Diverse design expertise converges on July’s FRAME Awards jury. Made up of 20 leading design professionals from different continents and sectors, the jury will use its design mastery to evaluate the top spaces and products in design right now. Get to know them, below.

Aaron Ye, CEO and founder of Atom Group

Aaron Ye joined the design field in 2006 and founded his own studio Atom Group in 2012. In his nearly two decades of experience, he has designed spaces for more than 100 domestic and foreign brands and has helped 30 emerging brands in China to develop their own spatial language. Before establishing his own brand, he gained experience in brand, product creative design and creative management in international 4A communication groups such as HAVAS.

Anne-Rachel Schiffmann, director of interior architecture at Snøhetta

Anne-Rachel Schiffmann leads the Snøhetta interior architecture efforts as an architect and discipline director based out of the firm’s New York office. She has contributed her expertise to a wide range of projects, including the interior design of Calgary's Central Library, the Student Learning Center at Toronto Metropolitan University, the SFMOMA Expansion, the Stillspotting installation for New York's Guggenheim Museum and the French Laundry Kitchen Expansion for chef Thomas Keller.

Asif Din, sustainability director at Perkins&Will

As sustainability director at Perkins&Will, Asif Din has raised the profile of carbon proficiency in the practice including a Zero Carbon Report at the end of all projects. He has over 20 years of experience in delivering zero-carbon design projects, most notably BedZED and Jubilee Wharf in Penryn, Cornwall. He has worked in the UK and abroad in China and the Middle East. He has a PhD in life cycle design of buildings from Cass School of Art and Design at LMU. He has designed components like heat pump systems, solar façades and zero fan power heat recovery systems to support the development of sustainable buildings.

Yang Bangsheng, founder and design principal at Yang & Associates Group

Yang Bangsheng is an advocate of culturally distinctive hospitality design. In 1997, he founded his own interior design practice, Yang & Associates Group of which he currently serves as the principal designer. With his nearly 30 years of experience, his company has designed more than 700 hotels, including those under IHG, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Kempinski and Banyan Tree. Incorporating the locality, diversity and times of culture are integral to his design approach for hospitality spaces.

Baoyu Tian, general manager at Foshan Shengtianjia Lighting Equipment 

As general manager at Foshan Shengtianjia Lighting Equipment Co., Ltd, Baoyu Tian believes that light constitutes physical and mental aspects of a space. Located in Guangdong, China, her keen sense of detail has helped inform the brand’s successful product design direction and has been recognized and used by designers from within China and internationally.

Cathy Figueiredo, cofounder at Wanna

Before cofounding Wanna design studio in 2016, Cathy Figueiredo gained experience as director of marketing and strategy in publicity agencies and leading brands. The establishment of her own studio sought to continue to foster brand identity by means of translating their DNA and storytelling into spaces. The studio has completed projects for hotels, offices and retail spaces. Currently, she combines the direction of Wanna’s strategies with teaching in design schools and businesses.  

Deepak Jawahar, cofounder and design director at The Architecture Story

After completing his education in Germany, where he focused on the intersections of art and architecture, Deepak Jawahar worked at UNStudio. During his time there, he contributed to several significant cultural projects, such as the Lyric Theatre Complex in Hong Kong. As cofounder and principal architect at The Architecture Story, he leads a team of designers to create spaces that prioritize and celebrate human connections. He is currently pursuing a PhD at the European Graduate School in Switzerland.

Dennis Vlietinck, head of design at Wink

Belgian-born Dennis Vlietinck is head of design at the creative experiential agency Wink where he oversees projects, mentors a team of junior designers and contributes to a range of experiential spaces. Based in Amsterdam, he has been designing dynamic interiors for over 12 years. His highlights include work for Biennale Interieur and experience-oriented spaces for Zalando, Avery Denison and Budweiser.

Dirk Osinga, architect, research and educator at Studiosinga

Dirk Osinga works as an independent architect and researcher. He graduated in 2010 from Eindhoven University of Technology with a master’s in architecture, building and planning after studying civil engineering and management for his undergraduate degree. In the past ten years, he gained work experience in The Netherlands and abroad in different architectural offices, humanitarian organizations and the academic world. Since 2018, he developed his own independent architectural design and research practice Studiosinga. Now he focuses on realizing (interior) architecture with an emphasis on space, climate and atmosphere. He teaches as a lecturer in urban design and architecture at Delft University of Technology.

Farid Ziani, partner and architect designer at KTX archiLAB

After graduating from the Polytechnical School of Architecture and Urban Design in Algiers, Farid Ziani briefly practiced as an architect and developed an interest in the local traditional forms of architecture. He then joined a master's program in cultural heritage at the University of Paris Diderot and the ENSA Paris-Val-de-Seine. There he started a PhD about post-modernism where he did exchange studies at the University of Copenhagen. In Denmark, he was introduced to Scandinavian design principles and the differences between the Mediterranean and West European cultural spheres. He relocated to Japan after joining KTX archiLAB in 2015 and worked on several local and international projects.

