2026 SEGD Distinguished Member Award

November 4, 2026

The SEGD Distinguished Member Award recognizes an individual for demonstrating outstanding volunteer efforts while significantly contributing to the direction, growth, and excellence of SEGD programs. Past winners include Jessica Schrader, Simon Majarian, and George Lim.

Hannah Anderson

Hannah Anderson is a past member of the SEGD Board, a former Co-Chair of the Cincinnati Chapter, and currently a Co-Chair of the Emerging Experiential Professionals (EXP) committee.

How did you get started in design? What drew you to Experiential Graphic Design (EGD), specifically?

I studied graphic design at DAAP, University of Cincinnati, where several professors came from an EGD background. My first hands-on exposure was interning with the National Park Service at Harpers Ferry, where my mentor trained me on wayfinding, materials, and explaining accessibility standards to clients. I was fascinated by the direct impact EGD work has on our lived experience within a place, and its longevity. I’ve long thought

that design majors should require psychology and sociology partnerships in their studies.

Which projects have significantly shaped your career?

It’s more about the projects where the partnership between client, designer, and fabricator feels symbiotic, almost like play. One favorite was an interior workplace project for an industrial client, where we built feature walls out of metal widgets, pipes, and electrical cord, figuring out with fabricators how to manipulate these materials to look like art. Today, I gravitate toward the most complex strategic projects, because I’m usually the one connecting the dots across a system.

How did you discover SEGD, and how did you get involved?

I first heard about SEGD through a National Park Service connection, then joined once I was working full-time. I stayed involved locally in Cincinnati for years before a chapter chair called me and asked if I’d take over. From there, I spoke at the Young Designers event, joined its committee, then got nominated to the SEGD Board, serving a term through COVID and the CEO search. When my term ended, I went all-in on what’s now the EXP program, co-chairing it with Jonathan Posnett.

What advice would you offer emerging professionals?

Showing up is what matters most, even when you’re nervous, scared, or wondering if you belong in the room. It takes courage, but it also takes someone else seeing something in you and being willing to open a door. Mentorship can’t be forced, but if you keep showing up and having conversations, someone will notice. We can’t grow just sitting in our seats; doing good work matters, but it’s not how you grow.

What’s exciting you about the field right now?

It feels like we’re on a precipice, and we don’t yet know what’s on the other side. I see the benefits of AI, but I’m also standoffish toward a lot of it. It’s made me appreciate the analog side of things and lived experience even more. I hope we’re at an awareness point rather than a catastrophic one. A reminder that the human element is what justifies why our field is important and can’t be replaced.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Mostly gratitude for partnership. I didn’t do the work I’ve done with EXP alone. I’ve had a great co-chair in Jonathan Posnett, plus Liz Griswold, George Lim, who we carried the torch from, and now Jaclyn Marlo. It’s heartwarming to know the work was appreciated and valued, and to see it live on even when I’m not involved day to day.