SEGD (the Society for Experiential Graphic Design), a multidisciplinary global community of professionals, has named the experiential design professionals to receive its 2026 Fellows designation.
This year, the accolade is awarded to Jonathan Jackson, founder of WeShouldDoItAll (WSDIA); Donna Lawrence, founder of Donna Lawrence Productions (DLP); and Despina Macris and Mark Ross, founders of Dotdash.
Since 1987, the SEGD Fellows initiative has recognised those who have made a significant impact on experiential and environmental graphic design, demonstrating a dedication to excellence, leadership, innovation, and service to the profession that has helped shape the evolving language of experiential design worldwide.
The 2026 Fellows have expanded the scope and audiences of experiential design through nearly 40 years of practice spanning museums and memorials, healthcare and transportation systems, civic spaces and national monuments, global events, and cultural institutions.
Underpinning this work is the shared belief that design carries the responsibility to make complex spaces more understandable, challenging stories more accessible, and experiences more meaningful for the people who encounter them.
Jonathan Jackson
Jackson's early interest in architecture and graphics formed the foundation for WSDIA. Co-managed with his partner, Sarah Nelson Jackson, WSDIA resists the idea that disciplines must remain separate, with work spanning typography, identity, products, exhibitions, and spatial design.
Tekαkαpimək Contact Station at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument opened in 2025
Image courtesy of SEGD
The studio’s client list includes Nike, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture with Ralph Appelbaum Associates, and the Tekαkαpimək Contact Station at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in partnership with the Wabanaki Nations.
These projects have informed Jackson’s thinking about what it means to design histories and cultures that are not one’s own, a process that requires patience, humility, trust, and an openness to reconsider conventional design processes.
They have also strengthened his dedication to opening doors for others; for example, a 13-year-old visitor Jackson met during the installation of an exhibition on Black changemakers was inspired to learn about design.
"That’s the whole point," Jackson says. "Giving kids who don’t know this world exists a way in, the way my mother once did for me."
Donna Lawrence
Lawrence has challenged the conventions of traditional documentary film and shaped how audiences encounter history, science, and culture through cinematic and place-based storytelling for over 40 years.
"What It Takes: Journey to the Hall of Fame", filmed and produced by Donna Lawrence Productions
Image courtesy of SEGD
In 1985, DLP's unprecedented installation at the Kentucky Derby Museum choreographed 97 slide projectors around a 360 degree space. Almost 20 years later, the studio helped turn the National Constitution Center's circular theatre into a live theatrical experience, bringing together actors, projections, sound, and architecture.
Aiming to quickly engage audiences with expansive narratives, Lawrence's practice is rooted in a simple principle: connecting guests with the unique intersection of forces at the core of a story in a deep, authentic way, and connecting them to the wider, continuing world of that story today.
This approach guides every creative and technical decision in work ranging from civil rights to war, national identity, science, energy, music, and culture, often offering guests their first encounter with a place or its history.
Lawrence says: "The only words that really come to mind are 'make it count,' whatever that means for you, in your discipline, with the resources you have.
"Every new tool has been thrilling and liberating, but the core of the work hasn't changed. It's still about being a conduit, connecting people with great stories."
Despina Macris and Mark Ross
Macris and Ross launched Dotdash in Brisbane, Australia, in 1987. Macris brought experience in art direction, illustration, advertising, fashion, and theatre, while Ross came from architecture, contemporary dance, and experimental performance.
Wayfinding in Brisbane, Australia by Despina Macris and Mark Ross of Dotdash
Image courtesy of SEGD
This expertise shaped the practice's view of wayfinding as the relationship between people and their environment, rather than signage applied to a place.
Since then, Dotdash has delivered thousands of projects across healthcare, transportation, education, civic, cultural, and public environments, establishing Macris and Ross as leading experts in wayfinding and information design.
Their work is equally grounded in systems thinking and empathy, with accessibility and inclusion fundamental to the design process. Likewise, their work with Indigenous communities prioritises listening and recognises that design should originate from the existing culture and knowledge within a place.
"If information is confusing, people become anxious. If it’s clear, they feel confident," says Macris.
"I’ve always believed clarity is an act of generosity," says Ross. "Wayfinding isn’t something you apply to a place. It grows from understanding the place itself. We’ve never thought of ourselves as sign designers. We’re designing the relationship between people and their environment."
Fellows and Achievement Awards Ceremony
Delegates at the 2026 SEGD Conference Experience Kansas City are invited to celebrate the honourees and welcome them into the Fellowship in a ceremony on Saturday, 24 October.
Each Fellow will share the work, ideas, key moments, and lessons that have shaped their career, and will take part in the Fellows in Conversation session, hosted by Alan Jacobson, FSEGD, chair of the SEGD Fellows Committee.
Here, the four Fellows will reflect on their storied careers, spanning disciplines, perspectives, and almost 40 years of practice.
The 2026 conference will take place at Kansas City Marriott Downtown in Kansas City, US, from 22 to 24 October.