Gilbert Khalil, director of design and technical services at Sunset Hospitality Group

Originally hailing from Beirut, Lebanon, Gilbert Khalil worked as a designer-architect at architectural consultancies like HM Architects, Pierre Basil Architects, Jean Marc Bonfils Architects and Atelier des Architectes Associés. In 2015, he pivoted his design career away from architecture and into the world of automotive design. He sought again to broaden his design career and relocated to Dubai, where he currently resides and leads the design and technical department at Sunset Hospitality Group, a hospitality and investment management company. He is now working on the creation of METT, a new hotel concept which will be located across the world.

Giovanni Zaccariello, SVP - Global Visual Experience at Coach

Before relocating to New York, where he currently resides, Giovanni Zaccariello worked in the fashion realm in the UK, the Netherlands and Hong Kong for over 20 years. He now serves as the senior vice president of global visual experience at Coach where he currently leads visual merchandising, 3D creative studio including windows, showrooms and pop-ups, brand events like the design and production of the fashion shows and the digital experience team.

Jocelyne Sacre, independent design strategy consultant

Originally hailing from Lebanon and currently based Paris, Jocelyne Sacre is a design strategy consultant, working on the border of spatial design and business. As an experienced architect and workplace designer – having started her career at the Taller de Architectura in Paris – her work mainly focuses on developing design strategies and architectural briefs to help companies foster a sense of innovation by optimizing their living and business spaces. Over the last two decades she delivered successful solutions to the likes of Shell, LVMH and the justice ministry of France. 

Klein Dai, brand founder and CEO at Algebraist Brand Management (Suzhou) 

Klein Dai established the Algebraist Coffee Company in 2015 in Suzhou, China, during his time as a student. As the brand’s founder and CEO, he has led the design of the brand’s visual identity and more than 100 of its physical stores throughout China. His extensive knowledge of coffee and integral understanding of the brand has driven his success in designing spaces which enhance the customer’s coffee-drinking journey.

Lin Liqun, executive director at Xiamen Wenqu Decoration Design Co., Ltd

Currently the chief designer and executive director at Xiamen Wenqu Decoration Design Co., Ltd, Lin Liquin has over 20 years of experience as an architect-designer. He serves as vice president and executive director of the Homestay Industry Branch of the China Architectural Culture Research Association and is deeply involved in the tourism and hospitality design sector. 

Lisa Adams, director of CitizenHKS and sustainable design leader

Lisa Adams is a director of Citizen HKS, a sustainable design leader and a principal at HKS. She designs interiors with a focus on sustainability and wellbeing, from hospitals and offices to the sensory well-being hub at Lane Tech College Prep in Chicago. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with degrees in interior design and journalism.  With over 25 years of experience, her designs within all project markets follow evidenced-based design protocol. Maximizing lifecycle performance is integral to her sustainable design approach. Her top works include the IU Cancer Hospital, King Fahad Medical City and the Lane Tech Sensory Wellbeing Hub.

Lucy Bagshaw, project director and sustainable designer at Tp Bennett

Lucy Bagshaw is a project director at Tp Bennett with a breadth of experience across different sectors, both locally in the UK and internationally. As a key member of the sustainability team at  Tp Bennett, she implements initiatives across interiors projects as well as for the business more broadly. She is the internal lead on responsible sourcing of materials and the internal materials database, and has co-written the sections on Circular Economy and Responsible Sourcing for the upcoming British Council for Offices (BCO) Fit-out Guide. She has been involved in office fit-outs for clients including GE Healthcare, several British and North American offices for HSBC, an international gaming company in Barcelona as well as multiple international projects for Tetra Pak. 

Nicolas Delefosse, creative director and founder of NDDO

Having worked as a creative director at various international design agencies like Interbrand and Saguez & Partners, Nicolas Delefosse has completed projects across different spatial typologies including retail, hospitality, trade fairs, work and more. He approaches spatial projects holistically, defining unique user journeys and developing narrative-led projects. He completes work for brands, companies and agencies that want to transform their projects into a destination.

Sontaya Bluangtook, associate design director at UNStudio

Sontaya Bluangtook is an associate design director and senior architect at UNStudio’s Amsterdam office. She joined UNStudio in 2012 after practicing at various international architecture offices in Los Angeles and Atlanta. Currently, she is the design lead for multiple global projects of varying typologies and scales. She has contributed to a broad range of projects from urban transit hubs, to customized interiors and product design. Most recently, she has been integral to the interior design and façade renovation for the Hanwha Headquarters Tower in Seoul and the Chungnam Art Museum in South Korea.

Woody Yao, director at Zaha Hadid Design

Woody Yao joined Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) in 1993 while studying at the Architectural Association in London. Actively contributing to Zaha Hadid’s multidisciplinary approach to architecture and design, he worked on key competitions such as the Cardiff Bay Opera House, as well as leading a number of seminal built projects including the Guangzhou Opera House, The Jockey Club Innovation Tower at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Hotel Puerta America in Madrid. He has also been instrumental in furthering the development of the practice’s archive and the growth of its exhibitions program, curating with the world’s most established and respected cultural institutions including the Guggenheim Museum, MAK, the Design Museum and Serpentine Gallery in London, MAXXI, and the State Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg.