SEGD Announces World-Class Jury for the 2026 Global Design Awards

January 21, 2026

Cybelle Jones

SEGD announces the world-class jury for the 2026 Global Design Awards, bringing together internationally recognized leaders and emerging voices in experiential design. Representing diverse disciplines, the jury will evaluate global submissions that advance innovation, inclusivity, storytelling, and meaningful connections between people and place.

Washington, DC—The Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD) proudly announces the 2026 SEGD Global Design Awards Jury, an internationally distinguished group of designers, artists, architects, filmmakers, educators, and emerging voices shaping the future of experiential design.

Recognized as the longest-standing and first-ever awards program dedicated to experiential design, the SEGD Global Design Awards have, since 1987, set the global standard for excellence in connecting people to place through design. With submissions from around the world and broad international exposure across the design, cultural, and built-environment sectors, the awards celebrate work that advances innovation, accessibility, storytelling, and social impact.

The 2026 jury represents the highest caliber of multidisciplinary leadership, bringing deep expertise across exhibition, digital media, architecture, immersive storytelling, environmental graphics, and civic design. Together, these jurors reflect the diversity, rigor, and global perspective that have defined the SEGD Global Design Awards for nearly four decades.

Each year, the awards provide unparalleled visibility for designers, studios, institutions, and collaborators—elevating exemplary work within the global design community and beyond. The 2026 jury will evaluate submissions through the lenses of design excellence, innovation, inclusivity, and the power of experience to shape culture and community.

2026 SEGD Global Design Awards Jury

Abigail Honor, Jury Chair
Founding Partner & Creative Director, Lorem Ipsum Corp.

Abigail Honor is a founding partner and creative director of Lorem Ipsum Corp., a multidisciplinary design studio based in New York City. With more than 25 years of experience, her work sits at the intersection of film, immersive media, and exhibition design, creating narrative-driven experiences that bring history, culture, and complex ideas to life. Abby has led award-winning projects for major cultural institutions, including the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, and collaborated with global partners such as Google, Verizon 5G, and Snapchat. A respected voice in experience design, she has spoken internationally, served on the SEGD Fellows Selection Committee since 2023, and co-hosts the Matters of Experience podcast, exploring design, culture, and storytelling.

Peter D. Cook, FAIA, NOMA
Design Principal, HGA

Peter D. Cook is a nationally recognized architect and civic design leader with an extensive portfolio of cultural and institutional projects. His work includes the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Watha T. Daniel / Shaw Neighborhood Library, the Embassy of South Africa, and the SEGD Global Design Award–recognized project at Monticello. In 2021, he was appointed to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts by President Biden. Cook recently joined the faculty at the Howard University School of Architecture and Planning, advancing mentorship and design leadership through education.

Lucy Holmes
Founder & Creative Director, Holmes Studio

Lucy Holmes is an internationally respected exhibition, digital, and brand designer whose work bridges strategy, storytelling, and spatial experience. Founder of Holmes Studio, she previously co-founded Holmes Wood and spent her formative years at Pentagram. A former SEGD Board member and 2016 SEGD Distinguished Member, Lucy is a returning SEGD Global Design Awards juror. Her studio is currently part of the winning team redesigning the British Museum’s Western Range galleries, bringing narrative rigor, clarity, and craft to complex cultural environments.

Donna Lawrence
Founder, Donna Lawrence Productions

Donna Lawrence is a pioneer in immersive media and large-format storytelling with more than three decades of experience. Through Donna Lawrence Productions, she has created multi-screen, 4D, and theatrical experiences for museums, cultural institutions, and visitor attractions worldwide. Her work has been honored by Sundance, THEA Awards, IDA, and AAM Muse Awards, and includes landmark projects such as King Tut: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh. Her practice is defined by narrative depth, technical innovation, and emotional impact.

Taylor Loutsis
Founder & Creative Director, Studio Loutsis

Taylor Loutsis is a creative director working at the intersection of branding, art direction, and the built environment. Founder of Studio Loutsis and art director of AN Interior, his experience includes roles at 2×4 and Pentagram, with clients such as Apple, Prada, Guggenheim, and Snøhetta. Taylor serves on the SEGD Board of Directors and is a Van Alen Institute Young Vanguard. He teaches at Parsons and regularly serves as a visiting critic, advancing discourse in experiential and spatial design.

Neil Mendoza
Artist & Technologist

Neil Mendoza is an artist and technologist whose work blends sculpture, engineering, and software to animate objects and environments. Using humor and absurdity, his projects explore how people interact with technology and the natural world. His work has been exhibited internationally at institutions including the Barbican, Ars Electronica, the Exploratorium, and the V&A. Mendoza holds degrees from Oxford University and UCLA, has completed multiple artist residencies, and has taught art and technology at UCLA and Stanford.

Gerald Sastra
Graduate Student, Rhode Island School of Design

Gerald Sastra is an emerging experiential designer focused on narrative environments, inclusivity, and belonging. A 2025 SEGD Student Global Design Awards winner, he is currently pursuing graduate studies in Interior Architecture at RISD. His professional experience includes work at HOK, where he contributed to projects integrating branding, placemaking, and storytelling. Gerald represents the next generation of design leadership, bringing a socially conscious and collaborative approach to environmental graphics and experience design.

Margaret Zivkovich
Art Director, Ayers Saint Gross

Margaret Zivkovich is an art director with more than 20 years of experience in environmental graphic design, wayfinding, and higher-education branding. Based in the Baltimore office of Ayers Saint Gross, she brings deep expertise in universal design and multidisciplinary collaboration. Her portfolio includes the Missouri Botanical Garden Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center, recipient of the 2025 SEGD Best of Show, as well as numerous campus and cultural projects. Her work emphasizes clarity, accessibility, and meaningful user experience.

Submissions Now Open

Submissions for the 2026 SEGD Global Design Awards are now open, welcoming projects from around the world that exemplify excellence in experiential and environmental graphic design.

Key deadlines:

• Early Deadline: January 31, 2026
• Late Deadline: February 28, 2026
• Final Deadline: March 15, 2026

Designers, studios, institutions, and collaborators across disciplines are encouraged to submit work that demonstrates innovation, impact, and meaningful connection between people and place. For full submission guidelines and categories, visit segd.org.