NXTLVL Experience Design

ABOUT CHRISTIAN DAVIES:Christian's LinkedIn profile: linkedin.com/in/christian-davies-fcsd-3728a513Websites: https://www.bergmeyer.comemail: cdavies@bergmeyer.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianthdavies/ Bio: Davies brings 30+ years' experience as a creative leader, working with brands across the globe, from disruptive startups to the very top Fortune 500 contenders in retail, experiential, beauty, fashion, hospitality, technology, luxury, and more. His veteran status includes over 100 national and international design awards (15 of which earned top honors for Store of the Year Awards), including a five-time winner of design:retail’s Retail Design Influencer as well as a coveted Retail Design Luminary award.  As a Design Practice Leader for Bergmeyer, Davies will bring a thoughtful and provocative approach to leading and inspiring its teams, projects, and clients through purposeful brand identity exploration and the shaping of meaningful and memorable physical environments.Prior to Bergmeyer, Davies served as Managing Director of the Creative Marketing Group at Verizon, Creative Vice President of Global Design and Innovation for Starbucks, Executive Creative Director of the Americas at Fitch, and Vice President/Managing Creative Director at FRCH Design Worldwide.Also See: https://www.bergmeyer.com/people/christian-davies Also See: https://www.retaildive.com/press-release/20210506-from-corporate-to-collaborative-storied-industry-vet-christian-davies-join/Articles: https://www.bergmeyer.com/trending/the-shock-of-the-new https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/which-way-experience-design-time-chaos-christian-davies-fcsd/ Sir Ken Robinson TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity?language=en On Creativity: See: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihaly_CsikszentmihalyiSee: "Creativity: Flow and The Psychology of Discovery and Invention" by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly SHOW INTRODUCTION:Back in the early 2000’s the International Retail Design Conference came into being. The event sponsored by VMSD magazine and STMedia Group – now owned by SmartWork Media – wasn’t your typical tradeshow. They tried booths by vendors early on and then abandoned them for a fully educational event. Retail industry leaders and some of the best retailers and visual merchandisers have since gathered every year – but for 2020 due to the COVID pandemic – to talk all things retail. There were always great presentations about projects that pushed the boundaries of retail design, awards galas, the requisite cocktails and spontaneous conversation in the hallways where ideas flowed naturally.As a member of the VMSD Editorial Advisory Board, I have attended all but 2. And over the past 20+ years I recall a few speakers that simply captivated the audience. Christian Davies was a ‘standing room only’ presenter that drew crowds to hear insightful, thought provoking and slightly cheeky commentary that he seemed to get away with – perhaps because his English accent gave him some slack – but mostly because he was on target and freakishly smart.Christian didn’t hold back. He went to the heart of the matter.Sometimes critical, sometimes satirical and often emotional. Too this day frequent attendees will recall a session he presented on Compassionate Capitalism where he and the audience shared a tear over the profoundly moving actions of some global retailers who stepped beyond the bottom line and reached out in support of people in need.I was always one of the ‘standers’ – not because I needed an easy way out if the presentation was not meeting my expectations but because people had rushed the room to be creatively inspired and challenged in their thinking.I have worked with and competed against Christian for design gigs with national and international retailers but mostly studied him as a retail design, brand experience place-making leader who has had a career working on both sides of the line – as a design consultant and big brand retailer. Honestly, I have been at times envious but mostly admiring of him.Christian is a visionary creative leader with over 30 years working in the retail and experiential industry across the globe. He is Skilled in Strategy, Innovation, Design and Implementation.He gets it done.He has amassed over a 100 international design awards working for everything from disruptive startups to the very top of the Fortune 500. And… he continues to be a keynote and session speaker at every major retail conference in the US. Christian is now the Design Practice Lead for Bergmeyer – a Boston based design firm.A recent favorite topic for his speaking sessions these days? “Navigating the future in this time of seismic change.”Love it…Right up my alley…. ABOUT DAVID KEPRON:LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582bWebsites: https://www.davidkepron.com    (personal website)vmsd.com/taxonomy/term/8645  (Blog)Email: david.kepron@NXTLVLexperiencedesign.comTwitter: DavidKepronPersonal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkepron/NXTLVL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nxtlvl_experience_design/Bio:David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional with a deep curiosity to understand ‘why’, ‘what’s now’ and ‘what’s next’. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott’s “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels. In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies. As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace. David currently shares his experience and insight on various industry boards including: VMSD magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board, the Interactive Customer Experience Association, Sign Research Foundation’s Program Committee as well as the Center For Retail Transformation at George Mason University.He has held teaching positions at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore.  In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon. David also writes a popular blog called “Brain Food” which is published monthly on vmsd.com.  The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is presented by VMSD magazine and Smartwork Media. It is hosted and executive produced by David Kepron. Our original music and audio production is by Kano Sound. The content of this podcast is copywrite to David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design. Any publication or rebroadcast of the content is prohibited without the expressed written consent of David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design.Make sure to tune in for more NXTLVL “Dialogues on DATA: Design Architecture Technology and the Arts” wherever you find your favorite podcasts and make sure to visit vmsd.com and look for the tab for the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast there too.

Contact InfoEric’s Profilelinkedin.com/in/eric-schick-73b72117Emaileric@pantheontile.comBio:Eric Schick is an entrepreneur and business strategist whose passion and enthusiasm for restoring the natural environment through the built environment are palpable when you meet him. Eric’s 23 year background as co-founder and CEO of Pantheon Floor Solutions, a popular commercial tile brand specified by the architect, engineer and design community, led him to discover a variety of innovative and futuristic building technologies he has helped co-found, fund and steward. Two of the most exciting technologies are Hover Energy and Eden Green, which have both recently hit commercialization stage.Eric recently formed the company CEED with his wife of 25 years, Elizabeth Schick, who is his partner in marriage, business and all things important in his life. “CEED” is an acronym for Consumables, Energy, Environment and Design, and CEED’s mission is to deploy distributed infrastructure technologies that are good for mankind, mother earth and the marketplace.Eric is also a reverend, and enjoys encouraging people with the gospel to find their purpose for their life so they can share it with the world and live the abundant life.SHOW INTRO:It’s not often that I talk to a business owner who lives by the simple rule of growing his business in service of “MANKIND – MOTHER EARTH - and the MARKETPLACE.” This is a “triple bottom line” that keeps on repeating, over and over in my head. Perhaps it has become more front row center in my conscious awareness over the past couple of years because I have become more convinced that what we humans are doing to our planet, and each other, needs urgent attention.My sons will tell me that they, at times, lose hope that what is happening now with climate change will mean that the planet is unsave-able. This was never a consideration when I was growing up. I grew up in a world where plastics were a savior – think the joy of Tupperware parties and how plastics would revolutionize almost everything. Plastics, another use for the black gold buried deep in the core of our little blue dot spinning around one of the billions of stars in the universe. Plastics also form a floating island growing to be twice the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean. It is estimated that the mass of the plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) was estimated to be approximately 80,000 tonnes, which is equivalent to that of 500 Jumbo Jets.Let that sit for a moment. Our relationship with our planet is broken.And we can’t simply do what has been on the rise for years in marriages and divorce it. As far as we know, and despite some brilliant thinking and creative and brilliant engineering and visionary leadership, we are still a number of years away from getting off Mother Earth and colonizing Mars. And, what a tragedy to simply suck this planet dry of natural resources and leave the scorched earth to maybe do the same somewhere else. Divorcing our planet is not an option.My guest on this episode of NXTLVL Experience Design believes that “Right now we are suffering from bad relationship” – with the earth, each other.” Energy and food production are part of the complex system that is contributing to our planet literally being on fire. We have got to have our “Come to Jesus moment” with climate change and not rely on teenagers like Greta Thunberg  (God bless her) to be ringing the alarm. Generations prior to Greta and my Sons’, have made the mess, and we can’t avoid the responsibility for cleaning it up. Corporations have to up their game in producing clean energy solutions, reducing waste to landfills and the food production industry must look for sustainable solutions to not pumping more carbon into the atmosphere.I use the ‘come to Jesus’ phrase because it is time but also because my guest on this episode is a business owner, investor, philanthropist, and Reverend.Erik Schick has a mission of “Restoring the environment through the built environment.” He knows that a good deal of the damage being done to our planet’s ecology is from the building industry. Building buildings, and operating them, puts a lot of carbon into the atmosphere. And so, Eric believes that “Wherever we create an economic impact we have to leave a social footprint.” Eric’s 23-year history as founder and CEO of Pantheon Floor Solutions led him to discover a variety of innovative and futuristic building technologies he has helped co-found, fund and steward. Two of the most exciting technologies that we will talk about are Hover Energy and Eden Green, which have both recently hit commercialization stage. Eric recently formed the company CEED with his wife of 25 years, Elizabeth Schick, who is his partner in marriage, business and all things important in his life. “CEED” is an acronym for “Consumables, Energy, Environment and Design.”CEED’s mission is to deploy distributed infrastructure technologies that are good for mankind, mother earth and the marketplace. There is the mantra: do good for - mankind- mother earth and the marketplace.A note to our listeners about this episode:This conversation with Eric Schick is powerful and inspiring. It is also challenging at times because we talk about some of Eric’s work while on a medical mission trip to Romania during the revolution and El Salvador where atrocious acts of violence were being committed. So, I feel I need to let you know that some listeners may find this particular content during the episode disturbing. ABOUT DAVID KEPRON:LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582bWebsites: https://www.davidkepron.com    (personal website)vmsd.com/taxonomy/term/8645  (Blog)Email: david.kepron@NXTLVLexperiencedesign.comTwitter: DavidKepronPersonal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkepron/NXTLVL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nxtlvl_experience_design/Bio:David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional with a deep curiosity to understand ‘why’, ‘what’s now’ and ‘what’s next’. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott’s “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels. In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies. As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace. David currently shares his experience and insight on various industry boards including: VMSD magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board, the Interactive Customer Experience Association, Sign Research Foundation’s Program Committee as well as the Center For Retail Transformation at George Mason University.He has held teaching positions at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore.  In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon. David also writes a popular blog called “Brain Food” which is published monthly on vmsd.com.   The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is presented by VMSD magazine and Smartwork Media. It is hosted and executive produced by David Kepron. Our original music and audio production is by Kano Sound. The content of this podcast is copywrite to David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design. Any publication or rebroadcast of the content is prohibited without the expressed written consent of David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design.Make sure to tune in for more NXTLVL “Dialogues on DATA: Design Architecture Technology and the Arts” wherever you find your favorite podcasts and make sure to visit vmsd.com and look for the tab for the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast there too.

Contact InfoVince’s LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/vince-kadlubekEmail: vince@meowwolf.comWebsite: https://meowwolf.com Twitter: @VKadlubek Vince Kadlubek Bio:Vince Kadlubek is a Founder of Meow Wolf, an art collective that has transformed into an award winning Art and Entertainment Production Company that specializes in immersive, open-world walk through experiences. Vince acted as leader and CEO for Meow Wolf though its formidable years, having created the business plan for Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return and leading the team towards the project's completion in March of 2016. In January of 2017 Kadlubek formed Meow Wolf, Inc as a full fledged arts production company and creative studio positioned to create the largest, most innovative and audacious monumental art exhibits in the world. After raising series A funding he announced two new Meow Wolf exhibits in Las Vegas and Denver, opening in 2021. Kadlubek has been a force of vision in the realm of experiential art, and in 2020 launched a creative consulting agency called Spatial Activations as a platform to usher in a new era of experiential art in modern developments and everyday life. Vince is most passionate about co-creating fully-realized alternative realities that bring paradigm-shifting transformation and inspiration to the world.Show Intro:I have been fascinated with immersive experiences for years. Since studying architecture and sitting in on History Theory classes taught by Alberto Perez Gomez at Mc Gill University in the 80’s, I have deeply believed that there is a profound experiential difference between directly participating in ‘rituals’ rather than doing so at arm’s length, as a 3rd person observer.I think we have lost the connection to significant rituals over the years. We don’t dance around the fire, stamping out patterns that bring into being place through the markings of our feet in the dust. The embodied enactment of rituals created context and meaning from our experiences. We came to better understand who we were in relationship to our community, culture, nation and cosmos through directly participating in the experience – the ritual enactment. Even now when we do go to church, synagogue or the mosque, to public events, musical productions, and movies, we observe more than we physically participate. When we do participate in an embodied way, time and space collapse. New constructs emerge. We create a crucible for experience, and we are changed, certainly for the duration of the ritual, but perhaps long afterwards as well. We have become a culture of watchers – be it watchers of TV, social media feeds, sports, entertainment or standing behind a red velvet stanchion at the museum and being ushered along past the Mona Lisa. In many ways, art, and our experience of it, has become a thing to view, at a distance, not something to directly participate in, to make.In making art we express our collective need for self-validation. Art is an expression of who we are, at a very profound level.It provides a sense of agency and empowerment of bringing things into being that have not been there before. We are Homo Faber – Man the Maker as well as we are Homo Sapiens – Man the Wise. We are not unique among the creatures of the planet in that we make things, but we are unique in that the things we make, make other things. And, the things we make are often done for the purpose of conveying concepts, ideologies and emotion – to make others feel something.Another idea that we dig into in this episode about is it ‘the unknown’ and how we deal with the ambiguity and uncertainty of what has not yet come to pass. Within the context of the recent global pandemic this issue has been particularly acute in my mind as pathways and strategies for moving into my future, that believed were thoughtfully crafted and reliable, became immaterial and largely uncertain. What I thought was going to be course, changed and I found myself, over this past 20 months, looking into the idea of change, how we adapt to it, how it's transforming the world around us, our ability to remain resilient in the face of it and how we navigate this space of the unknown and consider it less foreboding and more an opportunity for creative possibility.For many being in a constant state of change can be incredibly unnerving. We don't like it. It makes us feel uncomfortable and often, we would rather it not happen, but here's the thing, change doesn't much care if you're uncomfortable. It keeps moving on, along an exponential path that is rocketing skyward.The unfamiliar signals potential danger and our biology is geared to sounding the alarms when the unfamiliar lurks near the edge of uncertainty. The paradox is that we both seek to avoid the perceived danger of the unknown while being driven toward the novel and unexpected because that is where learning lives. And so we slip into nostalgia remembering the good old times because it delivers a cozy sense of familiarity. On the other hand, change and the unknown is at the root of our shared neurobiology - our brains are made for change. We are incredibly adept at picking up even the slightest changes in our environment relationships and experiences because it has been built into us as a survival mechanism. To quickly attend to that which is the unknown to determine friend or foe. Whether we would be lunch or have lunch.Enter Vince Kadlubek and Meow Wolf.Vince is undeterred by the unknown. In fact, he finds stepping into the unknown unnecessary component for understanding himself, his context and how art can be transformative. Vince Kadlubek is a Founder of Meow Wolf, an art collective that has transformed into an award-winning Art and Entertainment Production Company that specializes in immersive, open-world walk through experiences. Vince acted as leader and CEO for Meow Wolf though its formidable years, having created the business plan for Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return and leading the team towards the project's completion in March of 2016. In January of 2017 Kadlubek formed Meow Wolf, Inc as a full-fledged arts production company and creative studio positioned to create the largest, most innovative and audacious monumental art exhibits in the world. After raising series A funding he announced two new Meow Wolf exhibits in Las Vegas and Denver, opening in 2021. Kadlubek has been a force of vision in the realm of experiential art, and in 2020 launched a creative consulting agency called Spatial Activations as a platform to usher in a new era of experiential art in modern developments and everyday life. Vince is most passionate about co-creating fully-realized alternative realities that bring paradigm-shifting transformation and inspiration to the world.Meow Wolf’s mission?…TO INSPIRE CREATIVITY THROUGH ART, EXPLORATION, AND PLAY SO THAT IMAGINATION WILL TRANSFORM THE WORLD…Vince Kadlubek likes the unknown and he sees Meow Wolf as a place of exploration where people can for an hour or two lose themselves and enter the world of creative imagination to perhaps find something that they've always been looking for.And with that, I welcome Vince Kadlubek, Founder and Director to the show…ABOUT DAVID KEPRON:LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582bWebsites: https://www.davidkepron.com    (personal website)vmsd.com/taxonomy/term/8645  (Blog)Email: david.kepron@NXTLVLexperiencedesign.comTwitter: DavidKepronPersonal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkepron/NXTLVL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nxtlvl_experience_design/Bio:David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional with a deep curiosity to understand ‘why’, ‘what’s now’ and ‘what’s next’. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott’s “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels. In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies. As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace. David currently brings his creativity and insight on brand experiences to an international audience as a member of VMSD magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board, as a Board Member of the Interactive Customer Experience Association (ICXA) and Sign Research Foundation’s (SRF) Program Committee.He has held teaching positions at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore.  In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon. David also writes a popular blog called “Brain Food” which is published monthly on vmsd.com.   The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is presented by VMSD magazine and Smartwork Media. It is hosted and executive produced by David Kepron. Our original music and audio production is by Kano Sound. The content of this podcast is copywrite to David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design. Any publication or rebroadcast of the content is prohibited without the expressed written consent of David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design.Make sure to tune in for more NXTLVL “Dialogues on DATA: Design Architecture Technology and the Arts” wherever you find your favorite podcasts and make sure to visit vmsd.com and look for the tab for the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast there too.

