Maeda and Ryan to Deliver Keynote Addresses at TSA Convention in Dallas

John Maeda, president of the Rhode Island School of Design

John Maeda, president of the Rhode Island School of Design, and Rebecca Ryan, of Next Generation Consulting, will deliver keynote addresses on Fri., Oct. 28, during the Texas Society of Architects 72nd Annual Convention and Design Products and Ideas Expo, Oct 27-29, in Dallas.

Maeda is a Japanese-American graphic designer, computer scientist, university professor, and author whose work in design and technology explores the area where the two fields merge. As a software engineering student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he became fascinated with the work of Paul Rand and Muriel Cooper. Cooper was a director of MIT’s Visual Language Workshop. After completing his bachelors and masters degrees at MIT, Maeda studied in Japan at Tsukuba University’s Institute of Art and Design to complete his Ph.D. in design.

In 1999, Maeda was named one of the 21 most important people in the 21st century by Esquire. In 2001, he received the national Design Award for Communication Design in the United States and Japan’s Mainichi Design Prize. In 2006, Maeda published the best-seller Laws of Simplicity based on a research project to find ways for people to simplify their life in the face of growing complexity. He is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council.

Rebecca Ryan, Next Generation Consulting

Rebecca Ryan and her team at Next Generation Consulting is “a reliable source for CEOs, mayors, legislators, economic developers, and non-profit leaders who want to attract and retain the next generation of creative workers to their community or organization.” So wrote Richard Florida for the foreword of Ryan’s Live First, Work Second. Ryan is able to help others see their organizations and institutions through the lens of this newest crop of creatives so that smart and strategic adjustments align in ways that will draw them in. Regardless of zip code, native language, or vocation, members of the Creative Class place as much emphasis on where and how they live as where they work.

Raised in Wisconsin by members of the “greatest generation,” Ryan played professional basketball in Iowa, Minneapolis, Germany, and Hungary before returning to her home state. Accolades include 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year (U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship), Communicator of the Year 2006 (Women in Communication), and Ones to Watch 2009 (Inside Public Accounting).