Design Jury
2023 ICAD Awards
Jason Delahunty — Zero G
Jury Chairperson
Jason joined Zero-G as a partner and Creative Director in 2013. With over 20 years industry experience covering technology, industrial, retail and cultural branding, he is recognised for the clarity and precision of his work and the development of distinctive and effective brand identity programmes. Programmes include identity development with leading retail brands Brown Thomas, Arnotts and Stable, cultural brands with Hugh Lane Gallery and Design Crafts Council Ireland, legal firms William Fry and Arthur Cox and technology brands with DesignMap (San Francisco), FocusVision, Pinergy, Scurri and Tandem. Prior to joining forces with Zero-G he had establised Co/De, a Dublin based brand agency, developing identity projects with clients such as Brown Thomas, Mater Private Hospital, Crafts Council of Ireland & UCD. He was also Creative Director of Designworks where he was responsible for overseeing a wide variety of communications projects for clients as varied as Fáilte Ireland, Waterford Crystal, Golden Pages and FM104. He began his career at The Identity Business (Enterprise IG) where he worked on transformational branding projects such as Telecom Éireann becoming Eircom in 1999. Jason is a graduate of the National College of Art & Design (NCAD) and holds a BDes in Visual Communications. In 2020 he obtained a Diploma in Design Management, through the international Grow programme.
Alan Aboud — Aboud & Aboud
International Judge
Alan Aboud is Creative Director of ABOUD+ABOUD. Alan started an independent consultancy in 1989 upon his graduation from St Martin’s School of Art, where he graduated with a first Class degree in Graphic Design. The agency’s first client, Paul Smith Limited, helped nurture Alan’s flair for Creative Direction in the fashion world. The client and agency had an un-interrupted working relationship for 27 years. This was testament to the quality and consistency of the creative work created. Aboud was effectively the client’s Brand Guardian and his ability to work simultaneously as graphic designer and creative director allowed him to control the whole look and feel of the brand, something unique in the world of fashion. With the expertise learned, Alan has grown into an internationally renowned Creative Director and Designer, working predominantly in the fashion, beauty and fragrance sector – one of the most demanding areas of image creation. His agency’s work is informed by a strong visual aesthetic, fostered by an association with leading international fashion labels, but relevant and applicable to any brand with a lifestyle bias. Adept at working in collaboration with internal teams, either in-agency or in-house, Alan’s strength lies in his ability to build harmonious teams who pull together and create memorable collaborative work. Throughout his career, Alan has worked closely and extensively with strong, creatively innovative brands including ZARA, Levi’s, H&M, Thomas Pink, GAP Kids and brands within LVMH. His team completed a rebranding of British Organic Beauty brand Neal’s Yard Remedies in 2010 and has created major collaborations with The Rug Company and Inter Parfums in Paris. Alan has enjoys the flexibility of working in both creative advertising, as well as working as a traditional graphic designer in identity, branding and editorial design. In recent years, Aboud’s love for motion has seen the agency begin to work closely with the film industry, most notably his ongoing creative collaboration with Gary Oldman. This work mixes his graphic design skills along with image research specific to film scripts and also bespoke typographic creation for use as title sequences. Alan’s work embraces design in its fullest sense, having the versatility, inventiveness and craft skills to explore many different avenues of creativity. So, alongside the art direction and graphic design projects that the agency is best known for, Alan has built up a rich body work comprising of photography and advertising, product design and packaging, commercials direction and motion graphics. His agency’s ethos is that ideas and energy spark from one area to the other, creating a sense of vitality and the unexpected. More recently, the company has moved into brand ownership, notably with B NOBLE, a US based Cannabis company, and LO STUDIOS, a UK based Home Fragrance Company specializing in Candles, Room Scents and Hand washes/creams.
Dee Corcoran — Chapter
Judge
Deirdre Corcoran is a Creative Director who loves design for its transformative power on businesses and ability to positively impact people’s lives. With over 20 years of experience in the design industry, she founded Chapter in 2012. Deirdre simplifies the complexities of a project and is fascinated by people – understanding what moves and motivates them. She understands changes in behaviour, values and beliefs before they become obvious. Using instinct and insights she helps brands achieve stronger connections that drive brand loyalty and help companies be part of shifts in culture rather than chase trends. Based in Cork, Chapter collaborates with ambitious clients on strategy, art direction, brand creation, experience, motion, sound and story enabling them to take action. They execute across every platform in the real world or digital.
Killian Walsh – Grandson
Judge
Creative director and designer interested in collaborative work with good people and worthy causes. With over 20 years experience in the creative industry, started out working professionally as a graffiti artist, before studying Visual Communication in DIT Dublin. Since 2013, Killian has owned and operated the design studio Grandson. He has been a judge with the 100 Archive since 2018, and is also co-founder of SEEK, an outdoor mural | cultural festival in his local town of Dundalk. He is also the creative director and co-founder of ILK, a sustainable Irish clothing brand.
Rachel Kerr – CI Studio
Judge
Rachel Kerr is a Design Director in CI Studio, Dublin and has 20+ years’ experience, in a mix of award-winning studios in Dublin, London and Melbourne. Rachel’s areas of interest lie in brand creation and bringing brands to life experientially and through interior and environmental design. She also has extensive experience in typography, packaging, wayfinding and signage. With a diverse client list, the range and scale of projects Rachel has been involved in are varied, from postage stamps for Royal Mail, right up to a wayfinding system in Heathrow Airport. Rachel has had work featured internationally in Creative Review, Design Week, Fonts in Use and nationally in The Irish Times, Sunday Times, Sunday Business Post, Image Interiors and she’s also been a guest on The Business on RTE Radio. Rachel has tutored typography in Melbourne and has also been a guest lecturer in LSAD.
Ryan Budgen – r-and-m.co
Typography Judge
Ryan Bugden is an independent typeface designer & graphic designer based in Brooklyn, New York. He currently runs brand design studio R&M with Michelle Ando, releases typefaces independently and through Future Fonts, and has drawn a variety of custom typefaces for clients such as Rhode Island School of Design and Instacart. He teaches typeface design through his own workshop Type Sessions, and he’s an adjunct professor of typography at School of Visual Arts in New York City.