Sara’s Profile:linkedin.com/in/sara-duffy-79b43617website: https://stonehilltaylor.com email: sduffy@stonehilltaylor.comBio:Sara Duffy graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and received her Associate of Applied Science in Interior Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. With a background in art history and television, Sara crafts a unique, immersive narrative for each of her projects with a focus on thoughtful, classic design. Her impressive variety of projects includes the Nomad Hotel and Bar in New York and its re-iteration in Las Vegas, the J.W. Marriott Nashville, and the iconic TWA Hotel at JFK Airport’s historic TWA Flight Center. She has worked with renowned hospitality developers such as the Sydell Group, Eleven Madison Park’s Chef Daniel Humm and Will Guidara, Marriott International, Turnberry Associates, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, and Hilton Hotels & Resorts.Show Intro:The Algonquin Hotel in New York was opened in 1902. Stories abound of the guests that stayed there and the fabled “Round Table” around which literary luminaries met daily to talk about all thing literature.The TWA terminal designed by the masterful architect Eero Sarinen opened in 1962 and has a history of its own aside from the groundbreaking design that made it an icon of the era.The Marriott Marquis in Time Square New York was the work of architect John Portman who created monumental interiors in concrete. The hotel's construction was first disclosed on November 3, 1972, and opened a little over ten years later.These projects have stood the test of time but been reinvigorated with major renovations in the past couple of years to bring them into a new era of hospitality that caters to an evolving cohort of travelers. It’s no small thing to take a building and breath new life into it while not diminishing their cultural significance. Making them more effective in meeting the new need of guests while also paying due respect to the architects and histories they have lived has a plethora of challenges. Consultant teams can be as large as 100 different organizations, each with a specific mandate and areas of work. Building methodologies have changes, codes and regulations are stricter, materials and furniture options have proliferated. All of this adds to the challenge. And, when considering big design changes, board rooms are filled with questions like, “can we actually do that?”, “Should we do that”” “what message are we sending if we do that?”Sara Duffy is a principal at the hospitality focused design firm of Stonehill Taylor. Sara Duffy graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and received her Associate of Applied Science in Interior Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. With a background in art history and television, Sara crafts a unique, immersive narrative for each of her projects with a focus on thoughtful, classic design.It is perhaps not so surprising that she was charged with playing a prominent role in leading the Algonquin, TWA, and Marriott Marquis projects through their revitalization bringing their stories from the past to the present. ABOUT DAVID KEPRON:LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582bWebsites: https://www.davidkepron.com    (personal website)vmsd.com/taxonomy/term/8645  (Blog)Email: david.kepron@NXTLVLexperiencedesign.comTwitter: DavidKepronPersonal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkepron/NXTLVL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nxtlvl_experience_design/Bio:David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional with a deep curiosity to understand ‘why’, ‘what’s now’ and ‘what’s next’. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott’s “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels. In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies. As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace. David currently brings his creativity and insight on brand experiences to an international audience as a member of VMSD magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board, as a Board Member of the Interactive Customer Experience Association (ICXA) and Sign Research Foundation’s (SRF) Program Committee.He has held teaching positions at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore.  In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon. David also writes a popular blog called “Brain Food” which is published monthly on vmsd.com.  The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is presented by VMSD magazine and Smartwork Media. It is hosted and executive produced by David Kepron. Our original music and audio production is by Kano Sound. The content of this podcast is copywrite to David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design. Any publication or rebroadcast of the content is prohibited without the expressed written consent of David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design.Make sure to tune in for more NXTLVL “Dialogues on DATA: Design Architecture Technology and the Arts” wherever you find your favorite podcasts and make sure to visit vmsd.com and look for the tab for the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast there too.

ABOUT YORAM ROTH:Yoram’s Profile: linkedin.com/in/yoramrothwebsites:yoramroth.com  (Personal Website)cultureworks.com  (Company Website)fotografiska.com  (Company Website)Social Media:Twitter: https://twitter.com/yoramroth Instagram: yoram_rothLinkedIn Article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/looming-arms-race-cultural-experience-economy-yoram-roth/?trackingId=awEYFGPlTHShS8wDRg1OqQ%3D%3D Email: yoram.roth@cultureworks.comBIO:Executive Chairman: CultureWorks is the holding company, management and development platform for culture, experience and hospitality brands. Fotografiska is redefining the modern museum experience. NeueHouse is the place where culture works. Through Clärchens Ballhaus I am bringing a 19th century jewel with strong traditions into the 21st century. As a cultural investor I believe that community matters, and culture works. Artist on Sabbatical, father to three young men.SHOW INTRO:Art and culture are connected in an intimate dance. Art, it could be said, is an expression of culture, and it’s kaleidoscopic manifestations are emblematic of the subsets of ideologies adopted by likeminded members of communities. Art, in its myriad forms, comes to represent the meaning of experience and the values communities share. Art challenges us. It poses questions and it seeks answers. Art and design is all around us. As we shape the world through art, architecture and design, it shapes us back. We both make and are made by the things we create. In a digitally enabled world, we are increasingly exposed to a plethora of images we both make and share that shape our experience and understanding of the world.The ubiquity and democratization of the image equally suggests a need for greater visual literacy – a common lexicon for understanding and discussing the power of images and the relationship to culture and community building.Museums have a role to play, and there has been a movement to providing cultural experiences beyond the white wall for the past 40 some years. Traditional museum formats face challenges with the emergence of more immersive experiences that can be extraordinary. According to Yoram Roth – Executive Chairman of Fotografiska | NeueHouse and the newly formed Culture Works, “…Over the last ten years, there has been a substantial growth of “culture as an experience.” For Roth, “Culture Matters. And, Culture Works.”He suggests that “…The most recent development is driven by artists and collectives creating site-specific immersive cultural experiences that reside on a spectrum between fine art and the spectacular…” Yoram Roth is on a mission to build a global cultural business and reinvent the museum experience for the modern world. He takes on this challenge with the awareness that there is as he has recently outlined in an article posted to LinkedIn, a “Looming Arms Race in the Cultural Experience Economy.” In this well referenced piece, Yoramoutlines some of the inherent complexities of building a global cultural business within the context of an experience-seeking-consumer-world that is deeply immersed in the making of digitally-based images. ABOUT DAVID KEPRON:LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582bWebsites: https://www.davidkepron.com    (personal website)vmsd.com/taxonomy/term/8645  (Blog)Email: david.kepron@NXTLVLexperiencedesign.comTwitter: DavidKepronPersonal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkepron/NXTLVL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nxtlvl_experience_design/Bio:David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional with a deep curiosity to understand ‘why’, ‘what’s now’ and ‘what’s next’. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott’s “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels. In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies. As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace. David currently brings his creativity and insight on brand experiences to an international audience as a member of VMSD magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board, as a Board Member of the Interactive Customer Experience Association (ICXA) and Sign Research Foundation’s (SRF) Program Committee.He has held teaching positions at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore.  In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon. David also writes a popular blog called “Brain Food” which is published monthly on vmsd.com.   The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is presented by VMSD magazine and Smartwork Media. It is hosted and executive produced by David Kepron. Our original music and audio production is by Kano Sound. The content of this podcast is copywrite to David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design. Any publication or rebroadcast of the content is prohibited without the expressed written consent of David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design.Make sure to tune in for more NXTLVL “Dialogues on DATA: Design Architecture Technology and the Arts” wherever you find your favorite podcasts and make sure to visit vmsd.com and look for the tab for the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast there too.

