President, Director of Branding
Parham Santana – The Brand Extension Agency
Co-founder of Parham Santana – The Brand Extension Agency, John has 25+ years experience helping national brands extend and revitalize in the retail world. John’s positioning and brand extension strategies have guided long-term, multi-billion dollar retail programs for thousands of products at major national retailers. Parham’s unique perspective integrates design with consumer insight and an understanding of the marketplace. Parham and his business partner Maruchi Santana were honored with Pratt Institute’s Distinguished Alumni Creative Spirit Award for their professional contributions to design. An industry speaker and board member, Parham is also an Adjunct Professor at Pratt Institute Graduate Communications and at Parsons School of Design Strategies. John’s earlier work in fine art photography was awarded “Best of Show” in the international “Magic Silver Show” juried by Abigail Perlmutter and his photography, curated by Duane Michals, is in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies.
Cartoonist
Kat Fajardo is an award-winning comic artist and illustrator based in Austin, Texas. The awards including CXC Emerging Talent Award 2017 and MICExpo mini-grant 2016. She was the editor of La Raza Anthology and creator of Bandida Comics series. She created work for Penguin Random House on The First Rule of Punk (written by Celia C. Pérez), CollegeHumor, and several comic anthologies. Her work has been featured by Disney-Hyperion, Penguin Random House, Cicada Magazine, Dirty Diamonds Anthology, Sweaty Palms Zine, CollegeHumor, Symbolia Magazine, BARTKIRA and so on. Her works are playful and colorful about self-acceptance and Latinx culture.
Illustrator
Ishita Jain is an illustrator and designer from New Delhi, India. She draws everywhere she goes, and is never without her sketchbook. Her work has been featured by ForbesLife Magazine, Indian Express, CNBC TV18, Campus Diaries, Kyoorius Sketchnotes, Comic Con India and IndiaHikes. She recently co-authored and illustrated her first book- The Girl who went to the Stars and Other Extraordinary Lives which was published by Penguin Random House, India.
Matt Martin
Designer
Matt Martin, teaches two Graduate Studio courses at Pratt's MFA Communications Design department. Personal work and teachings center around multidisciplinary and critical approaches to visual technologies and computational design. He is also Associate Director of Computing Facilities at Pratt Institute.
Ye’er Shi
Communications/Interactive/Lighting Designer / Illustrator
Ye’er is a designer and illustrator based in New York City, her work have been exhibited in both the US and China numerous times. Her work were shown at MoCA (Shanghai), 1913 Lao Yang Hang (Shanghai), Z-art Center (Shanghai), Chinatown Soup Gallery (Manhattan) and Greenpoint Gallery (Brooklyn). Experienced in stage design and illustration, she now works as a creative director. She has created art for Cui Jian, the iconic musician known as the "Godfather of Rock" in China, and many other Chinese musicians and songwriters.
Illustrator / Designer
Hui is a queer illustrator and graphic designer who lives and works in New york. She is mostly inspired by stories related to people of color, gender minorities, and her own dreams. She has been featured by Voice of America, ABC News, Sino Vision, and many more. Her works have been displayed in several galleries in New York City, San Fransisco, Beijing, and Chengdu, China.
Illustrator / Designer
Will is deeply influenced by manga and American science fiction. Growing up in China and spending adulthood in the US, Will’s work often depicts Chinese immigrants, LGBTQ, and Cantonese cultures. He has also exhibited at Usagi and Chinatown Soup.