Juror's Statement

Janine James

Recognized within the business community and celebrated by clients, Janine James helps businesses and organizations marry commerce, art and community to build stronger brand cultures. Through her multidisciplinary firm, The Moderns, James offers her clients experience-enhancing solutions that are grounded in smart, effective business strategies and executed with stunning results across a multitude of mediums. Her work has helped businesses like Sundance Cinemas, Aveda, and American Express develop brand cultures that have spawned self-aggregating, self-sustaining communities.

Before founding The Moderns in 1992, James was Director of Design and Product Development for ICF. Prior to that, James worked in the innovative Design Lab in Herman Miller's London office.
Recently, James was a teaching fellow at Harvard University where she taught with renowned psychiatrist and author Dr. Robert Coles. James has also lectured in many professional forums, connecting with audiences on subjects such as effective business ideation, cause-related marketing, and the use of sustainable practices as a means of building brand equity and gaining market share. In the coming year, James will be speaking at the EnvironDesign7 conference in Washington, D.C. and will be a visiting Walsh Professor at the University of Oregon.