About Tracy,Tracy Lee’s Profile: linkedin.com/in/tracyleestumWebsite: tracyleestum.com  Email: info@tracyleestum.comTwitter: tracyleestumInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracyleestum/ Tracy's Bio:Tracy Lee Stumis an American artist best known for her 3D street paintings orchalkdrawings. She at one point held the Guinness World Record for the Largest Chalk Painting by an Individual.[1]Tracy Lee Stum began drawing as soon as she could clutch a crayon. She studied privately as a child and earned a bachelor's degree at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. She continued her studies in naturalism at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy.A gregarious graffiti lover, Tracy began street painting in 1998 and is considered by Madonnari peers, festival directors and viewers alike as one of the finest street painters today.  Known for splashing color in festivals and events in all corners and crevices of the globe, her paintings have won numerous awards & accolades – her only regret is that her masterpieces rarely fit on the fridge.In 2006 Tracy added the Guinness World Record to her collection of vinyl for the largest street painting by an individual.  In 2013 she was honored to be a contributor on the Cannes Gold Lion award-winning team for their work in the now iconic Honda CRV commercial.Experienced in multi-city campaigns for such clients as Cadillac, SoBe, and Dos Equis, Tracy is continually creating commissioned 3D and 4D works in chalk for advertising, public and private events, corporate PR and educational sectors. Her international team building skills have been utilized in developing street painting festivals in China, Mexico, India, Russia and throughout the United States.  Her art travels well and is always up to date on all of its shots.Tracy has been privileged and honored to serve as the US State Department's 2012 cultural ambassador.  She's toured Tajikistan and India creating 3D street paintings and teaching workshops at distinguished universities and art colleges to promote education, awareness and positive cross-cultural communication.In 2013 Tracy put on clean pants and stepped effortlessly into management as she curated the first annual DO/AC 3D Chalk Festival in Atlantic City, New Jersey, showcasing 14 renowned international 3D street art & chalk artists.Tracy's chalk conversations speak to her vast audience with imagination, beauty and playfulness – often with a thick Italian accent.Show Intro:When was a kid, I loved going to the mall when they had artists exhibitions. I could watch for hours as artist of all stripes created magic in front of passersby. I was mesmerized as the sweep of a had could create a deep forest with a shaft of light cutting through the green, a galloping horse, or a crowded street scene.When living in New York and the Philadelphia area I marveled at the graffiti artists whose mural paintings stretched the full height of buildings. Not only was I awestruck with the subject matter but the sheer size of these creations always left me wondering …How do they do that?I remember going to a Bougereau exhibit in Montreal where the paintings were huge and seeing the Night’s Watch at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and being transfixed as people jostled for position all around me.A few years ago, I started tuning into street art where skilled painters would use chalk to create masterful illusions of 3 dimensions on the pavement. These works, when viewed from a specific place, seemed to magically transform the warped image into a 3D experience into which you could place yourself. I have spent years teaching perspective drawing where the size of the image fits on a drafting table. This took perspective to a whole new level for me.Tracy Lee Stum is an American artist best known for her 3D street paintings made with chalk. At one point, she held the Guinness World Record for the Largest Chalk Painting by an Individual.[1]She began drawing as soon as she could clutch a crayon. She studied privately as a child and earned a bachelor's degree at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. She continued her studies in naturalism at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy.A gregarious graffiti lover, Tracy began street painting in 1998 and is considered by festival directors and viewers alike as one of the finest street painters today.  In 2013 she was honored to be a contributor on the Cannes Gold Lion award-winning team for work on the iconic Honda CRV commercial and is she continually creating commissioned 3D and 4D works in chalk for advertising, public and private events, corporate PR and educational sectors. Tracy has travelled the world creating beautiful street art and been privileged and honored to serve as the US State Department's 2012 cultural ambassador teaching workshops at distinguished universities and art colleges to promote education, awareness and positive cross-cultural communication.We share a love of art and making paintings, though mine are still on canvas resting on an easel, and I am delighted to have Tracy share her passion and craft with us.About David Kepron:LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582bWebsites: https://www.davidkepron.com    (personal website)vmsd.com/taxonomy/term/8645  (Blog)Email: david.kepron@NXTLVLexperiencedesign.comTwitter: DavidKepronPersonal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkepron/NXTLVL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nxtlvl_experience_design/Bio:David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional with a deep curiosity to understand ‘why’, ‘what’s now’ and ‘what’s next’. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott’s “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels. In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies. As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace. David currently brings his creativity and insight on brand experiences to an international audience as a member of VMSD magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board, as a Board Member of the Interactive Customer Experience Association (ICXA) and Sign Research Foundation’s (SRF) Program Committee.He has held teaching positions at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore.  In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon. David also writes a popular blog called “Brain Food” which is published monthly on vmsd.com.   The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is presented by VMSD magazine and Smartwork Media. It is hosted and executive produced by David Kepron. Our original music and audio production is by Kano Sound. The content of this podcast is copywrite to David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design. Any publication or rebroadcast of the content is prohibited without the expressed written consent of David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design.Make sure to tune in for more NXTLVL “Dialogues on DATA: Design Architecture Technology and the Arts” wherever you find your favorite podcasts and make sure to visit vmsd.com and look for the tab for the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast there too.

