise technology branding as well as his roots in interactive design and creative direction provide his clients a guide to digital-centric marketing, alongside the full suite of VSA capabilities. Gus has been honored by many groups including Adobe, American Advertising Federation, AIGA, Brand New, Communication Arts, Dallas Society of Visual Communications, Graphis, and Print Magazine. He is also a VSA alumnus from the early 2000s, rejoining VSA after founding and spending 15 years at his own very successful agency 70kft. The firm was eventually acquired by a global data center company, giving Gus the unique perspective of working on the client-side in brand and marketing leadership. Gus serves VSA’s nationwide clientele from his location in Dallas.

Associate Professor // UCF School of Visual Arts and Design

Victor Davila is an illustrator and designer from the Orlando, FL area, as well as an Associate Professor in the University of Central Florida's School of Visual Arts and Design teaching illustration and design. He has worked on everything from character designs and storyboards for animation, to editorial illustrations, interactive games, and children's books.

Victor is also the founder of the central Florida illustrator collective Giant Illustrators, the Presidents Council Chair for AIGA, President Emeritus of AIGA Orlando, a member of the AIGA Design Educators Community steering committee, a Creative Mornings Orlando team member, and an Adobe Education Leader.