Greg Samata

Greg Samata formed Samata Associates in 1975 and subsequently co-founded SamataMason Inc. with partners Pat Samata and Dave Mason in 1995, and together with Dave Mason and Kevin Krueger formed smbolic in 2010.

His work spanning three decades across all creative media and disciplines - from print to digital, film and new media - has been published in every major design industry publication and honored with hundreds of awards in competitions worldwide.

Over his 30 year + career, Greg has been a part of building brand strategies, design and all aspects of brand management for Chiquita, Prudential, We Energies, Motorola, the be.group, Jones Lang LaSalle Worldwide, Rayovac, The New North, Thrifty Car Rental Worldwide, Jabra, PGA Tour, Ameritech, United Mileage Plus program, Scandinavian Channel, The Atlantic Philanthropies, Parker Pen, Lifespace Communities, Sedgwick, and XRS.

He has lectured throughout North America and internationally and has served as a juror for numerous design competitions. A tireless advocate for design, both independently and as a national board member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, Greg is a current board member of the Evan's Life Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists children at risk, co-founder of OpinionLab Inc., the leader in web-based voice of customer intelligence, the documentary film company Noisemaker Films, the Cusp Conference LLC, which curates and produces an annual conference about 'the design of everything' and co-founding Free Spirits Brands, creating and marketing craft vodka brands.

And then Greg finds time to follow his passion for cooking, traveling the world and making films.

Dave Mason

Dave Mason, born in England and raised in Canada, learned a few things as a CJFL quarterback, while working in places like a women's prison, a forensic psychiatric hospital and a subatomic physics laboratory and while coaching high school football that naturally prepared him to start his own design firm immediately after graduating from Kwantlen College in the late 20th century. He and partners Greg and Pat Samata co-founded Chicago/Vancouver-based SamataMason Inc. in 1995, which subsequently became smbolic in 2010.

Honored for excellence in numerous design publications and competitions, Dave's work has appeared in Communication Arts, The Mead Annual Report Show, AR100 Annual Report Show, Graphis, Applied Arts, AIGA 365, Graphex, How, Step and Designer's Workshop Japan, and has been exhibited at The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, Germany. He has served as a juror for many international competitions including Communication Arts Design Annual, The Mead Annual Report Show, AR 100 Annual Report Show, Taiwan International Poster Competition and Applied Arts, and he has served as a guest speaker at numerous design and business schools, conferences and events throughout Canada, the United States and Asia. Beyond his accomplishments as a designer, Dave is co-founder of a number of successful businesses including OpinionLab Inc., the leader in web and mobile voice of customer feedback systems, Noisemaker Films LLC, a documentary film company whose films have been recognized at numerous festivals and broadcast on public television, and Cusp Conference LLC, an annual Chicago-based conference about 'the design of everything.'

In 2010 Dave was honored to be named a Fellow by the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada.

Kevin Krueger

Kevin Krueger, an Ohio University graduate, was a designer at Herman Miller before joining SamataMason in 1996. His brand communication work for a diverse range of clients such as the PGA Tour, Whirlpool, Devon Energy, International Truck, and Motorola has been honored internationally in numerous competitions and publications including AIGA Communication Graphics, The Art Directors Club, The Type Directors Club, Communication Arts, Applied Arts, International ARC Awards, Graphis and How Magazine.

A former Chicago Chapter board member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), he is a frequent lecturer at design schools and organizations, and has served as a juror for numerous design competitions. Kevin is also a co-founder of Cusp Conference LLC, which produces an annual conference about 'the design of everything.'

Pamela Lee

Pamela Lee, a graduate of Sheridan in Oakville, Ontario, is widely recognized as an experienced and accomplished brand communication designer and project manager.

Her work has been honored internationally in many design industry competitions and publications including AIGA 365, Communication Arts, The Mead Annual Report Show, The AR100 Annual Report Show, Graphis Annual Reports, Applied Arts and How Magazine. Pamela is a member of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada and the American Institute of Graphic Arts. She teaches Ideation at Langara College in Vancouver, and sits on the board of the Take a Hike - Youth at Risk Foundation, a nonprofit organization that engages at-risk youth through a unique combination of adventure-based learning, academics, counseling, and community involvement.

Skot Waldron

Skot Waldron, a graduate of the Portfolio Center in Atlanta, has worked for clients such as The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Sesame Workshop, Navistar, Chiquita, Manpower and JPMorgan Chase which included national and international branding campaigns as well as video, web, print, tradeshow, social media and event design.

In his 11 years with smbolic, Skot’s work was honored with numerous design, investor relations, and communications awards, and featured in a wide range of publications including AIGA Communication Graphics, The AR100 Annual Report Show, Communication Arts, Applied Arts, International ARC Awards, and How Magazine.

Skot currently teaches strategic branding at Portfolio Center, and speaks at schools and business events about the value of brands and how they pertain to us as individuals, families, and corporations.