About Danny Forster:Danny’s Profile: linkedin.com/in/danny-forster-4544b23Email: danny@dannyforster.comTwitter: dannyforsterWebsite: https://www.dannyforster.com Bio:Architect. TV host. Producer. Director. Speaker. Professor. Danny Forster is all these things, and through them all he has become a global advocate for architecture. The field of architecture may not appear to need much help: buildings surround us. But that very ubiquity has made it almost invisible; we move in and around buildings but barely notice them. Through his persistent and passionate advocacy, Danny gets people to notice, understand, and value the built environment.This quest began when Danny was hired, while still pursuing his master’s in architecture at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, to host a television show about impressive feats of construction and engineering. The show would become Build It Bigger, one of Discovery Channel’s most popular series, and run for nine seasons, during which Danny traveled to more than fifty countries, exploring everything from record-breaking skyscrapers to cutting-edge sports stadiums, from airports to tunnels to impossibly long bridges. Besides offering a matchless education for an aspiring architect, Build It Bigger taught Danny how to talk about architecture so an audience wouldn’t just understand how and why a building was designed a certain way, it would care. The key was inviting them inside the process–not just saying what’s important, but showing them in concrete and engaging ways.For inquiries regarding film and television work, please contact Danny’s agent at William Morris Endeavor, Jim Ornstein: JOrnstein@WMEentertainment.com.For domestic speaking engagements, contact Julie Leventhal: JLeventhal@wmeentertainment.com.For international speaking engagements, contact Hugo Chittenden at The London Speaker Bureau: hugo@londonspeakerbureau.com.To purchase Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero, click here. To purchase episodes on iTunes, click here.To watch selected episodes of Build It Bigger, click here. To purchase episodes on Amazon, click here. To purchase episodes on iTunes, click here.Show INTRO:Architecture is pretty complex and despite the fact that we spend most of our days inside buildings, I would hazard a guess that not many people know how great architecture actually comes into being.After a number of years in university programs and then internships, architects follow years of practice. It said that architecture one of those professions that takes a long time to really begin to flourish.      The great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Guggenheim museum in New York late in his career and it opened six months before, Wright died at the age of 92.With buildings all around us, some of which we pass by every day not paying them any concern, where do we go to find out what it really takes to make great buildings or why they should be particularly interesting in the first place?Well, you could go to books, movies or even podcasts like this one. Or you might also tune into television shows whose purpose it is to bring some of the great buildings of the world into your living room.By some way of unscripted serendipity, my guest on today's show did exactly that. As a student in the Graduate School of architecture at Harvard University Danny Forster was exhausted and looking to, as he explains, “run away from architecture.” In a strange twist of fate, he landed a job as the host of one of Discovery Channel’s most successful shows.Build It Bigger ran for nine seasons  and became the highest rated show on the Science Channel, and won a 2010 Directors Guild of America Award.[8] The show took Forster and a camera crew around the world to investigate pioneering architectural and engineering projects, and put them in cultural, historical, and environmental context.Through his persistent and passionate advocacy, Danny gets people to notice, understand, and value the built environment.Besides offering a great education for an aspiring architect, Build It Bigger taught Danny how to talk about architecture so an audience wouldn’t just understand how and why a building was designed a certain way, it would care.Danny Forster ‘ran away from architecture’ to find he could bring architecture home to all of us.Today he wants us to care as much as he does about buildings and the effect it is having on our planet.Danny has put a spotlight on modular building and has partnered with MiTek Inc., a construction company owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, on something called the Modular Activation Platform, a system designed to clear away some of the obstacles to widespread modular construction.Danny Forster is a multi-hyphenate creative spirit who believes that any modest progressive change to the building industry towards modular construction would be a paradigm shift for our planet. About David Kepron:LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582bWebsites: https://www.davidkepron.com    (personal website)vmsd.com/taxonomy/term/8645  (Blog)Email: david.kepron@NXTLVLexperiencedesign.comTwitter: DavidKepronPersonal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkepron/NXTLVL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nxtlvl_experience_design/Bio:David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional with a deep curiosity to understand ‘why’, ‘what’s now’ and ‘what’s next’. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott’s “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels. In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies. As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace. David currently brings his creativity and insight on brand experiences to an international audience as a member of VMSD magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board, as a Board Member of the Interactive Customer Experience Association (ICXA) and Sign Research Foundation’s (SRF) Program Committee.He has held teaching positions at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore.  In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon. David also writes a popular blog called “Brain Food” which is published monthly on vmsd.com.  The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is presented by VMSD magazine and Smartwork Media. It is hosted and executive produced by David Kepron. Our original music and audio production is by Kano Sound. The content of this podcast is copywrite to David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design. Any publication or rebroadcast of the content is prohibited without the expressed written consent of David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design.Make sure to tune in for more NXTLVL “Dialogues on DATA: Design Architecture Technology and the Arts” wherever you find your favorite podcasts and make sure to visit vmsd.com and look for the tab for the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast there too.

