Design in 7 Cards | 2024

7 STORIES

THE 14 TH ANNUAL

DESIGN IN

7 STORIES, 7 MINUTES

7 MINUTES

DESIGN IN 7

7 STORIES, 7 MINUTES

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Co man Memorial Union Theater

What can be shared in just seven minutes?

Listen in as seven professionals from the fields of apparel design, architecture, graphic design, interior design, landscape architecture, product design, and retail share thought-provoking, inspiring, and often humorous tales from the design trenches.

Talk it up!

#Designin7 and @UofMDesign design.umn.edu/Designin7

Emcee

Student Illustrator

Graphic Designer

Chris von

CEO & Founder

Dohlen

The Von Collaborative

Chris von Dohlen is an award-winning designer, start-up advisor, corporate strategist, and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience designing new products and physical/digital experiences. Having led innovation work and teams at Target, Marvin, and Fitch, he started his innovation consulting studio, The Von Collaborative, in 2022. To help others both learn and practice human-centered innovation, Chris created the Innovation Breaks Toolkit, which builds on successful mindsets and methodologies used by the world's best innovators. He holds over 20 design and functional patents in a variety of industries.

von Dohlen

Victoria Sass grew up in California and Minnesota and went on to study architecture in Copenhagen, Denmark, after a decade-long career in the design industry. In 2015, she founded Prospect Refuge Studio in Minneapolis, specializing in residential interiors, which allowed her to draw inspiration from her past and the intimate and personal spaces that initially sparked her interest in design. Recently named “A New American Voice” by Architectural Digest and a member of House Beautiful’s Next Wave

Class of 2023 she has also been regularly featured in Domino, ELLE Decor, Architectural Digest, and more. Sass is currently involved in both the Design Leadership Network and Leaders of Design.

Victoria Sass Founder Prospect Refuge Studio

2 Victoria Sass

Victoria Sass

2

Lisa Jane

Owner & COO

Northern Druft

Lisa Jane is the founder and owner of Northern Drift, an apparel brand inspired by the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Northern Drift is sold online, at retail partners throughout the Upper Midwest and East Coast, and in its brick-and-mortar store in Excelsior, Minnesota. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Jane started her career in global sourcing and manufacturing at Target, then moved on to buying and sourcing roles at smaller companies, before launching Northern Drift in 2016. In addition to using creative and strategic skills for her own business, Jane likes meeting and partnering with other small businesses to share information and help each other grow.

3 Lisa Jane

3 Lisa Jane

Allan Peters

Partner & CCO

Peters Design Company

Allan Peters is the partner and chief creative o cer of Peters Design Company (PDCo). At PDCo he has partnered with brands like Nike, Amazon, and Patagonia. Author of the best-selling and award-winning book, Logos

That Last: How to Create Iconic Visual

Branding, Peters’s work has been recognized internationally by numerous award shows and magazines including Clio, Communication Arts, and How Magazine. He loves handcrafted vintage and antique goods and comes alive when scouring small-town antique malls and swap meets. In his free time, he can be found biking around the city with his four boys.

4 Allan Peters

Allan Peters

4

Wale

An avid bass player who dabbles in sound mixing, Wale Falade grew up in Lagos, Nigeria before emigrating to Minnesota to study architecture. He earned a Master of Architecture from the University of Minnesota and has worked in the industry for over 16 years with projects in 40 U.S. states and Canadian provinces. Falade is a principal at Locus Architecture, founder of FIHÀN Design+Architecure, and president of the National Organization of Minority Architects Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter (MSP-NOMA). A frequent guest critic at the U and a lecturer at Dunwoody College of Technology, he believes in democratizing design and advocates to advance design, design education, equity, and environmental stewardship.

Falade Principal, Locus Architecture President, MSP-NOMA

5 Wale Falade

5 Wale Falade

Leslie Randall Founder

The Luxury Shrink

Leslie Randall spent almost a decade in New York City designing embellishments, patterns, and graphics for Oscar de la Renta and Kate Spade New York. During her time there, she also began styling sustainable fashion editorials. In 2019, Randall relocated to Saint Paul, Minnesota, and established The Luxury Shrink, a one-stop shop for her curated services in artwork, branding, and styling. Since then, The Luxury Shrink has worked with high-profile clients like Michael Kors, Kate Spade New York, Lands' End, J.Crew, and Hunter Bell, as well as smaller boutique clients like SKôT Beauté, MAE'D IN NYC, Epara, Undefined Beauty, and many more. Randall is a graduate of the UMN Apparel Design Program.

6 Leslie Randall

Han Zhang

Principal, O2 President-elect, ASLA-MN

Han Zhang leads a culturally diverse team at O2 Design, managing a broad spectrum of landscape design and master planning projects, from intimate residential gardens to hundred-acre campuses. Shaped by her rich dual-cultural heritage and driven by a thirst for new knowledge and life’s adventures, Zhang infuses her designs with personality, cultural insight, and boundless inspiration from nature. For Zhang design is more than a profession – it’s a transformative journey of personal enrichment. Through design, she unites people from all walks of life and fosters deep connections with their surroundings and inner selves physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

7 Han Zhang