About Dorothy Di Stefano:Dorothy’s Profile: linkedin.com/in/immersivedigitalexperiencespecialistWebsite: moltenimmersiveart.com  (Digital Immersive Experiences)Email: dorothy@moltenimmersiveart.comTwitter: MoltenImmersiveGlobal thought leader, speaker, creative strategist, founder and director of Molten Immersive Art, Dorothy Di Stefano leads an international collective of experiential artists who create large-scale, site-specific, digital immersive experiences. As an ambassador for the arts, Dorothy sits on many cultural committees and is a Founding Circle Member of the World Experience Organization (UK) a Visual Arts Committee Member of the Della Leaders Club (NYC Chapter), Director of Research – Immersive Arts for the Digital Placemaking Institute and an International Partner on the Global Science, Technology and Innovation Committee for the World Business Angels Investment Forum (Istanbul).She was the only Australian representative on the 'Experiential Design' judging panel for the prestigious ADC 99th Annual Awards in New York and was awarded LinkedIn's Top Voice for 2019.Show Intro:Art, be it analogue – created in the real 3d world - or digital - created in the virtual world of data and algorithms - is part of who we are. For millennia, art has told the stories of our lives. It has recorded our human condition and served as an expression of culture, of ideas and helped to give context and meaning to our often unpredictable lives in an seemingly chaotic world. We are equally Homo Faber – Man the maker as we are Homo Sapiens – Man the wise.Art is powerful because it is empowering. In making things we share life energy with the objects of our creation. The lump of clay is just a lump of clay until the sculptor touches it transferring energy from the hand to the malleable mass. Bringing things to life, as if by some form of alchemy, artists make magic and meaning. They become connected to world of their inner selves and the things of their creation which by bringing them into being also become part of who they are - a true expression of being relevant in this world.Artforms have transformed over the ages with technologies changing the media used in artistic expression. We have moved from pigments to pixels and the way environments can now be created digitally is  the way people experience art.On this episode of the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast my guest is Dorothy Di Stefano – Dorothy is a Global thought leader, speaker, creative strategist, founder and director of Molten Immersive Art where she leads an international collective of experiential artists who create large-scale, site-specific, digital immersive experiences. As an ambassador for the arts, Dorothy sits on many cultural committees and is a Founding Circle Member of the World Experience Organization (UK), a Visual Arts Committee Member of the Della Leaders Club (NYC Chapter) and the Director of Research of Immersive Arts for the Digital Placemaking Institute.She is extraordinarily active on social media platforms like LinkedIn – where she was selected as one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in 2019 - and on Instagram where she wields the power of the image in showcasing arts of all kinds from around the globe.I have followed her for some time now and look forward to her content because I both learn about who’s doing amazing things in the art world and because I am inspired by the artistic magic-making of human kind. I look to Dorothy’s posts because they are an elixir to the mundane and provide hope in our human potential to change the world through the arts. About David Kepron:LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582bWebsites: https://www.davidkepron.com    (personal website)vmsd.com/taxonomy/term/8645  (Blog)Email: david.kepron@NXTLVLexperiencedesign.comTwitter: DavidKepronPersonal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkepron/NXTLVL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nxtlvl_experience_design/Bio:David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional with a deep curiosity to understand ‘why’, ‘what’s now’ and ‘what’s next’. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott’s “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels. In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies. As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace. David currently brings his creativity and insight on brand experiences to an international audience as a member of VMSD magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board, as a Board Member of the Interactive Customer Experience Association (ICXA) and Sign Research Foundation’s (SRF) Program Committee.He has held teaching positions at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore.  In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon. David also writes a popular blog called “Brain Food” which is published monthly on vmsd.com.  The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is presented by VMSD magazine and Smartwork Media. It is hosted and executive produced by David Kepron. Our original music and audio production is by Kano Sound. The content of this podcast is copywrite to David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design. Any publication or rebroadcast of the content is prohibited without the expressed written consent of David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design.Make sure to tune in for more NXTLVL “Dialogues on DATA: Design Architecture Technology and the Arts” wherever you find your favorite podcasts and make sure to visit vmsd.com and look for the tab for the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast there too.

About Peter Dixon:Peter’s Profile: linkedin.com/in/peter-dixon-b73ba98Website: prohpet.com  (Company Website)email: pdixon@prophet.comPeter Dixon Bio:Peter brings his clients a unique blend of perspectives as an architect, designer and brand consultant. It translates into an imaginative take on branding, customer experience and retail innovation, expressed in both high-level thinking and visual, verbal and spatial representations.Peter’s award-winning programs have spanned all areas of the brand experience, ranging from brand strategy development to prototype design, customer experience concepts and merchandising approaches. He has worked for such notable clients as BMW, Citibank, ConocoPhillips, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Delta Airlines, Emart, Fiat Chrysler, Mayo Clinic, McDonalds, Nissan, Sprint, Samsung, United Airlines, United Health Group and Walmart.Peter helped lead the consulting team on Walmart’s new brand strategy, including its new visual identity and store experience concepts. He also was instrumental in designing Nissan Motors' new dealership concept being implemented worldwide, and a new dealership design for its Infiniti brand. He led the team designing a new customer experience for Delta Airlines. And for McDonald’s, he directed the development of a revitalized restaurant concept being executed across the U.S. and many parts of the world.Peter is a popular public speaker and has been tapped as a source by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Brandweek, Newsweek, Visual Merchandising & Store Design, Convenience Store News and Advertising Age.He serves on the editorial board of VM+SD magazine, and is a past national president of the Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD). He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University and a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Texas.Show Intro:Do you have brands you love?Do you always get the same detergent, toothpaste, only shop in a certain store. Do you choose on car, hotel, liquor or restaurant over another.With so many options in the shopping world how do we choose?Well…we adopt brands into our lives because they do what there are supposed to do. They clean your clothes, make your teeth whiter, make you feel safe and or powerful behind the wheel or they deliver impeccable service and they are reliable. But more than that, they create a relationship with us. For my guest on this episode of NXTLVL Experience Design the 'Brand' is about the relationship and 'Branding' is all of the stuff that you do like creating logos, store environments, digital experiences and more.Brand-ing brings brands to life. In creating brands, you are bringing ideas and values to life. Peter Dixon is the Chief Creative Officer at Prophet, a globally recognized branding agency that combines insight, creativity, data and technology to help their clients to unlock growth that is human centered, transformative and durable. Peter brings his clients a unique blend of perspectives as an engineer, an architect, designer and brand consultant. It translates into an imaginative take on branding, customer experience and retail innovation, expressed in both high-level thinking and visual, verbal and spatial representations of places the brands want you to be in and buy from.He has worked for such notable clients as BMW, Citibank, Delta Airlines,  Fiat Chrysler, Mayo Clinic, McDonalds, Nissan, Sprint, Samsung, United Airlines, and Walmart.He is is a popular public speaker and has been tapped as a source by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Brandweek, Newsweek, Visual Merchandising & Store Design, Convenience Store News and Advertising Age to share his insight on what makes great brands.He serves on the editorial board of VM+SD magazine, and is a past national president of the Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD). He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University and a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Texas. About David Kepron:LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582bWebsites: https://www.davidkepron.com    (personal website)vmsd.com/taxonomy/term/8645  (Blog)Email: david.kepron@NXTLVLexperiencedesign.comTwitter: DavidKepronPersonal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkepron/NXTLVL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nxtlvl_experience_design/Bio:David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional with a deep curiosity to understand ‘why’, ‘what’s now’ and ‘what’s next’. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott’s “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels. In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies. As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace. David currently brings his creativity and insight on brand experiences to an international audience as a member of VMSD magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board, as a Board Member of the Interactive Customer Experience Association (ICXA) and Sign Research Foundation’s (SRF) Program Committee.He has held teaching positions at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore.  In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon. David also writes a popular blog called “Brain Food” which is published monthly on vmsd.com.  The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is presented by VMSD magazine and Smartwork Media. It is hosted and executive produced by David Kepron. Our original music and audio production is by Kano Sound. The content of this podcast is copywrite to David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design. Any publication or rebroadcast of the content is prohibited without the expressed written consent of David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design.Make sure to tune in for more NXTLVL “Dialogues on DATA: Design Architecture Technology and the Arts” wherever you find your favorite podcasts and make sure to visit vmsd.com and look for the tab for the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast there too.

About Royce Epstein:LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/royceepsteinInstagram: @madame_duchampInstagram: @dissent_by_design About Mohawk Group:Website: www.mohawkgroup.comInstagram: @mohawkgroupData Tide: https://www.mohawkgroup.com/carpet/collections/data-tideRelaxing Floors: https://www.mohawkgroup.com/carpet/collections/relaxing-floors Royce Epstein Bio:A veteran materials and product specialist for interior design and architecture, Royce spent two decades working in A&D firms before working in product design and development. Specialties include: visioning, concepting, sourcing, design development, and marketing of materials, finishes, and products, in addition to interior design work focused on material palettes and FF&E. LEED AP. Trend hunter. Design strategist, writer, lecturer, teacher, juror, and thinker, always putting design in context. Interiors & Sources Designer of the Year 2015. Collab Board Member at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Textile instructor at Drexel University.  Show Intro:For 1000s of years we have painted on cave walls, carved statues, woven tapestries, molded clay and drawn and painted our human experience. Images have depicted the sacred and the profane. Images created by the hand of the artist are like making magic - from nothing, something. And that ‘something’ tells a story. It tells the story of who we are as individuals and a part of a community, culture a collective with shared vision. Creating is the truest expression of who we are because when we make art, we truly put ourselves into it. Our life energy changes a lump of clay into a teapot and blank canvas into a masterpiece. Color, form, geometry, texture, light – these are the base element of the image.In the context of contemporary image making, almost everyone with a smartphone becomes and image capturer. Recording the moments of a life that races by. It seems that more now than ever the image is the language we use to share our life stories. The ‘Instagramable moment’ has become a requirement in creating places. The image of that moment is the memory residue of something that mattered. A moment to express oneself, to say to the world that I mattered because I was there. The egocentrism of the image changed in the Renaissance with the invention of perspective. Until that time, images were quite two dimensional. The perspective view positioned the observer of the scene at the center - everything was to be viewed form the singular position of the individual.And so, our propensity to take selfies or Instargramable moments as first--person narratives of experience is really only a development along a trajectory of the image in the now digitally enabled visual age.Images are becoming so ubiquitous that some fear the devolution of language in preference for pictures. Is the expression “a picture is worth a 1000 words more true now than ever before.” Will texting replace articulate spoken language or is is as the linguist John McWhorter says simply the development of a new language?The design of these images is critical – overlays, filters, re-coloring, cropping, and all of the other image composing tools speak to the nature of design in a visual age. The image can be crafted to delight over dessert or stand as a symbol of dissent.Everything is designed says my guest on this episode of the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast. And when we listen to her talk about design we find that it is taking on new meaning and expression in the visual age.Royce Epstein is a veteran materials and product specialist for interior design and architecture who spent two decades working in A&D firms before working in product design and development.Royce is an art history major who has focused her attuned creative skills as a Trend hunter, Design strategist, writer, lecturer, teacher, juror, and thinker into always putting design in context.She is a design activist, cares deeply about social causes and is the A&D Design Director for the Mohawk Group a company that creates some of the best flooring solutions on the planet.  About David Kepron:LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582bWebsites:  https://www.davidkepron.com    (personal website)vmsd.com/taxonomy/term/8645  (Blog)Email: david.kepron@NXTLVLexperiencedesign.comTwitter: DavidKepronPersonal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkepron/NXTLVL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nxtlvl_experience_design/Bio:David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional with a deep curiosity to understand ‘why’, ‘what’s now’ and ‘what’s next’. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott’s “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels. In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies. As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace. David currently brings his creativity and insight on brand experiences to an international audience as a member of VMSD magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board, as a Board Member of the Interactive Customer Experience Association (ICXA) and Sign Research Foundation’s (SRF) Program Committee.He has held teaching positions at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore.  In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon. David also writes a popular blog called “Brain Food” which is published monthly on vmsd.com. In September of 2020, he launched the “NXTLVL Experience Design” podcast which brings listeners dialogues about “DATA: Design, Architecture, Technology and the Arts.” His guests include thought leaders who are driven by a passion to create the ‘New Possible’ and promote new paradigms of experiences into the mainstream.   The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is presented by VMSD magazine and Smartwork Media. It is hosted and executive produced by David Kepron. Our original music and audio production is by Kano Sound. The content of this podcast is copywrite to David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design. Any publication or rebroadcast of the content is prohibited without the expressed written consent of David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design.Make sure to tune in for more NXTLVL “Dialogues on DATA: Design Architecture Technology and the Arts” wherever you find your favorite podcasts and make sure to visit vmsd.com and look for the tab for the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast there too.